(Thanx to Pete Silver (pete@petesilver.com) for his help and suggestions!)

I'm always looking for a competitive advantage. I want the tools and toys that give me a way to better serve clients and help them achieve their goals. After all, if I help them and they see me as a problem solver, they'll want to do more business with me time after time.

Here are some tools that are in the "must-have" category for any serious salesperson today. As technology continues to change so do the tools and even today, the way of looking at the tools.

1. Contact Manager. This is critical today as it has been for a long time. I use ACT! 6.0.3 to stay current with people, their information and the types of data important in the sales process. I still use Outlook 2000, but mainly as an e-mail client rather than a sales tool. I find that ACT! 2000 provides more of a sales thrust than Outlook. Whatever tool you use, get one and use it regularly!
2. Handheld device. I now use a Palm Tungsten/T for my personal "having with me all the time" personal digital assistant (PDA) I like the Tungsten/T for its lightweight (lighter than my trusty old Palm Vx). However, the battery life is not as good as I'd like. Even with the backlight off, I find that it only lasts a few hours longer than a good laptop. This is not good. Yet, I find that the Tungsten/T is great for reading lots of text and listening to music. It has built-in audio. I'm using the Audacity audio recorder (from Audio Storage Technologies, (www.audacity.com) and it is great for recording sounds quickly and managing them. The fact that the Tungsten/T can access (currently) up to 1GB of storage through the SD (Secure Digital) card, it makes it a must-have for the serious road warrior and sales professional.

3. Visioneer Strobe XP 100

   Sheet Fed Scanner.  This is a tool I've used for a long time.  I just re-introduced it to my tool chest the other day.  I can scan papers, magazine articles, notes and more.  Then I have them readily available wherever I take my laptop computer.  For less than $200 you can get one of these and it does a great job.  Mine is the Visioneer Strobe Pro and it works very well.  I highly recommend it. I'm now using the Strobe XP 100, also from Visioneer. This lightweight model is superb for carrying on the road. I demonstrate this in numerous seminars and find that it solves most of the scanning problems that mobile professionals encounter.
4. Wireless access. Today you have to be in touch as much as possible. Not so that people can reach you necessarily, but so you can reach them when it is convenient for you. Sending e-mail is vital. The OmniSky modem I have attaches to my Palm Vx and works in most cities (although not in Atlanta or anywhere in the State of Georgia---ugh!). Some cell phones have the ability to send and receive e-mail also. Sprint notably has some good offerings in this area. I can receive and then reply to e-mail from the gate before getting on a plane. I can check e-mail from my hotel room without having to pay $1 billion per minute in those obscene hotel phone charges and get my work done. I can also check out my favorite websites for updates as I surf the web. Today's road warrior salesperson who wants to get that extra advantage is using wireless e-mail and web surfing. You also should seriously consider the wireless services from Sprint, Verizon or T-Mobile. All of these companies offer wireless access at speeds usually between 50-70 Kbps with occasional bursts up to 144 Kbps, they claim. I'm looking forward to checking these out in a short time.
5. Ethernet cable for hotel rooms. This is becoming a must for the serious road warrior salesperson. I carry an Ethernet cable and PC card for my laptop when I want to get very fast access to the Net. I'm able to connect in many, though not all, hotels around the country to read e-mail and check what is happening. The biggest advantage of high-speed access is the reference material I can access and the audio & video I can study while in a hotel room. That way I can be updated on what is going on in the world. I can also get education that is essential for growth and learning from many places. It sure beats the old Spectra Vision movies for the umpteenth time on the tube. Why not get some education and learning to increase your sales rather than watch another mind-numbing worthless TV show?
6. Laptop Computer. In spite of the advances of the Palm and other handheld devices, I still carry laptop for select purposes. It is good for PowerPoint presentations most of all. This is in the process of changing but for now, a lightweight laptop equipped with your contact manager, PowerPoint, Word and a few other carefully chosen programs can be a real boost to productivity. As a traveling salesperson you should be able to operate from anywhere you have electricity and access to the Net. The laptop also can transfer your data from the Palm back and forth. This is great for backup but also to helps you read articles more clearly. When considering your next laptop here are some of the things you want: 1) Wi-Fi accessibility built in, 2) CD-ROM Writer and maybe DVD, 3) 40-60GB (the more the better) of storage, 4) Minimum of 256MB of RAM, 5) Ample USB 2.0 ports, 6) The IEEE 1394 connection (called Firewire on the Apple side) and a comfortable screen (determined by you what is comfortable). Personally, I'm waiting for a good, reasonably priced 3Ghz speed laptop for video production. They are on their way I understand. I can hardly wait!
7. Winning Sales Attitude. This is your most important tool. You can have all the latest tools and toys but without the right attitude of wanting to serve clients and help them make their business better you'll never succeed. This takes a daily commitment to do the right thing in the right way. It requires you to wake up each day with a renewed sense of commitment and determination. It requires even more diligence today than before to find out what clients want and how you can help them with your products and services. Tougher times require a more serious dedication to the basic principles that have worked and will always work.
   
   Success today comes through applying a combination of the right tools and the right attitude. Both have to be refined and tuned to keep up to date. The benefits are enormous for those who are willing to pay the price. With this combination you'll have that needed competitive advantage in today's challenging marketplace.
   
   Over the past 20+ years, Terry Brock has built a successful international career professional speaker, consultant and author in the fields of business productivity, technology and marketing. Read his syndicated columns published in Biz Journals across America and contact him at 407-363-0505 or by e-mail at terry@terrybrock.com.