On the go with SalesPadPro

Gary Evans -- Casual Living, 4/1/2012 2:00:00 AM

Created for manufacturers and their sales reps, the SalesPadPro app contains information that was previously available in mounds of catalogs and other paper sales materials.Online catalogs and sales tools are springing up at a rapid pace, and salespadpro is one of the new ipad apps bringing manufacturers' products to the furniture dealer's store.
     Most manufacturers buy the SalesPadPro app and provide it to sales reps as well as to retailers for free. Pricing ranges from about $5,000 to $10,000, depending on the amount of data the app needs to carry.
     SalesPadPro developers say the app's claim to fame is that it mimics traditional sales techniques, so reps will have a gentle learning curve and a greater level of comfort when using an iPad.
     Instead of lugging huge catalogs and using laminated photos spread across a dealer's conference table, the SalesPadPro soft ware allows users to move images around on a screen with their fingers, compare photos side-by-side, and resize images to any size by pinching or spreading their fingers.
     The company said that what sets it apart from other apps on the market is that SalesPadPro "takes full advantage of the iPad's multi-touch interface to provide an easy to use, elegant, interactive and highly intuitive interface."
     The original app has proven popular with vendors, including many "who asked us if we could develop an upholstery solution for their businesses," said Richard Buckley, the company's co-owner.
     The developers took the request to heart, and the result is a module that allows manufacturers to set up complex upholstery options so users can delve quickly and easily into the hundreds upon hundreds of fabric choices offered by factories - as well as preset fabric choices - and then put them together on the body and pillows of a seating piece.
     The app includes such information as cleaning codes and pricing for each frame, plus an order page. It also acts as a repository for relevant business documents for credit, warranties and it can show and apply colors and finishes
     According to SalesPadPro, companies using the app have attained immediate cost savings and increased efficiency.
     To make sure information is current, a content management system automatically updates the iPads used by a company's sales force. Vendors access the system to make changes or add new products and instantly "push" the information to everyone's iPad.
     The company said "one of the most exciting features" of SalesPadPro is that custom galleries (Favorites Gallery, New Items Gallery, Showroom Walkthrough Gallery, Discontinued Gallery, Best Seller Gallery) can be created for individual dealers by dragging and dropping images into a gallery creation window.
     For multi-store operations, corporate staff can create galleries and instantly distribute them to all the locations in the company.