Many decisions you make about your sales technology, such as the choice of hardware and software tools, are likely to be costly or cumbersome to change later. When outlining your technology plan, consider the following:
• Keep in mind how the sales organization might grow or change.
• Evaluate and consider the tools that have been adopted and are in use in the field even if they aren’t currently supported. If salespeople are using a tool, it likely has increased their productivity.
• Try to choose technology that is flexible enough to grow and change with you.
• As much as possible, choose technology that, while meeting your needs, is simpler rather than overly complex. All those extra “features” may just make your technology (whether it be a software program or a telephone) harder to use.
• Minimize human middleware. Make sure the systems can be configured and supported to pass information back and forth easily.
• Target specifically the needs of the salesperson and the selling process, rather than the perspectives of operations, IT, management or marketing.
Source: TinderBox, an England-based sales and marketing consultancy (visit TinderboxBusinessDevelopment.co.uk)
