Sales Laundry

For the last few months I have been working via mobile office so I thought I would take the time to tell you about the tools I am using and give you field sales types a real life review of the stuff I am using and hopefully get a great idea or two from you.

My mobile office consists of:

• Blackberry Curve
• Toshiba Satellite L300 series laptop
• AT&T USBConnect Mercury Aircard
• Skype
• NeatReceipts software/scanner
• HP H470 mobile printer
• 300W power inverter
• USB drive
• Sales binder
• Rolling bag
• Filebox
• 3 Drawer box containing:
  • Printer paper
  • General office supplies
  • Aspirin and other basics
  • Button repair kit and other things it seems silly to mention but glad that I have when I need them.
• Honda Accord

With this setup I am completely autonomous with ready access to anything I need, wherever I am.

My tether back to the office and society at large consists of my Blackberry and my AT&T Aircard. In those rare instances where I am out of range, I can go all analog but I have not faced that issue yet.

There are a few enhancements and equipment changes I would make now that I have practical experience which I will share as I go.

Toshiba Satellite L300 series laptop.

PROS: Good looking laptop, 15.4” screen is easy to work with on the road, built in camera works well for field Skype video calls with the AT&T Aircard.  Microsoft Vista is well behaved for me, the wireless connectivity is simple and less cranky than what I am used to.

Was able to record a video (Sony Handycam), download it, edit it, add sound from iTunes and burn it to DVD for a last minute project. It was not Hollywood quality, but the end result was far easier and more professional than I expected being in the middle of nowhere with only the raw footage and the built in tools the laptop came with.

CONS: The battery life is  not so good. If it was not for my power inverter and being able to recharge on the fly, many times I would have been dead in the water.

Packed in my bag, the laptop screen keeps getting squeezed to the point the keys were leaving light marks on the screen.  The solution is to either not pack the bag so full or buy a piece of felt and cut it to the dimensions of the laptop and place the felt between the keyboard and screen for an added level of protection.

The plastic case is so shiny that everytime you touch the thing it leaves fingerprints. Not a big deal rolling around a territory, but it has to be cleaned up before customer presentations. I eventually just started packing electronics cleaning wipes in the bag to keep the thing clean which is not something I have had to do or would have even thought about in the past.

The touchpad is touchy.  At one point the pointer was moving around following my finger as my finger hovered ABOVE the touchpad. I was not even touching the thing! After a few adjustments I got it under control. Everyone else I know just breaks out the wireless/portable mouse and avoids the whole touchpad issue.

AS A SALES TOOL: I would really look for a laptop with a longer battery life or work out how you are going to address the need for power in the field.

The sales process for what I am doing at present requires that three or more documents get filled out and signed, typically at our first meeting for our process to begin and docs to be signed at completion.

Buy an extra power adaptor so you are not perpetually spending the first and last ten minutes anywhere finding cords, wrapping and unwrapping them and trying to keep them all sorted out.

In retrospect I would get a touch screen model and fill out the documents electronically and submit them via Aircard back to the office.

AT&T USBConnect Mercury Aircard

In my end of the world the AT&T Aircard has great coverage and gets the job done. Easy to install in 10 minutes or so. Good download speeds. It has a built in Micro SD slot that I never have used.

Skype

With the built in webcam I found I use Skype more than I have in the past. It comes in very handy for communications back to the office but I get the most enjoyment out of doing Skype video calls with my family when I am on the road and connected to the hotel wireless LAN.

Neat Receipts Software/Scanner

This, surprising to me, is one of my favorite tools in my bag. Sometimes my Toshiba laptop does not recognize the scanner when I plug it in which I fix with a reboot. I am sure there is a better way to solve the problem but the Toshiba is still new and quick so a reboot is fast. This tools plays nice with both Mac and PC hardware.

