We show you how the iPad 2 can help you achieve better sales and take advantage of the mobile computing revolution.
Table of contents
Why choose an iPad 2?
Portable and rugged
The iPad and your presentations
Video communication
Scan business cards and expense claims
Printing from your iPad
Throw away the sat nav
Email notes as you go along
No more double bookings
Find your customer details quickly
Read your emails from any where
Keep up to date with the world
Apps for sales people
Share your experience
Useful resources
The iPad 2 is now out in the UK and in this article we’re looking in depth at what it can do for sales people and anyone who’s on the road for their business.
Why choose an iPad 2?
If you’re out on the road all the time and never in the office or at home then an iPad is a great solution. It does all the things a smartphone can do like sending messages, and reading email, but it’s easier to read and it’s much easier to type on, especially if you have big fingers. It also does all of the things that a laptop can do, so you can create documents like invoices, you can view the web without having to use a magnifying glass, there’s no keyboard to spill your mug of tea and coffee in to or to fill with dust and grime, and using AirPrint you can print documents to any wireless printer. Plus if you ever have a few minutes to spare it’s perfect for watching videos and films, it’s also got a 10 hour battery life, which means you’re not constantly having to search for a power source.
Portable and rugged
The iPad is also very portable at just 241x186x9 mm and weighing just 601 g it’s small enough and light enough to carry around all day. While it’s not indestructible it is quite robust, more so than a laptop. The case is made from aluminium so it’s solid, unlike the plastic that many laptops are made from, and because it uses solid state memory rather than a hard disk, if you drop the iPad you’re not going to lose all of your information.
However just to be on the safe side there are lots of different accessories available to protect your iPad that are well worth investigating from completely waterproof and paint proof covers such as the TrendyDigital WaterGuard Waterproof Case through to ruggedized cases like the OtterBox iPad Defender Case. If you don’t want to ruin the looks of your new iPad 2 then the latest iPad 2 Smart Cover is also worth investing in to keep your iPad’s screen protected from knocks, and also clean and dust free. The Smart Cover also makes the iPad do things no other cover can. Close it, and the iPad automatically goes to sleep. Open it, and the iPad instantly wakes up — no need to press any buttons.
Additionally the iPad 2 screen has a special fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating as standard that means you don’t need to keep cleaning down the screen every time you touch the screen with you fingers.
As an additional safety aspect the wifi + 3G iPad allows you to connect to the Internet, allowing you to save your data to the cloud. So if your iPad does break or if it’s lost or stolen your data can be retrieved on another web iPad or on any web connected device.
The iPad and your presentations
Presentations are a key part of a sales persons’ day-to-day work and the iPad 2 is perfect for the job. Because of its small size and light weight and its ability to be instantly on, means you can hand the iPad 2 out to a customer in any sort of situation, in restaurants, in a lift, at the bar. There’s no need to open up a screen or wait for the system to boot-up, they can be looking at your presentation in seconds, plus the touch screen means they can flick through the presentation easily and at their own rate without having to come to terms with a trackpad, and without looking for the right keys to press.
The new Apple Digital AV Adapter on the iPad 2 means you can plug the iPad into any TV set, computer monitor, or digital projector with an HDMI port, and you can increase your audience to as many people as you need. The faster processor and better graphics system on the iPad 2 also means you can add full 1080p high definition video to your presentations to give them real impact.
Video communications
With the twin cameras and a Wi-Fi connection you can take advantage of Apple’s FaceTime application to make video calls to other iPad 2s or iPhone 4’s, new iPod Touch’s or Macs, in either VGA or in 720p HD. The front camera puts you and your colleague face-to-face, or you can switch to the back camera during your FaceTime call to share where you are, who you’re with or what’s going on around you. It’s also expected that in the coming months other app producers will come up with ways of exploiting the cameras for video conferencing over the iPad’s 3G connection.
Scan business cards and expense claims
The camera also means that applications like WorldCard Mobile which takes pictures of business cards and converts the text and imports it into your contacts database will also work with the iPad. Additionally iPhone app expenses software such as iXspensIt that take pictures of your expenses receipts for proof will also work on the iPad 2.
The increased processor power also turns your iPad 2 into a full picture and video editing system. So you can snap pictures or take video and edit them on the iPad 2 and either email them, upload them straight to a website, or add them to a presentation.
Printing from your iPad
The new iPad also comes with a new printing feature called AirPrint. With AirPrint you can directly print from your iPad without needing to carry around wires or plugs as it’s all done via Wi-Fi. There’s no software to download, no drivers to install and no cables to connect. With just a few taps, you can go from viewing something on the iPad screen to holding a printed copy.
Throw away the sat nav
Using the built-in GPS and digital compass, your iPad turns into a sophisticated satellite navigation system which shows your location and lets you plot the fastest route to your next presentation. If you’re out on the road the iPad Maps application allows you to find your next location, get directions – including an estimated arrival time to it – with a street view so you know what to look out for when you get to your destination, and if you need a quick snack on the way it’ll also point out the nearest corner shop or café.
Email notes as you go along
You never know when a great idea will pop into your head. With the built-in Notes application you can jot down the idea quicker than picking up a pen and paper, just pull out the iPad and jot it down. The big display is the best place to keep important information, make to-do lists and take notes. You can even email yourself reminders.
No more double bookings
The calendar app allows you to juggle all of your commitments work, home and everything in between. All your schedules are easy to read and easy to manage, so you can easily move appointments around and because it’s connected to the internet you can share your calendar with your colleagues, customers, or your other half. So they can see when you’re free and you won’t get into trouble for making a work appointment when it’s your wedding anniversary lunch.
Find your customer details quickly
Contacts isn’t just names and numbers it also stores email addresses, customer information such as the last time you visited, and any information you need to save about their setup including details on what they bought, their birthdays, anniversaries, websites and anything else you can think of about your clients. Finding information is also simple you can scroll through your contacts with a flick of your finger. Or use the built-in search feature to find a name. You can group your contacts — customers, suppliers, friends, family — so you can find them even faster. Turn iPad to landscape to see your contacts list and a single contact simultaneously. When you need directions, just tap an address inside a contact and iPad opens Maps.
Read your emails from any where
Viewing emails on the iPad is easy to do; you can scroll through messages with your finger, see all your mail from every account at once – either in separate inboxes and easily switch between them or put all your accounts in one inbox and see all your messages at once. The iPad’s email also works seamlessly with the most popular providers, including Google Gmail, Microsoft Exchange, Yahoo Mail, Hotmail and AOL — along with most industry-standard IMAP and POP email systems.
Keep up to date with the world
The built-in Safari Internet browser makes viewing the web simple, and because you can use the iPad either in portrait or landscape format the screen it’s perfect for reading web pages or for downloading and viewing videos from YouTube. It’s also incredibly easy to navigate around the web; use your fingers to move round a website, zoom in on images and text and tap links.
Apps for sales people
Finally there’s the app store. There are over 65,000 applications specifically designed for the iPad and hundreds of thousands of available iPhone apps which also work on the iPad.
With apps the world is your oyster, there are apps for every type of trade you can imagine including sales people, and most of them cost just a few pounds so they’re all affordable.
Share your experience
Do you use your iPad for work? Let us know the ways you use it and what apps you use. Have you got any hints and tips for other iPad users? If you do then leave a comment below and tell us more.
