When small business CRM implementations fail, it's often because members of a small sales team prefer to use their existing tools instead of switching to collaborative CRM systems. Frequent push-back from sales professionals can include:
- A preference for paper instead of computers.
- The inability to bring computers outside the office.
- Incompatibilities with company mobile phones.
For some sales professionals, a small notebook or a stack of index cards saves space when compared to a laptop. Unfortunately, copying information back into CRM software feels like processing the same data twice. Although many of today's leading CRM applications offer mobile phone versions, a generation of sales professionals who didn't grow up on text messaging often wrestle with chiclet keys and touch screens.
That's why many sales leaders and CIOs have grown so passionate about netbooks. Small, networked notebooks with screen sizes ranging from 7" to about 10" have taken the business world by storm over the past two years. With many models priced between $250 and $500, these systems are robust enough to access web-based CRM applications. Many models run versions of Windows, enabling some CRM software to operate in offline mode. Their light weight and scaled-down keyboards make netbooks less intimidating for sales professionals who prefer not to lug a laptop onto a plane or into the field.
While some technology journalists wonder whether the netbook phenomenon has been overstated, these smaller computers work exceptionally well for low intensity tasks like data collection and quick hosted CRM lookups. While they won't replace the machines on which you prepare proposals and marketing material, they can provide a competitive edge for field sales professionals.
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