Christopher S. Penn – Marketing AI Keynote Speaker

The iPad will be legendary for sales and marketing

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Christopher S Penn

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Steve Jobs and gang did a phenomenal job introducing the iPad for consumers. Books! Movies! Music! Games!

…but…

The iPad has the potential to make sales and marketing people into legends. Take any sales demo you’ve ever done. Take any presentation you’ve ever done. Now take it on the road. Got a prospect you want to chat things over with in a coffee shop? Bring out your Keynote app (iWork for the iPad) and you’re showing your deck or demo on a glass 10 inch screen without all the hassle of keyboards, mice, remotes, or other crap. Just open your leather binder  and show the show.

… and then …

Remember: iPhone apps run on iPad out of the box.

So you swap from your slide deck to your Salesforce.com iPhone app. You take the order right there. You’re done, and you’re on a device that looks as slick as your product or service hopefully is. No Salesforce? Use iWork’s Numbers app and fill in your order spreadsheets, or fire up Safari and complete the lead form on your web site because you’ve got 3G wherever you’ve got good mobile service.

Professional speaker? The Keynote Remote app for the iPhone will run out of the box on the iPad. Instead of squinting at your iPhone while using it as a remote for your Keynote presentations (because your laptop is tethered to the projector), you have a gorgeous way to display your speaker notes and control the show from the podium. Just slap your iPad on the podium and swipe its screen to change slides, see your speaker notes, and not miss a beat. If you’ve ever presented professionally and wished that the venue could provide a speaker’s screen, the iPad is now that screen for you regardless of venue.

The iPad will be legendary for sales and marketing 1
Image: Engadget

Yes, you’ll be able to handle all the mundane things that iWork and other iPhone apps can do, but the large, large screen will be perfect for when you’re at trade shows, conferences, and coffee shops as a way of showing your customers and prospects all the goods you have to offer without lugging an entire IT department around with you. Anyone who’s ever hung out with me at a conference knows that I lug a server farm with me – and I probably still will to some degree, but this device certainly will make life easier for the working professional. As a bonus for conference-goers, when the venue Wi-Fi implodes – as it always does – your iPad will feed your data addiction with its 3G connection.

I can’t wait to get my hands on one of these.

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Comments

38 responses to “The iPad will be legendary for sales and marketing”

  1. david horne Avatar
    david horne

    how do you see companies like hulu taking advantage of this?

    also do you think augmented reality will be revolutionized with ads and multimedia for hyper local?

    Reply
  2. Christopher S. Penn Avatar
    Christopher S. Penn

    It's got all the geolocation of an iPhone, so there's huge augmented reality potential with this, to be sure. For Hulu? Really, it'll depend on the bandwidth available.

    Reply
  3. whitneyhoffman Avatar
    whitneyhoffman

    Well, and think about the lack of gear we now have to cart around- the Apple Air is over- this will work well and replace that for mobile immediately

    Reply
  4. Paul.. Avatar
    Paul..

    Hmm, maybe, “The Keynote Remote app for the iPhone will run out of the box on the iPad”. That's true, but now I'm carrying my laptop (to hook up to the projector), iPhone (because the iPad can't do voice over 3G) _and_ my iPad?

    Can definitely see how it could be handy to show off a quick preso one-to-one or fire up an order taking app perhaps but not sure it adds more over a small Sony Vaio / Dell equivalent in this scenario (other than looking way cooler probably!).

    Reply
  5. paul Avatar
    paul

    What's so different to a windows tablet PC, they're going to suddenly start doing this…

    Reply
  6. chelpixie Avatar
    chelpixie

    Holy cats. Drag and drop design would make me squee with joy (in very non-technical terms). That and the presentation thing is just making me drool the more I think about it.

    Good point, Keith!

    Reply
  7. david horne Avatar
    david horne

    how do you see companies like hulu taking advantage of this?

    also do you think augmented reality will be revolutionized with ads and multimedia for hyper local?

    Reply
  8. Christopher S. Penn Avatar
    Christopher S. Penn

    It’s got all the geolocation of an iPhone, so there’s huge augmented reality potential with this, to be sure. For Hulu? Really, it’ll depend on the bandwidth available.

    Reply
  9. Keith Burtis Avatar
    Keith Burtis

    Chel, I'm wondering if the iPad will have enough horse power to run something like a dreamweaver that's maybe more scaled down but improved for the touch interface. I'm almost going to sit on the fence for a bit to see what apps they come out with because I'm more of a media maker than a media consumer.

