Outlook: Microsofts new Email incorporates the old with some new twists.

Microsoft now has a new email platform at Outlook.com. It’s a nicer format than the original Windows Live and has new features. It includes a calendar, contact imports, Microsoft Office and integrates Skydrive. For those of you who haven’t heard of Skydrive: It’s Microsoft’s cloud storage. It can be accessed on your PC or Mobile device. Outlook is now cleaner and more user friendly. It  no longer just manages your emails. You can create documents, set your calendar, post to social networks, merge and monitor all of your email accounts (from any PC) and share video’s, music, documents and more; All from one website. This new Outlook is going to put a strain on new Google users. I could not find a mobile app, but I’m sure it will be coming soon.

            From Outlook.com you can access your original email account, or start a new one. Once logged in you have four options in the left hand corner. They are mail, people, calendar and Skydrive. The mail (box) pulls up a newly refined hotmail account. Your folders are on the left and your email options come up on the top. In the right hand corner is your profile, settings and messenger. You can send messages while you check your email. Not much different from the others, but (in account settings) you have the ability to send/receive emails from other accounts. Meaning you can maintain multiple other email accounts on this one website.

            Next you move to the people (box). If you merged your old Hotmail account, your contacts should already be on the left. A unique addition is that you can import your Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn contacts into your list. You can view contact information from all the social networking sites, contact them and receive posts and updates. They are sent to your Outlook account. For someone like me, I don’t want to go through 4 different sites to find a singular contact email address. On the other hand, it compiles all of a contacts’ non-private information together. So it is unique in its usefulness but if you don’t want your info being gathered I would suggest updating your privacy settings.

            Moving along the Boxes we find the Calendar. If you have added your social networking contacts, you may find their birthdays have already been uploaded to your calendar. Along with holiday’s you will also find the weather forecast in your area. You will see the day/week/month tab and can add new calendars according to your needs. Something new, is that you can set agenda’s or add a to-do list. Useful tools to the organized busybody. You will find that this is similar to the iCloud calendar. Other than that, well…it’s a calendar, what else do you want from it?

            Finally we come to the Skydrive box. This is the heart of the update. Skydrive comes with 7Gigs of storage space and allows you to create and save anything from the Office suite. 7 Gigs are more than any other free storage accounts. There is already a mobile app, so you can view anywhere. Now the main appeal of outlook is that you can edit/view your Office projects everywhere. It automatically gets saved to the cloud and can be viewed over any of your devices. It includes Powerpoint, Excel, Excel Survey, OneNote and Word. Create on your PC, present on your mobile device, and it’s stored in SkyDrive.

Microsoft is updating everything these days and sometimes they get it right. They have given us a better ability to check all our email accounts, all of our social networking sites, connect more fluently, create and present faster and simplify our day to day activities in one format. Google provides this as well but Microsoft has more years of familiarity with its programs on their side. I’m not saying that one is better than the other but Microsoft has definitely stepped up its game this year. Let’s give them a chance and see if they can uphold our expectations.

#Tablets vs. #Laptops

With the ensuing surge in tablet sales laptops are becoming less and less prevalent. Tablets are useful as accompaniments to fully fledged computing machines, but will they eventually take the place of a laptop? Laptops are faster, larger, have more storage and offer portability without losing the personal computer features. Tablets, on the other hand; offer ease of access, greater mobility, sleek design and an array of applications that can be installed or deleted quickly.

The same applications we utilize on our smartphones are enhanced by a tablet but can be further manipulated by a laptop. A consumer needs to ask themselves which device would better suit their needs?  We may need to figure out if tablets will merge features and how they may jump ahead of the laptop curve.  It’s a fine line that only technology forecasting can assess, but it will be necessary for future adaptation.

The touch interface embedded in all tablets makes the user feel more active with their product. Reading, gaming, video and photo viewing are innate facets of such devices. They are also brilliant for quick email and web browsing. For the social media mogul a tablet is a perfect tool: They can read, write, surf, view and connect with contacts.  If your utilization of the internet is based mainly on emailing, web browsing, checking your social network accounts or general amateur to intermediate computing functions; you will never need a fully functioning computer.

