Rocket Readings: Biggest Change in Sales Technology In The Last Five Years is iPad mini

Biggest Change in Sales Technology In The Last Five Years is iPad mini:from Fill the Funnel by Miles Austin

There is more activity in the sales web tools and technology arena than I have experienced over the last five years. My backlog on new tools to explore is now approaching two months long. There are new sales tool experts popping up everywhere and for good reason – sales people now understand the power that these tools wield.
One way that I learn what coming trends are is by reviewing the topics of the speaking requests I receive. The number one topic that I will be speaking and training on during Q1 of 2013 – iPad’s for Sales. What is even more evident is that the new favorite in this lineup is the iPad mini.

“iPad mini for sales teams is shaping up to be the biggest impact in sales technology in the last five years.” Miles Austin

The number of requests for this topic has been growing over the last year, but jumped to the top of the heap beginning this past November. Nine out of the thirteen speaking engagements I am booked for in Q1 of 2013 are some variation of iPads for Sales. Some are focused on what Apps are available and recommended . Some are focused on deployment and best practices and four are focused on teaching sales people how to use iPad in their day to day selling activities.
Here is what respected Forrester Research is saying about this:

“The tech market is being transformed by mobility, cloud computing, and smart computing, which are highly desired because of their transformative potential. Once the economic squeeze on IT budgets ends, the pent-up demand for new technologies will surface and drive the growth in tech spending. That will be the story of 2013 and 2014.
Forrester estimates that Apple will sell $7 billion of Macs and $11 billion of iPads to the corporate market in 2013, and $8 billion in Macs and $13 billion of iPads in 2014.”

Here is the link to the full report from Forrester Research.
It has such demand that I will now be including a portion on iPad/iPhone in every web tool review that I write from here on.
After each presentation I have given on this topic since this past November the questions and interest after the presentation has been on the mini. It is more than just the size, though that is one of it’s biggest advantages. It is the comfort when holding it, the quality of the screen itself and the overall quality of the product.
Apple will be announcing their quarterly results later this evening for the period that includes the holiday. My instinct is telling me that the iPad mini will be the star of the announcement and it’s biggest surprise in sales results.
I have rapidly came to the conclusion that any time I walk out the door for business, the hardware tool of choice will be my iPad mini. Whether I will be reviewing email, projecting to a big screen through the VGA or HDMI adaptor, tracking my sales call results, or creating an impromptu slide presentation it will do the job with ease.
Have you held an iPad mini in your hands? What is your experience?