The "Tech Savvy" Sales Organization

If your Sales role doesn’t include a technology-based product or service, you might come to the conclusion that being “Tech-Savvy” isn’t a top priority. If so, you’re making a BIG MISTAKE, no “might” about it!

Believe it or not, in my first Sales territory, in the Midwest, my initial training included a prospecting technique called “Smoke-Stacking”. This involved driving to a town, finding the companies with the biggest smoke-stacks and trying to meet with the decision makers in those companies. The most significant technology involved in this was my company car (See! I don't go back to the horse and buggy days.), printed presentation materials, pay-phones and handwritten records. That was then.

Now, Sales and Technology go hand-in-hand, regardless of what you’re selling. This includes: cell phones, voice mail, PDAs/laptops/PCs, email, word processing software, spreadsheet software, Internet browsers, virtual meetings, eLearning, SFA, CRM, ERP and on and on, into my next blog post. If you’re not tuned into these technologies, you might as well try “Smoke-Stacking”.

So how do you keep up when it seems that technology advances with every breath? It’s a must to have a strategy for this, whether you’re an individual contributor in Sales or you’re a Sales leader. And, in order for the plan to succeed, it has to be a right-fit for each individual and their organization. That means there’s more than one “right answer” to this. Regardless of the method chosen, I recommend personal commitment, as an essential element. What I have in mind here is along the lines of what I once did, to keep up on CRM technology, when I was in “job search mode”. At that time, I had experience with several CRM systems. But, that didn’t include Salesforce.com. I can recall Googling CRM and finding an article entitled “Top 10 SFA Vendors Not Named Salesforce.com”. It struck me that it might be important for me to do something to fill in that gap in my experience. Duh?! I found that Salesforce.com offered a 30 day trial that allowed you to thoroughly examine their product, go through all their tutorials, have dialog with their support personnel, etc. Beyond this, an affordable individual license was available. Needless to say, I took advantage of those offerings and thus, no more void relative to Salesforce.com.

So, what’s worked for you along these lines? Please let me know! I’d welcome hearing from you on the approach you take for yourself and/or your organization so it can be shared with others.

Comments

Stan Earnshaw Says:


September 20, 2008 at 11:37 am edit

Technology is a valuable tool for my sales team and me. The key, though, is to keep it simple. Ignore the hype; focus on the tool that is easiest to use and covers the basic needs. For example, CRM systems have more capability than many sales organizations need. I use Salesforce.com; it’s simple to use for keeping track of account / opportunity information. And there are a couple of reports that I pull on a weekly basis that meet my needs. There are many other capabilities and benefits of SF. And I plan to (over time) take advantage of them. For now, it’s the basics that get my attention.

Sean Says:


September 21, 2008 at 6:16 pm edit

I like this tool as well. I’m sure I don’t even use one third of its capabilities, but I keep trying to learn. One of the things I think makes it valuable is the ability for it to sync with Google apps. has anyone used this feature?



In addition, a tool like this could be useful for job seekers as they try to keep track of their informational interviews, networking meetings, etc. It may be overkill, but back a couple of months ago I saw that salesforce.com was offering a one year subscription for only $99. Not sure what it entailed, but you can’t buy a decent software package for that price these days. Any thoughts on this? Or other tools job seekers could use?



Sean Harry

Janet Johnson Says:


September 22, 2008 at 9:02 am edit

Hi Gary,



I subscribe to a few online newsletters to keep me informed and at the leading edge of marketing and technology. My favorite is IAB’s SmartBrief. SmartBriefs are on many subjects, and this one is focused on digital marketing. The ClickZ network is also good for staying informed in newsletter format.



In addition, I watch Twitter for breaking news and information, and am a pretty regular reader of the Read Write Web (RWW) blog because I know some of the bloggers there, and respect just how far ahead of the pack they are.



I try to share the love in my own blog, but there’s no substitute for learning from others!

Scott Sheaffer Says:


September 22, 2008 at 4:50 pm edit

Congratulations on the new sales blog site. Best of luck.

Sam Mikel Says:


September 26, 2008 at 2:22 pm edit

Hi Gary,



Technology is huge! I subscribe to several real estate feeds that I read every morning, one that focuses on technology in real estate around the country, as well ac PC Mag… plus every day has some technology study.



In our 100-year old real estate office (the business isn’t 100 years old, just the building , we have two flat screen monitors for training. We have the meeting information on the screen, as well as training videos, weekly local real estate statistics… and if you can’t get to the office, you can join us from Spain or from you living room in your jammies. Our agents can access company informatio online as well as post their new listings, articles, pictures, etc.



Our files are normally 1-8 inches thick full of paper at the end of a transaction. I just completed my first paperless transaction – at closing I had 3 sheets of paper (guess that’s not quite paperless). The title company was thrilled. Every piece of paper, my e-mails, notes, etc. can be accessed from anywhere I can get online… plus we will have a CD of each transaction.



So, after 30 years in real estate, we know that staying current with technology is mandatory for staying relevant.



By the way, didn’t you just have a birthday. Hope you did something fun.



Take care – nice to hear from you.



Sam Mikel

Nick Moreno Says:


September 27, 2008 at 4:12 pm edit

Nice article!

I’m one of those that was “selling” prior to the Internet, so I enjoyed it!

Thanks

Nick