Q: I am the sales manager for a small leather company. Me and my one salesperson are on the road about 3 days a week and communicate with our Blackberrys (which we love). I am not what you would call technically savvy, but I know there has to be some software out there that can make our jobs easier. If you knew what it was, that would be great.
 
Greg
 
A: As an owner of a Blackberry myself, I can attest to what a wonderful (and addictive!) product it is. Indeed, for anyone who does a lot of business via email as I do, products like Blackberrys, Treos, and Pocket PCs are invaluable tools, allowing you to handle business and respond to emails while on the go.

But here’s the thing: Business today, especially the ever-increasing world of mobile business, requires a lot more than simply being able to quickly answer an important cell phone call or email. To really take advantage of what your mobile devise can offer, and to make your business really hum, some state-of-the-art software is required, specifically, CRM software, which stands for Customer Relationship Management.
 
While there are no shortages of good CRM products out there, I had the opportunity to try out an exceptional one last week, and then speak with a few of the people who created it. Called Nice Office (www.NiceOffice.com <http://www.niceoffice.com/> ), this is one nifty piece of software that can truly help any small business by increasing its productivity and strengthen its interactions with current and potential clients.
 
Nice Office is a collaboration tool that runs on both your desktop computer and your handheld at the same time. It basically turns your handheld device into a networked computer, thus enabling  you to run your office from your handheld. It does so in several ways:
 

• Of course, the essence of any CRM product is the ability to track contacts, and Nice Office does so in a variety of ways. Most important is that any activity you undertake on your handheld is automatically, and wirelessly, journaled and stored on your desktop PC – without ever having to go back and plug your handheld into your computer and sync the two. If you send Eddie Jones an email while on the road, that activity is journaled and recorded automatically on both your handheld and your PC.
• Being a (recovering) lawyer, I can also say that professionals who bill by the hour will like that every phone call is automatically recorded, along with the time spent on the call;
• The software gives you access to all forms and documents on your PC and lets you email or fax them to clients while on the road; and
• Employees’ activities and actions can be monitored, and similarly, appointments calendared and contacts made while on the road are available back at the home office. This protects the valuable information contained in employees heads and handhelds, both of which leave the office every day;