The scanner is great for capturing paper versions of documents you need to email/fax, but the software brings a lot more to the table. Neat Receipts uses standard OCR or optical character recognition software and then some sort of secret sauce that makes it much more efficient to use than a standard flatbed scanner. The software lets you scan in your receipts as the name implies, business cards and documents for filing, synchronization with Outlook, exporting to a searchable pdf format, other Office applications, Quicken QuickBooks, TurboTax or in text format. The instructions say the database can hold up to 1.5 million receipts.

It connects via USB and is powered off of the USB port.

The scanner captures all of the data on the receipt and does a pretty good job of determining the restaurant and other details that can be annoying to deal with. It also lets you tag the receipts for reimbursement or tax planning purpose cutting expense report time down from several hours to just a few minutes. I am a big fan.

The business card scanner is solid. It uses the same type of technology the receipt capture software does and does a good job of capturing the data and giving you a color or black and white copy of the card as well. Once the data is captured it can be synchronized with Outlook to create a contact for you.

The documents tab does just what it says. It lets you scan single or multi page documents in, index them and save them to your preferred location, manipulate the file type or send them to another application.

I have used this tool to capture original customer docs where copies were not available so I did not have to request originals or hit Kinko’s.  I can also scan in signed documents so my pricing desk can begin work immediately or get contracts in and processed before they expired. Great tool.

I would buy Neat Receipts just for the time it saves me on expense reports, the other functions are just a bonus as far as I am concerned though not having to manage piles of business cards is a nice secondary perk.

HP H470 Mobile Printer

I have not used this printer much, but when it is needed it is invaluable.

The printer is Bluetooth capable but the model you buy at the store will most likely not come with the Bluetooth adaptor. The adaptor is $60 when ordered from HP, but it is cheaper to buy the printer with the adaptor already, better known as the HP H470wbt model. That model also comes with an extended life Lithium-ion battery and a protective printer sleeve. It works with PC and Macs as well.

my printer, the base printer has no case or cover.  You can buy a simple cover for $40 from HP.  At least Neat Receipts came with a small velvet bag for the scanner. So, you are going to need to have a bag big enough bag to hold the printer and keep it safe and secure or deal with the logistics of toting around a five pound black box the size of a loaf of bread everywhere you go.  HP has a bag that they will sell you for $85 that will do the job, of course.

I would also recommend having a plastic storage case for the ink cartridges when not in use if you do not use it a lot.  Of course it does not come with one but HP will be happy to sell you one ($15).  I would also recommend packing extra ink cartridges. Nothing worse than having everything you need in the field to do your job but ink. It does come with a rechargeable battery, cords and software.

The paper tray holds 50 pages, but I have never loaded it with more than 10 and it prints up to 18-22 pages per minute according to HP.  There is no duplexing or automatic stapling, but they have to leave a feature or two out for future models, right?

The printer uses the same dual cartridge configuration of desktop inkjet printers (cartridges 94, 95,97 and 98 fit it plus a photo cartridge, etc.)

Fully setup with the laptop, scanner and printer with wires everywhere in some cases, I see the value of having the Bluetooth connectivity.

That is my rolling office.

I keep the laptop, scanner and printer in my rolling bag. My sales binder won’t fit in the bag with the printer, but that is not a big issue for me unless I am flying somewhere. I keep the file box and the 3 drawer plastic box stuck to the floor of the trunk with Velcro. I use a stretching cable with hooks to keep the drawers in place and strapped down.

If I am working out of a rental car I take my rolling bag and sales binder with a few empty folders and print and scan what I need on the fly.

It is easy to find yourself spending too much time managing cords and battery life. Plan ahead and go Bluetooth wireless where possible, buy extra power adaptors for places you frequent and keep USB cords around with standard and mini connections to recharge your phone or other accessories off of your laptop in a pinch. Leaching electricity off of my laptop for my phone kept me from going radio silent at a critical juncture in France last year when Air France gave my luggage an all expense paid trip to Nice without me.

Now, tell me how you roll.

Illustration courtesy of http://www.jesperdeleuran.dk