Confessions of an old timer…

I have a confession to make. My career predates technology. No, I did not get to my first job on a horse, but I do remember working in a Congressman’s office and just marveling at this new facsimile machine that would transmit a position paper to the Congressman out in the home district in a matter of minutes instead of days. Of course, minutes were relative. It took about 10 minutes to send each page!

I also remember a typewriter (at least it was electric). With that typewriter, we used sheets of correction tape as well as a product we called “white-out.” There were computers–but they were bulky and slow and I kept away from them because I really did not understand them. They used something called “DOS.” Others were assigned to keep me away because they knew I was subject to trying to put white-out on the screen.

There has been more technology introduced in the past 15 years than in my first 45 years of life. It permeates into all walks of life. As we are focused upon the business world, we will stay away from medicine and space travel. And here is our message—if you don’t adopt technology more quickly, you will be left behind in business. Guaranteed.

I was able to get away with avoiding computers for five years. Today, if you don’t adopt technology quickly you will be two technologies behind in three years. What technologies are essential for business?

You need to be on-line. Forget having a computer. You need to be on-line constantly. The key to great success in any area of business is consistent-instant communication. There are three technologies that will help you stay on-line so you can be in contact with your prospects and customers–

•A laptop. Ditch the old plodding desktop computer. Today’s laptops are light and can serve as a powerful desktop. If you would like a light laptop but need a large monitor–you can always use a docking station at the office and/or at home. A docking station hooks your laptop up to an external monitor as well as a keyboard. You should be bringing your computer home with you and when you travel as well.

•A wireless card. There is no reason not to be connected to the Internet wherever you are. All the major cell phone providers can sell you a wireless card that plugs into your laptop and will give you broadband-access to the Internet if you are traveling–whether in a restaurant (perhaps you want to give a demonstration of your site to a client) or when traveling. I check emails when my wife drives on long trips!

•A PDA. Today’s “personal digital assistants” can also receive and send emails as well as connect to the Internet. You don’t want to bring a laptop onto a golf course! Nor do you want to stay away from the golf course because you are expecting an important email. PDAs will also synchronize with your computer in order to give you complete access to your database including all phone numbers. No more writing down numbers on a piece of paper or carrying an address book.

•You also need a CRM. Your PDA should be synchronized with your CRM. How is that for techno-speak? A CRM is a “customer relationship management” software program. Otherwise known as database software. Some better know systems include Act and Goldmine, but there are usually systems customized for particular industries, such as Top Producer for Realtors and MortgageQuest and WorkCenter for loan officers.

These systems will enable you to not only compile, update and organize a large database, they will also help you schedule tasks, post reminders and facilitate communications such as sending emails to groups. You can build templates such as letters for your customers or use templates that are typically built in to customized systems.

Speaking of cell phones/PDAs. Make sure you have Blue Tooth technology and voice recognition. Apparently Americans do not understand that it is unsafe to talk on the phone and drive. Look around–everyone is on the phone while driving. If you must talk–make sure you are not dialing. That means you should be able to speak into the phone and reach someone. And you should not be holding the phone. That is where “blue tooth” comes in handy. A wireless ear piece keeps your hands on the wheel. And certainly forget texting while driving.

Forget the snail mail. I should not be saying this because you may be reading this article after someone mailed it to you, but you should have the email addresses of everyone in your database. This includes your entire sphere– prospects, customers, referral sources, relationships and more. With the aforementioned CRM systems it is easy to get out an email to everyone, and that would include articles and newsletters so that you can portray yourself as an expert.

Back-up systems! Yes, once you get up-and-running technology-wise,you must have an on-line back-up system or an external hard-drive you back-up to. You can’t afford to lose your computer and rebuild your data. Believe me, I have learned the hard way! Yes, technology is essential and so is the need to protect your technology.