.KEYWORD weight
.FLYINGHEAD ROAD WARRIORS
.TITLE You want me to carry what???
.FEATURE
.SUMMARY If managers and IT want accurate data and quick return on their investments, they really need to investigate the handheld market for their sales force. Ray Sheehan discusses how he was able to improve productivity by switching to handheld devices.
.AUTHOR Ray Sheehan
Every salesperson faces the same challenge on each sales call. "How can I set myself and my company apart from the other guy?" The shear volume of data we may need forces us to pack our vehicles with tons of paper, such as binders and brochures. I have eighteen binders of technical data to carry. That’s great to have in the car, but not many prospects let you move your office into theirs for a twenty-minute presentation.
The company also wants lots of input from us, called "sales reports." I’m not sure anybody reads them (let’s just say nobody seemed to notice when I bought a language translator program and sent in some reports in Russian), but they sure get upset if they aren’t sent in!
Practicality demands that we compromise between what we need and what we can physically carry.
What I’ve been trying to do in the technical age is find a solution that both makes it easy to make attention-grabbing presentations with plenty of technical information available for prospect and is also a method of entering important data that the company and I will need.
.CALLOUT Some prospects thought I was there to repair the coke machine.
I wanted to enhance my sales presentations, so my first attempt at mobile electronic media was a combo TV/VCR and videos, at a cost of about $199. Trying to lug a brochure "buffalo bag," samples, briefcase, and the paraphernalia for the TV/VCR presentation into a sales call, I had to use a hand truck to get it all in the door, as you can see in Figure A.
.FIGPAIR A On my way into a sales call… before.
Some prospects thought I was there to repair the coke machine.
Stepping into the computer age, I purchased a Packard-Bell desktop, which immediately disqualified me as a hardware purchase consultant for the rest of my life. I shelled out $2,300 for the package with printer, then another $399 for MS Office. At least I had a 2x CD player and 14-inch monitor!
Six months later, I could type and print a respectable letter. Twice I learned the real meaning of the word "crash."
.BREAK_EMAIL Can handhelds save the day? Read on.
Two years later, the company gave us brand new Compaq 486 computers, with a commanding 8 MB of RAM. Our IT guy, "Minimal" Art, said you only need 8 MB of RAM to run Windows 3.11. He was right, but only until I put MS Office on my laptop for another $399. The laptop didn’t have a CD player, so I bought a serial port CD player for $299. My Irish family has alcoholism problems, but my addictive behavior revealed itself as tech purchases! I then got to add a $256, 8 MB memory upgrade after MS Office locked up the system. Some "free" laptop.
I figured if I was going to have to carry the *$#^&*@ laptop, it was going to do something.
They still sent us paper forms to fill out.
Now, I lugged the "buffalo bag," samples, briefcase, and laptop bag. The more "cerebral" (read "stupid") of us added a printer to our carry-in luggage. Power cords were essential, as the battery lasted long enough to boot and tell you the laptop was about to die. I’m glad I hadn’t tossed the hand truck. Then there were four of us crowded around a 12-inch screen watching a very slow PowerPoint presentation.
.CALLOUT I’m glad I hadn’t tossed the hand truck.
Bringing out the cords to prepare the laptop for a sales presentation reminded clients of the snake scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Most of the time, I just wanted to take some notes.
I hate paper; I have two small former forests in my office in the form of piles lying around waiting to be filed. I didn’t need any more paper notes, as you can see in Figure B.
.FIGPAIR B My "paperless" office is anything but.
The Fire Marshall is getting nosey.
That’s when I began experimenting with handheld computers. My first was a Compaq Aero 2100 (further confirming my disqualification as a hardware consultant for all eternity). After two months of trying to get it to do anything, I gave up, sold it to a soon to be former friend, and bought a Palm V.
.H1 Palms, Pocket PCs, and CLIE’s, oh my!
It only took two days for me to buy my first add-on software (at a price of $39, thanks Palmgear.com), and away I went.
As the years have passed, I’ve had four other Palm OS devices, including my current CLIE, and the Pocket PC Jornada 320. My addictive behavior is rearing its ugly head again; I really want an iPaq!
I’ve added QuickOffice Premier (at http://www.cesinc.com), which I’ve upgraded four times; HanDbase Pro (at http://www.ddhsoftware.com), which I’ve upgraded three times; and Intellisync (at http://www.pumatech.com), which I’ve upgraded twice. With this software, I’ve effectively eliminated the need to carry a laptop on most sales calls. Battery charges last for a week, rather than minutes, even with heavy use.
Lotus Notes, ACT!, and Outlook all can synchronize with a Palm OS device. I can carry all the information I need on a half-pound device rather than a seven pound laptop.
Agendus (at http://www.iambic.com/agendus), pictured in Figure C, is wonderful.
