Sales Efficiency – Has Google Provided Us With the Golden Egg?

It’s 6 AM and we need to plan our day.  Oh boy.

There are 87 emails that came in since 6PM yesterday, 2 internal meetings, 3 external meetings, 5 phone meetings and 14 items on the to-do list that must be completed today, including proposals, follow ups, job offers and CRM updates.  Whew!

Does that sound like you and your typical day?

With all of the demands on our time, it’s more important than ever that we become more efficient.  Some of that can be accomplished through the use of tools, but as with all automation, if you don’t have a good manual process, the automated process probably won’t help.

If you or your salespeople sell in a territory and you use an Android phone, or an IOS phone with Google Search, then Google tracks your every move.  Just go to https://www.google.com/settings/dashboard and click on location history and you’ll see what I mean.  Creepy, right?  But their “Big Brother is watching you every single minute of the day and tracking every single place you go as well as when you go there” thing can be put to good use.  Click on the days in the calendar to see exactly where you traveled and when you traveled on that day.

Does it look efficient to you?  Could it be more efficient?

Another important tool for efficiency isn’t really a tool, as much as it’s an important feature on your tools and that’s syncing.  You must be able to find exactly what you need, when you need it.  That goes for files, tasks, events, notes, websites and pages you frequently work with.  So here is my list of suggested applications, tools and services that meet my syncing and always available criteria:

• Chrome Browser -With Google’s free browser, your bookmarks, browsing history and favorite sites are synced across all of your devices so regardless of whether it’s from your desktop, tablet, phone, or laptop, you have access to exactly the same information.  Two things make this work very efficiently.  The first is when you make liberal use of organized bookmarks like this:
  That eliminates typing in the URL’s of any sites you visit; the second is a plug-in for Chrome called LastPass, which stores and enters your passwords and then automatically logs you in to each site you visit.  Boy, do these two things save a ton of time!
• Wunderlist – a free to-do-list application does lists and tasks the way they were meant to be.  Your lists can have sub-lists that can be shared, you can add notes, customize the interface, and it syncs in real-time across every device.  It won’t matter where you are, when you are there, or which device you are using, you will know and be able to edit exactly what it is you need to do.
• Calendar – If you use Google Calendar, then your calendar can sync across all of your devices too by using the IPad and IPhone application, Calendars, by Readdle.  And the Mac can access the Google Calendar via your browser or with the CalendarPro application from the Mac Store.  As with Wunderlist, you’ll always know.
• DropBox – My favorite file storage application for all the reasons we’ve been discussing here.  Quick, easy, and secure, with the ability to share specific files with others.
• Membrain – My all-time favorite Pipeline Management/CRM application.  Live in it.
• Wistia and YouTube – You need video!  And the video must be served from a high-end video server like Wistia, or  for the masses, a search engine like YouTube.
• Zoom Conferencing – For very easy, fast, video conferencing for up to 4 participants, Zoom Conferencing is very tough to beat and you can record some very good, quick video using the service while you’re at it.

The world we live in calls for a more organized, efficient approach to selling and I hope that the tools I shared with you today will help you to optimize your approach to selling and sales.