Nowadays every field salesperson uses some kind of mobile sales tool to do their job. More companies then ever are rolling out mobile devices for their sales teams to use during sales meetings.
In fact IDC predicts that by 2020, mobile workers will account for nearly three quarters (72.3%) of the total U.S. workforce.
Those in-person conversations are critical for closing opportunities and using a mobile sales tool is proven to be an incredibly effective way to increase your odds of closing that important deal.
Great – right?
Absolutely, but there is one major problem I need to point out.
Just because you have a mobile sales tool on your iPad or Android tablet, or heck even an iPhone stacked with great sales collateral and awesome product videos, doesn’t mean your customers will automatically think you are a sales rock star.
You have to prepare yourself to look and act professional.
Focus on the buyer’s experience during your sales meetings.
If you don’t have great mobile etiquette with your mobile devices during your next sales meeting, you may end up repulsing that potential customer that you are trying to wow and end up jeopardizing your sales deal in the process.
Using a mobile device for business meetings incorrectly or forgoing your tech manners can also send an important deal spiraling into trouble. There are right ways and wrong ways and salespeople need to engrave this in their minds.
We built a mobile etiquette list of sales meeting tips for your mobile sales tools (in no particular order of importance). Use them when meeting with prospecting companies. These tips will help you to have more successful sales meetings and ultimately, result in more closed deals and happier clients.
- Use company branding anywhere you can on your mobile sales tool
Using your company’s logo, product image or slogan as your mobile device screen background is something many salespeople don’t think to do. Using company branding as your iPad or Android tablet background is a great segue for talking about a new product or service, and can get the conversation geared towards business. It looks professional too.
I hate it when I can’t find my sales reps phone number! Make sure you set up your email signature for messages sent from your mobile device. It’s boring and not very professional to open an email and read “Sent from my iPad” at the bottom. Copy your regular email signatures, logos and all, and use them in our iPad and iPhone signature.
- Open all the sales apps you think you will use in the meeting before walking in
Not only is this a time saver, but it will also show those in attendance you are prepared. If you will go over specific files in the meeting, make sure they are open as well. You can jump from one app to another as needed, leaving all of your apps running in the background. Fumbling around open apps is annoying!
- Keep non-business apps out of sight
When it comes to mobile etiquette, this one is a no-brainer. Your customers don't care about the games you play, which social networks you have an account with, or that you have a Netflix subscription. Keep all of your business essential apps on your home screen and place your other apps on a separate screen. And keep things tidy with folders for similar apps.
- Use separate browsers for business and non-business browsing
It’s always a good idea to use two browser windows when using an iPad in a sales meeting. This way, your non-business related web searches and page views can be kept separate from your business related searches and page views. Again, your clients don't really care to know what your personal interests are.
To avoid installing a second browser, simply remembering to turn “Private Browsing” on in your iPad, iPhone or Android-based browser settings will work. This will allow you to browse the web without the websites you visit being logged in your web history. An added bonus here is it also prevents websites from recognizing and tracking you based on cookies.
- Disable all push notifications
Distractions during a sales meeting can really throw the focus of your conversation off, especially if it’s a push notification that your mom commented on your Facebook picture. Avoid embarrassing unprofessional interruptions by disabling push notifications on your mobile device. Successful sales meetings are more likely if the whole process is presented in a professional manner.
- Mute your mobile device (only if you’re not showing videos)
Just as you turn sounds off on your smartphone for a meeting, remember to mute your tablet as well. Some people might have the clicky noise setting turned on when they tap their tablet screen. Some can find that distracting and others could find it straight up annoying.
The only instance you shouldn’t mute your tablet is if you plan to play any multimedia files that include sound. Test the sound levels on your mobile device before walking into your sales meeting if this is the case.
- Make sure your battery is charged
It’s kind of hard to use an electronic device that has no battery power left. Plug your mobile device in to charge overnight to make sure it is fully charged for the following day. Using a car charger for added juice driving between sales meetings isn’t a bad idea either - keep an extra charger or even a mobile battery with you, just in case.
- Don’t check your email, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.
Your attention should be on the client or prospect you are sitting across from, and not checking your email or social media. The only time you should ever be in your mail app during a meeting is if you need to search for an old message pertaining to your conversation. Using distractive apps will show you are uninterested in the meeting, not too mention it is rude. If you do this, you can kiss those successful sales meetings goodbye!
- Keep a microfiber cloth with you to clean your screen
Appearance is everything, and nobody wants to stare at a smudgy tablet screen. Use a microfiber cloth before your sales meeting to clear away greasy smears and make your tablet screen presentable. Smudge on, smudge off. I keep a small bottle of lens cleaner in my business backpack.
- Don’t let your mobile device etiquette grind gears in your sales meeting
