The iPad as a Sales Tool – Sightings at the AACR Meeting

Update: We have spent the last 6 months working in the field and observing Sales Reps using the iPad as a Sale Tool.

Our clients come from a variety of industries including Life Science, Medical, Food and Beverage, and Insurance. What have we learned? A lot!

To read about our observations check out these articles:

The iPad as a Sales Tool – Sightings at the AACR Meeting

by Mark Walker

Walking around AACR this past week, I saw a couple of companies using iPads to share product information and results with visitors. In one respect, the iPad is just another tool available, and right now, it’s a novelty. But the potential is there to be a game-changer. I am betting that at next year’s meeting, it will be significantly more  common than not.

An instrument company was showing the fruits of their cool imaging machine on the high-resolution iPad screen. The reps held the iPad in a cover that fit in their hand nicely for display to their audience. They quickly located an image example and easily zoomed in to point out their high resolution Western blot bands.

A reagent company was using it to share the educational tools they currently have on their website. With interactive PDF’s created for other channels loaded onto the iPad, they were able to drill down and jump to linked pages when appropriate for the discussion. Taking existing sales tools and adapting them to a different platform is a pretty common way to test new technology.

Ok, so nothing revolutionary yet, but the potential is there. Here are some reasons why I think it will be a key selling tool in this industry:

Multi-Media

Complex subjects become more understandable when you can demonstrate the products or services. The life science tools marketplace launches more technically complex products every month. Helping prospects understand what your product does and how that will solve their problems is critical. With high-resolution color screens, images can be sized without loss of clarity, which is great for images. Video can be very helpful in explaining different aspects of new technology, even if when the rep is not an expert.

Portability

All those nice customer resources and product decision tools you spent time and money on in your website can be in your sales force’s hands. If customers don’t know what kit to buy, then walk them through buyer funnel on the iPad screen. It’s on your website, but it’s really powerful when a rep can incorporate that resource in a product discussion. Hunting for an open computer in a customer lab to use the site is a hurdle that most reps won’t jump. When you have the power of multimedia in your hands in the size of a notebook , it’s going to get used with customers more often.

Ease of Use

Computer tablets have been around for a while, and they haven’t caught on. I think it’s because they ARE computers. With the iPad, moving around the screen is much easier. Zooming in and out are simple finger swips, not pressing a special key combination.

Another writer observed that it’s a single hand device, unlike other tablets. That frees up your other hand for directing a prospect’s attention to the content they are emphasizing. A small detail but critical for effective sales presentations.

Simplicity

Pundits have complained that it is somehow an inferior device because its you can’t run excel or similar programs on it. How about trading off that capability for a simpler product with a lot more reliability. Ever try to get someone to help fix a problem with your laptop when you are working after hours or early in the morning? Maybe less complexity is a good thing.

Interactive

Effective sales presentations involve more than one sense. If you only talk about a product, it’s less effective than showing prospects the product and having them try it. Having interactive materials at your fingertips that can get prospects engaged will multiply the impact of the presentation.

Can companies in this marketplace be successful without using the iPad? Of course!

The visual element is underrated and underutilized in this marketplace with text-heavy websites and product information. The organizations that can figure out how to best illustrate their technically complex products and that captures researcher’s attention and interest are going to be winners. The iPad can be the companion tool helping your sales and technical support groups communicate more effectively.

Sales tips for selling to scientists can be hard to find. Find more by following us on Twitter here. Also, become a fan of Red Funnel Consulting on Facebook today!

Mark Walker

Mark has over 20 years sales, marketing, and consulting experience in the life science marketplace with Invitrogen, Eli Lilly, and G&S Research. He created and launched NaviGRANT, a popular online database service that enables sales and marketing to mine life science grant information. Mark writes about sales and online marketing practices that apply to the life science space and how information is the new digital currency. He resides in Indianapolis, Indiana, fully experiencing all four seasons of the year. Contact Mark at mark.redfunnel@gmail.com or http://twitter.com/LifeSciBiz

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