The End of CRM! - Dead data vs. Living Data

Move over CRM there’s a new world of PRM - Personal Relationship Managing has suddenly turned on the lights to increase sales and engagement opportunities for sales teams.

In the last couple of years the old world of CRM has changed dramatically. For the first 20 years or so that I worked in the customer relationship management arena, we dealt with importing and working with “dead data”.  All of the data on customers and prospects was old, sometimes days, months or years.

By data I mean basic contact information; names, addresses, email, phone, etc. More dedicated users of a good CRM system updated each record with history of contacts, calls appointments etc. Still this was old news. 

Suddenly all the informational rules changed with the social network. FaceBook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Foursquare, Blogs, to name a few of the more established. Beyond these, new social informational sites open almost daily.

It seems everyone is dying to share every detail of his or her professional and personal life: What and who they like; what they believe in; what they just purchased, reviews of every product and service; where they are; pictures ,“selfies”; tweets, blog articles, political likes and dislikes, etc.

This Tsunami of information is anything but dead. People are updating and posting their data instantly.

What does this mean to the sales professional?

Well it means you better have a PRM surfboard to ride this big wave and not drown in the sea of information. There is an incredible amount of valuable sales data pouring out of the internet every minute, and it’s about your clients and prospects. If you aren’t listening, because you aren’t using a PRM tools, your competitor is!!

“Next Installment – How to Change Old Data to Living Data
Call us at 847-382-4500  to register for our next tour of Nimble and the world of Living data!

Samsung tab pro 8.4 vs.LG 8.3 Google Play Edition Hands on

Just when I thought I had the perfect tablet, the LG GPad Google Play Edition 8.3", along comes Samsung with their new PRO line of tablets. Unable to resist the temptation to chase the latest technology, I opted for the new 8.4" Pro. Here are my findings and comparisons.
Software
Both units run the latest Android version 4.42 KitKat
The LG GPE (Google Play Edition) is pure Android with no bloatware software. The Samsung has a little but some of it is nice. The multi view gives you a little slide out menu that allows split screen operations of 2 programs.
Dimensions
The units are almost identical within 2-3 mm of each other. Of course if you bought cases for the LG, don't think they will fit the slightly larger Samsung. The weights are very close.
CPU 
Samsung 2.3 GHz Snapdragon 800 - LG 1.7 Ghz Snapdragon 600 The Samsung seems a bit smoother and quicker.
Display
Here is a big area of difference with the edge going to the new Samsung.
Resolution 2560X1600 vs. 1920x1280
The Samsung Pro is brighter and the colors are truer. The LG has a slightly yellow cast to the whites.
Both screens are nice but again the edge to the Pro.
Camera
Edge to Samsung with an 8Mp camera with flash and lots of options vs a fairly stripped down 5MP rear camera.
Storage
Big difference here! Both unites had micro SD cards, but the LG is almost a joke. You can load it up with music videos, etc. on your computer and then insert it into the unit, but you can not write to it or access the files on it from the file explorer.
The Samsung allows total access to the SD card. The file manager let's you write, copy drag and drop to the extra additional storage (up to 64 GB)
Sound
Another win for the Samsung. Much cleaner sound than the LG.
Price
The 16 GB Samsung is priced at $399.00. The 16GB LG GPE is $349.00
Recommendation
The Samsung is a better buy. The only other question you might be asking is would you want to consider a iPad mini for the same price. The SD storage and more open user interface, in my opinion give the edge to Samsung Pro.

Lg G Pad 8.3 Vs. LG Google Play 8.3 vs Nexus 7 2013 Hands on

LG GPE 8.3 on left Nexus 7 on right.
Both are in really nice bluetooth leather cases available on Amazon.

What is the best mid sized Android tablet?
Is there a Goldilocks solution that's just the right size with just the right features at the right price?
We shall see. We'll follow my journey from Nexus 7 to LG Gpad 8.3 to the pure LG Gpad Google Play Edition.
I've had Google Nexus 7 2012 8 and 16 GB versions, and then a Google Nexus 7 2013 32 GB version. I really liked everything about the Nexus. Specifically;

• Great screen resolution
• Reliable hardware and software
• Most current version of Android
• No bloatware (Samsung and LG among others add tons of apps and programs that kind of answer the questions no one ever asked. I find these options confusing and may reduce performance. More on that later.)

The only things on my wish list were

• an SD Card slot. (But in reality the 32 GB version had plenty of room to spare without external storage.)
• A little bit bigger screen

About year end 2013 I read about the new LG Google play edition LG 8.3. Ah-ha an almost 20% increase in screen real estate and still pure Android direct from Google. After much reading and price shopping I decided to try the Non Google play Edition from LG which was available from Best Buy for $299 vs $349 for the GPE (Google Play Edition). They are no longer offering that price so $349 is the price for either the LG version or the GPE from Google.  