    Reply
  10. Keith Burtis Avatar
    Keith Burtis

    How about drag and drop design. i could see blog and website design revolutionized here! make drag and drop additions of photos and video, easy selector tools to tap in new colors. I didn’t see any of the iLife suite yet which was a bit of a disappointment but I’m hoping developers create easy drag and drop apps.

    The device seems very tailored to media consumption rather than media creation but I’m hoping that gets handled with new and existing applications.

    The pints you bring up for sales presentations and marketing are very good ones. My brain has been tweaking on similar possibilities for months. For those that apreciate design in presentations this will be well worth the starting $499 price tag.

    Reply
  11. whitneyhoffman Avatar
    whitneyhoffman

    Well, and think about the lack of gear we now have to cart around- the Apple Air is over- this will work well and replace that for mobile immediately

    Reply
  12. Daniel M. Clark Avatar
    Daniel M. Clark

    Okay, you sold me. Now I just need to get a job as a salesperson… 😉
    Seriously, good write-up. I'm not a fan of the iPad at all (not an Apple hater, quite a fan actually, just not of this) but you've given me a bit of a new perspective on it.

    Reply
  13. Daniel M. Clark Avatar
    Daniel M. Clark

    I disagree. I'd take an Air over an iPad any day of the week and twice on Sunday. It's the iPhone OS that's hanging me up… on a device that size, with that kind of horsepower, I want a proper OS.

    Reply
  14. Paul.. Avatar
    Paul..

    Hmm, maybe, “The Keynote Remote app for the iPhone will run out of the box on the iPad”. That’s true, but now I’m carrying my laptop (to hook up to the projector), iPhone (because the iPad can’t do voice over 3G) _and_ my iPad?

    Can definitely see how it could be handy to show off a quick preso one-to-one or fire up an order taking app perhaps but not sure it adds more over a small netbook / Dell equivalent in this scenario (other than looking way cooler probably!).

    Reply
  15. paul Avatar
    paul

    What’s so different to a windows tablet PC, they’re going to suddenly start doing this…

    Reply
  16. Chel Wolverton Avatar
    Chel Wolverton

    Holy cats. Drag and drop design would make me squee with joy (in very non-technical terms). That and the presentation thing is just making me drool the more I think about it.

    Good point, Keith!

    Reply
  17. Keith Burtis Avatar
    Keith Burtis

    Chel, I’m wondering if the iPad will have enough horse power to run something like a dreamweaver that’s maybe more scaled down but improved for the touch interface. I’m almost going to sit on the fence for a bit to see what apps they come out with because I’m more of a media maker than a media consumer.

    Reply
  18. DMC Avatar
    DMC

    Okay, you sold me. Now I just need to get a job as a salesperson… 😉
    Seriously, good write-up. I’m not a fan of the iPad at all (not an Apple hater, quite a fan actually, just not of this) but you’ve given me a bit of a new perspective on it.

    Reply
  19. DMC Avatar
    DMC

    I disagree. I’d take an Air over an iPad any day of the week and twice on Sunday. It’s the iPhone OS that’s hanging me up… on a device that size, with that kind of horsepower, I want a proper OS.

    Reply
  20. chelpixie Avatar
    chelpixie

    I don't do Dreamweaver often but I'd give it a shot with a lower end version to see if it's workable. The ability to drag and drop files with my fingers while doing uploads alone makes me happy.

    I'm not sure how comfortable it's going to be to actually use in different settings, need to get hands on experience with it before committing.

    Reply
  21. Greg Fleischaker Avatar
    Greg Fleischaker

    I agree, presentations will look great on the iPad. But what about signing contracts after your presentation? It sure would be nice to be able to sign a client right there, without faxing papers back and forth.

    Reply
  22. Ian M Rountree Avatar
    Ian M Rountree

    Absolutely brilliant stuff. A freelance photographer I know (@rovinggirl, actually) immediately saw this as potential gold for presenting clients with photos before development, as well as keeping exceedingly complex calendar dates – a function that just doesn't exist in mobile before this.

    A lot of people call this a goofy device, or at least a goofy name. But I totally agree, there's potential here that can only keep building as more mobile professionals adjust their habits to leverage the tools the iPad provides.