A laptop on the other hand, allows easier accessibility for typing documents or creating a presentation. They are also beneficial for editing movies, music and photos. Can you imagine creating a CADD (computer aided design and draft) with a tablet? Or trying to flip to different windows for reference but having to close your current app every time?  The laptop offers you this ease of access where a tablet does not.

Time has shown that tablets are gaining in popularity while their use as capable computing devices is also on the rise. Word processing is still difficult on a tablet (amongst other functions) but we may adapt to it just as we have assimilated ‘text language’ into our everyday speech. The future of tablet technology may provide us with touch interface windows or virtual butlers that organize our everyday lives.  We already have touch face kitchenware, virtual assistants and applications that allow us to adjust home appliances from miles away.

Our smartphones have full keyboards that have negated the use of a ‘texting language.’ This may be the case with tablets as well. They are supplemental to a computer and part of a slew of devices that can perform similar functions.  Tablets, smartphones, the upcoming Google glasses, even televisions can (or will) perform parallel to each other. A tablet’s resemblance to a laptop does not imply superior performance.

A laptop combines numerous primary functions into one clamshell device that performs exceptionally.  Our curiosity drives us to the next play toy, but ultimately our performance needs are still met with the laptop. USB, webcams, micro SD, DVD, HDMI and more are integrated into our laptops. Only a few manufacturers have dabbled into a fully operational computing tablet, but how many of these devices have you heard of? With a laptop you have all the equipment you need right there with you. A tablet requires cloud storage or the assistance of an application. Write code from a tablet?…if you can, I applaud you.

The debate whether a tablet will take the place of a laptop has yet to be determined. Right now the tablet can be used in conjunction with a personal computer but I wouldn’t want to use it alone. The laptop undoubtedly offers greater performance and capabilities at the present time. As technology advances however, we will definitely see an escalation in a tablet’s capabilities. I look forward to a router-less future where I will need only a tablet, smartphone and a strong Wi-Fi signal.  I will, of course, remember to send my personal computer tower, two laptops and router to an appropriate E-waste recycling facility. In the future we will still need to recycle last month’s laptop appropriately.

The slow Death of the Phone System

There is a constant worry in the back of every salespersons mind. A worry that nags them day in and day out whether they realize it or not. That worry, is called change. Many salespeople become set in their ways and continue to sell their same old product day in and day out. If the product is sturdy and in constant need, there isn't an issue. But what happens when that product begins the inevitable 'phase-out' process that every consumer good goes through? Slowly, the goods transition from top of the line to discontinued. Better products take their place and those who neglect to adapt are left without.

The point is, that if you do not keep up you will truly be left behind. You will wonder where your sales have gone. However, a good salesperson knows that education and adaption are key.

I do not profess to be one of those salespeople. I try to keep up with new technology, processes, trends and media influences. However, I face the issue of trying to convince stubborn end users that eventually they will have no choice to adopt this new technology. Why wouldn't they switch now?

 Recently we have been part of what history may call, 'The Technological Revolution.' when I first got into this business, VoIP was the new technology. It was called a fad at first (by some) but soon progressed into the industry standard. Recently, engineers have developed and implemented Bluetooth, then WiFi, then softphones and soon, VoLTE.These are all different ways to do the same thing; relay audio and visual data.

Recently I placed a call to a new client who was on the opposite side of the fence. Their company had no switches or routers, desktop phones, audio/visual conferencing equipment or even cabling in between them! Their system is completely Cloud based. Their phones are either smartphones or softphones and their conferencing is all done via Skype. Most of the employees work remotely and connect to the cloud based computing system via dumb terminal. He told me that on his desk, was his laptop, a coffee mug and a picture of his family. He is talking to me via wireless headset and has all the same capabilities with less clutter, cables and hassle.

Piece by piece he told me this information and I was struck out every time I tried to mention one of our products. Desktop phones? Nope. Conference Equipment? Nope. Networking equipment? Nope. Peripherals? Nope. Cabling? No. There was no badgering involved in this either, we simply had an intriguing conversation about technology standards and forecasting.