At any rate I was not happy with the LG version for the following reasons;

• Screen was darker and had a yellowish cast
• Performance was definitely slower. There was a noticeable delay when starting some apps and when moving about screens. 
• The bloatware on the machine was crazy click here for complete details.  http://www.lg.com/us/cell-phones/lg-V500-Black-g-pad-8.
• It was running Jelly Bean OS 4.22 instead of KitKat 4.42which has some nice streamlining and improvements. 

I returned the LG version and ordered the GPE edition. I am very happy with it. Here's are the positives:

• That little extra 1.3" screen size make a big difference when watching movies or reading. It is still easy to hold and lightweight. 
• It has an SD card with up to 64 GB of storage fro movies music etc. 
• The GPE version has no bloatware and it's performance is much snappier. I have seen no lagging. 
• The screen color was true and did not have the yellow cast. It also seems brighter. 

So the GPE edition is the choice over the stock LG 8.3 tablet, especially since they are the same price currently. 

How about versus the Nexus 7? 

• I would say the screen resolution is equal. Both are joys to view. 
• The Nexus 7 32GB is currently available from Walmart for $179 vs $349 for the LG 8.3 GPE. That is a very big difference for an extra 1.3 inches of screen. 
• The sound on the Nexus 7 is purer. The 8.3 GPE has a rather tinny sound from it's stereo speakers. 
• Though the GPE has an SD card, you can't write to it in the Android OS. 
• You have to remove the card and put it in a computer and copy your media to it. Then you can replace the card and the applications will se the media on the card. You can then play your movies, etc. 

Bottom line, the Nexus 7 is the best value. If you need a little more reading room and want to take more media with you, then the LG Google Play Edition 8.3 is a tablet you will be happy with. I would avoid the stock LG unit. 

ANd a final question might be, gee since the Ipad Mini with retina display at 7.9" is only $50 more maybe that's a better move?  Could be...... Then it gets down to preferences between working in the less restrictive Android environment versus the more rigid IOS7.

LG on left Nexus on right. 1.3 inches makes a difference. 

LG top Nexus bottom. in this view there isn't much difference at all. 

Stop Small Business Insanity this year

You know what Albert Einstein always said...

" Insanity: doing the same thing over and over, yet expecting a different outcome."

Tech.Sell can help change your company's results in 2014 by changing sales and marketing behavior. 

Take advantage of low-cost, low-maintenance, on-line programs that can increase your profits. We can help implement a package of great new offerings, targeting the key sales and marketing challenges
that can build or break your bottom line in 2014. 

Change your 2014 results 

Close more leads
A system to track every lead through your sales process.

Close more quotes
A centralized system to create, present and track professional looking quotes and not electronic ransom notes.  

Mine your existing customers to tap into the "low hanging fruit"Develop more business with new and old customers by letting technology bang on more doors, more often.

Improve and simplify follow up 

Tap into the Social NetworkDon't go through another year without taking advantage of the "live" information in LinkedIn, Twitter, FaceBook, etc.  

What NEW programs make it easy to change the results ?

• Managing the social stream - Nimble, and WordPress blogs
• Touch way more prospects and customers - Active Campaign and Constant Contact eMail marketing
• Customer Management, Lead Tracking, and Sales Process- Nimble, GoldMine, and a little help from Tech.Sell
• Managing Quotes and Opportunities - QuoteRoller and QuoteWerks

What NEW low-cost and low-maintenance solutions?

Great News! Our programs have per user costs as low as $15.00 per month.
Since everything is on-line, there is no hardware to buy and no installation or maintenance fees to deal with.

• A CRM that manages all the "live" contact data from LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+ and Facebook - Nimble - only $15 per month, per user.
• A centralized, on-line quoting system - QuoteRoller from $20 per month.
• An amazing email marketing tool - Active Campaign starts at FREE for up to 2500 contacts.

A helping hand - Rent a pro for your team!

If you are too busy to stop what you are doing to implement these great new tools, Tech.Sell can do it for you.
We offer marketing and program management services.  

What does that mean?

• It means that Tech.Sell will build and manage your email marketing campaign.
• Mine your CRM customer database to find new opportunities.
• Manage your pipeline and track leads and quotes.
• Coach your management, sales and inside teams as needed to work the programs.

Stop the INSANITY and get started TODAY!

Do it differently in 2014. Put the tools in place to change your results with a little help from your friends at Tech.Sell. 

Call us at 847-382-4500 or get more info here. 

Nimble announces Google Drive Integration

Great News from Nimble... 

Nimble now makes it easy to link documents, quotes and more to your contact records. 

They have now made it easy to link docs from both Google drive and Drop box. 

Check out the announcement below. To see Nimble in action call us at 847-382-4500 or click here 

Google Drive Integration

Hi,

I have great news to share today – we now support Google Drive file attachments in Nimble.

You may attach files to Deals or Contacts.

To attach to a Contact, select “Attach File” and “Attach from Google Drive” to authorize yourself to your Dive account, then select your files!

To attach to a specific Deal, select “Attach from” and choose “Google Drive”. Then authorize, and select your files.

If you have any questions, please email ideas@techsell.net

Best regards,

Joseph

Joseph Kelly Customer Advocate , Nimble