We all know how mobile technology has made it easier to stay connected to family, friends, coworkers and our customers, but have you thought about the implications of mobile technologies on your ability to connect with new customers on a global scale?

According to Harvard Business Review, the World Bank calculated that in the decade between 2000 and 2010 the number of mobile subscriptions around the world increased from 700 million, with only 29 percent of them in developing countries, to 5.9 billion subscribers with a staggering 77 percent in developing countries – a 48 percent shift.

For sales professionals and marketers, this presents tremendous opportunity to target customers in markets that would have been previously considered far out of reach. It has also leveled the playing field among competition. Small and medium-size organizations have the same capability to reach new customers in emerging markets half-way around the world as have large multinational corporations with much higher operating budgets.

With the evolving technological landscape, the means by which we interface customers is constantly in change, and in our favor. However, it is important to keep in mind that advances in technology provide tools that make doing things easier and more efficient, but it is still the skill and technique of the operator that ultimately gets the job done. Long before computerized milling and 3D printing, woodworkers, sculptors and artists created beautiful works with rudimentary tools and their bare hands. We as sales professionals must discipline ourselves not to deviate from the selling principles we’ve learned through formal sales training – we know these skills endure the test of time and transcend changes in technology.

Source:

‍How Mobility Is Changing the World

‍Copyright 2012 Harvard Business Publishing