Technology is no doubt a huge boon to the sales process. Everything from smart phones to CRM program help people become more efficient and effective at generating more leads and closing more quickly. Right?

Well, getting the true benefits out of all of these tools can be tricky and there doesn’t seem to be one quick fix out there. So we collected an overview of some opinions bouncing around the web here. A healthy number of experts out there seem to take technology as a mixed blessing and something to cautiously integrate with more personal selling techniques.

Hands On Advice

The Brooks Group Blog has a technology category that covers everything from software tips to gadgets. Very much “in the trenches” advice: Link

The MacGyver of Sales

Some quirky advice from the Bridge Group, Inc, like using your cell phone camera as a sales tool: Link

Sales Management as Conductor

This entry from the Sales Lead Management Association is titled Why CRM Software Is Like Sheet Music, But It Isn’t The Software’s Fault! It discusses the best ways of implementing software within an organization so that sales people take full advantage of its features. The article is brief, but good and there is some good comments posted as well: Link

Score! (kinda)

We all like to have a system and lead scoring appears to be a good system for prioritizing sales leads and going after the low hanging fruit. But the folks at ETI Sales are skeptical. It seems that this science has its share of smoke and mirrors. Read the post here: Link

Beware the Electronic Wall

Anne Holland from Marketing Sherpa writes about the perils of too much technology getting in the way of good old fashioned customer relationships. She also offers tips on reaping the benefits of technology without shutting out the people who matter most to you business: Link

To iPhone or Not to iPhone

…or Blackberry or whatever. There are several Smartphones out there and they are begining to replace that heavy laptop you’ve been lugging around on sales calls. A smart phone is compact, light, and you don’t have to take it out at airport security. But there are some sales benefits to that laptop. This article lists some of them and also has a decent selection of comments so you can tap into the collective wisdom(?) out there: Link

Those are some of our ideas but we’d like to hear from you as well. If you have anything to add, post a comment below.