Mobile CRM from a Sales Point of View:

Mobile CRM, would it help me and my team sale? As I think about how valuable my CRM product running on my cell phone would be, the first things that come to mind are the barriers. Will I be able to see and manage the massive amounts of data in my CRM on a cell phone screen? Will the data be secure? Will it be fast enough to be useful especially outside of my 3G area? Will I have to sync the data and if so, how long will it take? Will it work when I change phones? What amount of IT support will be needed to support my mobile CRM?

Then I think about all the value that it could bring. Since I started selling over 25 years ago I have never really taken a vacation that I didn’t do some work and where I wasn’t reachable. In fact almost all my vacations were somehow connected to work. My wife has a picture of us and the kids at the Atlanta Olympics and sure enough I have a cell phone in my ear. She has pictures like this from all over the world. So, how would the value of Mobile CRM be better than just having the cell phone? Well if I had access via the phone to my CRM, I could check and update the forecast, check on how opportunities are proceeding before I call the sales person to discuss it, look up customers and review the history of an opportunity before I call the customer, and so on and so on. I could do all of this without having to get out my laptop and trying to find a place to connect. I could do it from the car, the restaurant, the hotel room, and yes even from the Olympics. There is no question that having mobile CRM would be very valuable to sales teams.

So let’s talk about the issues. Small Screen / Massive Amounts of Data: I am in my mid 50’s so seeing a little screen is a challenge but with the help of reading glasses it is manageable. Also the screen technology for mobile devices keeps improving and in most cases they are also getting larger. I currently use an iPhone but most of the people in our office use Blackberries. With the new iPad, I guess you could solve the size issue but it doesn’t have the phone capability and it is a little big to put in your pocket. The real issue is the design of the interface with the data. CRM products have massive amounts of data. One way to help solve this issue is to limit the amount of data on the phone but as soon as you do this you limit the value that it provides. Another way is to have good search capabilities and well designed screen functions.

I have recently been playing with the beta of the Salesnet Mobile CRM product and am very impressed at how easy it was to use and how the data is arranged to make it very effective. I can’t wait until this product is released. I have also looked at several Mobile CRM products that just have way too much data on the screen and have limited search ability which makes it hard to use these products.

The security of the data will always be an issue. What if the phone is lost, will the data be assessable by whoever finds it? Many CRM products contain very sensitive data not only about forecast and strategy but about the customer. If you are working in the health care industry you have to worry about HIPPA regulations. If you have data such as social security numbers or other personal data you have a responsibility to your customers to protect that data. I’m a fan of not having the data reside on the phone. The use of browser based mobile CRM is a reality today with the coverage and speeds of mobile networks. This is not the perfect answer because there are places where you can’t get a good connection with your phone but, it not only solves the security issue but it also solves the dreaded syncing issues.

The browser based mobile CRM also solves the multiple phone support and the need for IT support. The bottom line is I’m all for mobile CRM and am looking forward to where it goes in the future. I believe that it is now feasible to have a standalone mobile CRM package that is only accessed by mobile devices. Until next time good selling.