Upstart Business Journal recently featured an article by Terry Brock entitled “10 Tech Tools for Successful Salespeople.” While the article is written for salespeople, I believe many of these tools would be a valuable addition to your office arsenal.
As the world has evolved, technology has advanced along with it and the tools we need to be successful have changed. Regardless of your career of choice, there are undoubtedly many tools and skills you rely on to accomplish your daily tasks. Consider the list Terry Brock has compiled, to which I’ve added some comments below:
- A (regularly-used!) CRM-– A CRM is a Contact Relationship Management tool. For those of you who regularly meet different people this tool allows you to easily recall specific details about each individual. In order to be useful though it must be used and regularly updated.
- Video creation tool and knowledge of how to use it– While my talented team does most of my video editing, I have started to use video in my social media sites in order to share important updates. I have found it helpful to have both this tool and the knowledge for leveraging it.
- Evernote– One of my colleagues encouraged me to use Evernote more effectively. I have since found this tool to be invaluable. It allows me to organize my thoughts, projects, tasks, etc., while keeping everything easily accessible. It also has the option to share with my team in order to increase productivity and communication all around.
- Fast access to the internet– Let’s face it… nobody wants to go back to dial-up. I recently spent a little over a month in Breckenridge, CO and happened to have less than adequate internet access. While this allowed me to do a bit more relaxing, it hindered my productivity levels when I needed to accomplish a task.
- Backup batteries for your smartphone and tablet– It’s a great idea to always be prepared!
- Backup storage for your data –Always have a backup. I take this one very seriously, as one of my team members has experienced the frustration of hard-drive failure on her work computer more than once! Thankfully she had been diligent to regularly back up her hard drive, so even though several days of productivity were lost, her data was safely restored. Unfortunately, too often people suffer the devastating consequences of not adequately backing up their data.
- Client-connection tools– Brock describes this as knowing exactly what you need in order to be most effective in connecting with your clients. Perhaps it means needing an extra phone or an external webcam—but only you really know what you need.
- External webcam– Video is becoming more and more commonly used by organizations for both internal and external communication. I use my webcam for video calls with my team as well as to record video interviews with leaders all across America. If you don’t already have a webcam that works well for you, this would be a great investment.
- Learning fast– With so many avenues of learning, there is no reason to not become a life-long learner. I believe in diving in and learning quickly. It might not always be easy (just ask my team!) but once the information is there, tasks are accomplished more effectively.
- YouTube for learning– This is a tool I have yet to add to my arsenal, but this article has made me curious. Perhaps I might try to battle through my next technological issues by using YouTube instead of phone calls to my team!
Consider Brock’s list. What tools or skills would help you be more effective and efficient in your current position? Once you identify those things and begin to utilize them, you will be on your way to greater success! It’s not always easy to dive in and learn new things, but I can speak from experience that the results are well worth it.