I, being the person who usually tries to convince end users to upgrade their technology; had just been trying to convince someone to downgrade their technology. Or, to say the least, provide(what they considered) obsolete equipment.

It's not hard to comprehend that this is already happening. Especially if you keep current with technology. I guess I was taken off-guard by someone who had actually integrated the ideas I and many others have been preaching. His system was low cost, low hassle, modern, clean and besides paying for an internet connection...free.

Now comes the question: are phone systems dying out? In my opinion, not just yet but eventually there will no longer be a need for an old fashioned phone system. In an effort to integrate, we came up with hybrids or units that bridge the gap. Now it's just a computer, tablet or smartphone and the statement...'There's an App for that.' These advancements are here and the salesperson better get on board and find out how to sell an updated product. The only thing I could provide to this client was Headsets, and he graciously took my information due to my intuitive perception of his needs. (intuitive perception? did I just use that?)

Salespeople should already know that you need to adapt or die. Sure they will still be able to provide phone systems/networking gear/ conferencing equipment and more, for at least another 10 years, but year after year you will see your sales dwindle down. Find a niche and look out for your clients optimization; they will appreciate your concern, and you will appreciate your sales numbers.

Social Media vs Cold Calling

Has Social Media pushed Cold Calling into an abyss, never to be seen again?

How many times in the past few months have we heard that social media is taking the place of cold calling prospects? None? Four? Five? Six hundred? Sure, social media marketing is a useful tool for pulling prospects to you, generating new leads and ensuring customer satisfaction through familiarity....but can it knock out cold calling all together? Presently, this is a  prevalent question and if a business is going to stay current they may need to consider evolving their business model to sustain dominance and profitability.

Social media is not about starting an account with popular sites like Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. It is about joining a conglomerate of  infinite communities together in an open forum for personal and professional interaction. These interactions are maintained by the media platforms and direct us to similar people who demonstrate homogenous activities. We then connect and discuss with said people, how we can better participate in our allied fields. We are educated by this gathering of information, and then utilize this new research to our advantage. It may be for personal branding, company marketing, product advertising or personal education.

Basically you go online to better learn your 5 W's (H). Who is the contact? What values do they prioritize (price, expertise)? When is the best time to reach them? Where are their issues? Why are they in the market? How can I provide them with what they need?

You can gather this info with a cold call, but that's only if they pick up and want to talk to you. Or...instead of leaving message after message, you could search for the company online, find the contact information, check their social media sites for the times they post/tweet/like/comment the most and call them during those times(it's assumed that they aren't too busy working if they have time to post on Facebook). You may even be able to find bidding opportunities or when they last needed the product you are supplying. Leaving a message via cold call over and over again will take 30 minutes to an hour out of your life. Why not find the information you need within 5-10 minutes?

I urge you to expedite your processes and efficiently manage your time so you aren't throwing spaghetti against the wall, with hopes that one strand will stick. QUALIFY your LEADS before you call them! You may find out that it's not worth your time, before you even call.

This is not to say that cold calling isn't a time proven process and doesn't work. I will agree with those who state that social media marketing will not take the place of cold calling. For decades cold calling has proven itself. Those decades, however, were without the technological advances we behold now. These advances in technology have given us the ability of global marketisation, superior prospecting, advanced/expedited processes and augmented influence over our reputations. Many companies still rely solely on  one facet of the sales industry (cold calling). There are still thousands of companies that are vastly under utilizing the free and simple tools available to them.

Social media has jumped to the seat right next to cold calling and has already become just as important.Will this take the place of cold calling? Right now? No. Even in the near future it is still uncertain.  The old ways work just as frequently as the new ways but for how much longer? Will a company survive the test of time without an online presence? I, personally, doubt their success will reach its fullest potential. Forecast the new marketing schemes but don't forget the originals. When combined, company profitability potential will be at its highest. Choose one alone, and your company will be detrimentally lacking.