Selling and Technology

It's been my unique opportunity to manage sales people at all levels of technical experience. Some were pretty savvy and some were techno-illiterate.

I've implemented CRM software (failing more than succeeding), and taken people from zero experience to proficiency through training, cajoling and demanding. Have you ever heard of a salesperson in a company you've worked for say something like this:

"Just let me sell! I'm not good with the computer and can't you pay someone to do my computer work?" When automation was sweeping its way through every level of every company this was not uncommon. Today it's less likely to be heard as younger generations take over the workplace.

No matter what your perspective, if you use technology to manage your sales efforts, you'll be further along than if you didn't. Here's a quote that's posted just to the right of this article...

"Selling today is driven by technology. Show me a sales professional that doesn't embrace technology, and I'll show you someone that is not reaching their full potential."

I said this a few years back when I began teaching training sessions to salespeople from all industries on the topic of using technology in their business. It was true then and it's true now. The challenge many of us have is that we don't use the tools we have because we don't practice the "Law of Application."

In relation to sales technology, the Law of Application would imply that if you use any of the tools you've been given, you'll get a certain result, and the more intensely you use the technology, the greater your result. Consider using a contact management program such as Microsoft Outlook...

If you use Outlook for email and calendaring you'll be more organized than if you used nothing, and the more faithful you are to planning and entering data, the more organized you'll be.

TK