    Reply
  23. Apple’s iPad: An Amazing Tool for Business « Jon F Moss

    […] Penn’s post on the business applications of the iPad really got me thinking:  Games aside, this really is a […]

    Reply
  24. You’re blind to the iPad’s value | Ben Aldern

    […] a smartphone and a notebook. The more you categorize something, the harder it is to think outside of the box. When something new comes out, you spend more time looking at the finger than where it’s […]

    Reply
  25. Chel Wolverton Avatar
    Chel Wolverton

    I don’t do Dreamweaver often but I’d give it a shot with a lower end version to see if it’s workable. The ability to drag and drop files with my fingers while doing uploads alone makes me happy.

    I’m not sure how comfortable it’s going to be to actually use in different settings, need to get hands on experience with it before committing.

    Reply
  26. gcjmarkets Avatar
    gcjmarkets

    Excellent post and while the Ipad will definitely do everything you posted, I also believe that it will create a lot of business opportunities for anyone that can think outside the box and create third party programs that target the ipad alone.

    I can't wait to get my hands on one, once again Apple takes the game to a whole new level, for example as a consumer I was thinking about purchasing the Sony Reader Touch to read my ebooks on but now there is no way I will waste the money on the Sony Reader when I can wait a couple of months for the Ipad

    Reply
  27. Greg Fleischaker Avatar
    Greg Fleischaker

    I agree, presentations will look great on the iPad. But what about signing contracts after your presentation? It sure would be nice to be able to sign a client right there, without faxing papers back and forth.

    Reply
  28. Ian M Rountree Avatar
    Ian M Rountree

    Absolutely brilliant stuff. A freelance photographer I know (@rovinggirl, actually) immediately saw this as potential gold for presenting clients with photos before development, as well as keeping exceedingly complex calendar dates – a function that just doesn't exist in mobile before this.

    A lot of people call this a goofy device, or at least a goofy name. But I totally agree, there's potential here that can only keep building as more mobile professionals adjust their habits to leverage the tools the iPad provides.

    Reply
  29. gcjmarkets Avatar
    gcjmarkets

    Excellent post and while the Ipad will definitely do everything you posted, I also believe that it will create a lot of business opportunities for anyone that can think outside the box and create third party programs that target the ipad alone.

    I can't wait to get my hands on one, once again Apple takes the game to a whole new level, for example as a consumer I was thinking about purchasing the Sony Reader Touch to read my ebooks on but now there is no way I will waste the money on the Sony Reader when I can wait a couple of months for the Ipad

    Reply
  30. jkimlosangeles Avatar
    jkimlosangeles

    Chris – this is such a great blog post. I can totally see it.

    Reply
  31. jkimlosangeles Avatar
    jkimlosangeles

    Chris – this is such a great blog post. I can totally see it.

    Reply
  32. NAPW Avatar
    NAPW

    The device seems very tailored to media consumption rather than media creation but I'm hoping that gets handled with new and existing applications

    Reply
  33. NAPW Avatar
    NAPW

    The pints you bring up for sales presentations and marketing are very good ones. My brain has been tweaking on similar possibilities for months. For those that apreciate design in presentations this will be well worth the starting $499 price tag.

    Reply
  34. NAPW Avatar
    NAPW

    The device seems very tailored to media consumption rather than media creation but I'm hoping that gets handled with new and existing applications

    Reply
  35. NAPW Avatar
    NAPW

    The device seems very tailored to media consumption rather than media creation but I'm hoping that gets handled with new and existing applications

    Reply
  36. NAPW Avatar
    NAPW

    The pints you bring up for sales presentations and marketing are very good ones. My brain has been tweaking on similar possibilities for months. For those that apreciate design in presentations this will be well worth the starting $499 price tag.

    Reply
  37. NAPW Avatar
    NAPW

    The pints you bring up for sales presentations and marketing are very good ones. My brain has been tweaking on similar possibilities for months. For those that apreciate design in presentations this will be well worth the starting $499 price tag.

    Reply
  38. Weekend Reader: iPad Edition

    […] The iPad will be Legendary for Sales and Marketing: “The iPad has the potential to make sales and marketing people into legends. Take any sales demo you’ve ever done. Take any presentation you’ve ever done. Now take it on the road. Got a prospect you want to chat things over with in a coffee shop? Bring out your Keynote app (iWork for the iPad) and you’re showing your deck or demo on a glass 10 inch screen without all the hassle of keyboards, mice, remotes, or other crap. Just open your leather binder and show the show. [Christopher S. Penn] […]

    Reply

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