.FIG C Agendus shows appointments, contacts, and to do items on one screen.
Dates, contacts, and to do items can be stored all in one program. There’s no more fumbling back and forth trying to make an appointment.
HanDbase works with MS Access. Instead of the many forms we are supposed to use, I create a HanDbase form instead. I even created my own form for auto mileage, as you can see in Figure D.
.FIG D HanDbase has become my database program deluxe.
The more I work with HanDbase, the more I appreciate everything it can do for me.
QuickOffice, pictured in Figure E, synchronizes with MS Office files.
.FIG E I have all my forms, documents, and spreadsheets on my handheld with QuickOffice.
I have all my forms, documents, and spreadsheets on my handheld. This alone replaced a small file box I carried in the car. In addition, the forms are with me when I need them, rather than back in the car somewhere.
As an aside, I have to say the QuickOffice guys are great. Their office is nearby, and they didn’t even mind that I stopped by for a visit with a problem.
The thumb-board may be small compared to a laptop keyboard, but I type with two fingers anyway! Why should I care about the size of the keyboard?
Infrared made my life simple again. Less cords. I beam a lot now. Out of town with no cradle? No problem! Many times, rather than exchanging business cards with a prospect, we beam each other.
Bluetooth and WiFi make mobile replication possible. Starbucks and hotspots: when I want, I get some coffee and check email or sales numbers. How easy can it get?
Voice record eliminates note taking while driving. Think about it next time you see a salesperson doing 75 down the highway, talking on their phone, driving with their knee, and taking an order on a notepad!
Presentations are easy with the customer’s projector and my handheld. It’s great! Pop in a CF card and attach the handheld to the projector’s port. I can’t create PowerPoint presentations on my handheld, but I can show PowerPoint presentations from my handheld. Wow!
I can make and show .AVI files on the CLIE as well.
I’m ultra happy with my CLIE, pictured in Figure F.
.FIGPAIR F I thought the CLIE camera was just a toy, but I’ve used it many times to send pictures or short .AVI files back to the home office.
This all brings me to my question: are handheld devices going to replace laptops?
.H1 Are handheld devices going to replace laptops?
Handhelds beat laptops for ease in training. A non-computer user takes about three months of intense training and patience to use a laptop, and that’s hoping they know how to type! Take the same unwashed, put him on a Palm OS or Pocket PC device, and they’ll be up and running in a day or two. I’ve helped complete novices to be productive in less than 30 minutes.
Now, I can carry one shoulder bag with my printer and paper, handheld in shirt pocket, and the ubiquitous buffalo bag. Rather than being mistaken for a new employee moving in or the repairman of the day, I’m thrown out like a respectable salesperson!
Isn’t that the point of IT anyway: to improve productivity? If we spend months and years working toward the goal of digital offices, where is the return on investment? Where is the improvement?
With a Palm OS device, forms can be created that are touch-screen entry, doing away with most typing altogether. Which improves your productivity more, tap and click or months of training?
Granted, the handheld has many limitations, for now. Laptops and desktops win for all other functions. But, for me, the handheld gives the mobile professionals the tool we need in the field.
Currently, I’m looking at the Tablet PC and the Sony UX-50, pictured in Figure G.
.FIGPAIR G Do I choose the Tablet PC or the Sony UX 50?
I’m also looking at the Palm Tungsten C, pictured in Figure H.
.FIGPAIR H The Tungsten C looks like a real work horse business tool to me.
Not only are they all tens on the geek coolness scale, but the increased memory allows plenty of space for all the programs (read: games) a mobile professional could want. With built in WIFI and/or Bluetooth, I don’t have to carry another card. Is it just me, or does the UX-50 look like a Tablet PC somebody shrunk in a washing machine?
Since salespersons have the attention span of a gnat and the e-tech capability of an Orangutan, expecting us to haul 40 pounds of electronics around is unreasonable. Remember, we still have to carry in the buffalo bag and samples. If managers and IT want accurate data and quick return on their investments, they really need to investigate the handheld market for their sales force.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information on QuickOffice Premier, visit http://www.cesinc.com.
For more information on HanDbase Pro, visit http://www.ddhsoftware.com.
For more information on Intellisync, visit http://www.pumatech.com.
For more information on Agendus, visit http://www.iambic.com/agendus.
For more information on Palm handhelds, visit http://www.palm.com.
.H1 Easy, flexible article reprints
ZATZ now offers a quick, easy, flexible and inexpensive way to use article reprints in your marketing and promotion efforts. You can now get article reprints for a one-time fee of only $200. For details, visit http://mediakit.zatz.com/reprints.
.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO Ray Sheehan is happily married with two grown children. In between writing articles for prestigious online magazines, he’s a salesman for a chemical company.
