Great wholesalers have the right tools of the trade.
With a limited number of shopping days winding down quickly you may not get these items under your tree or in your stocking. That’s o.k. because these ten items that I use all the time for travel, efficiency and fun are so useful (and some have no cost) that you will want to get them for yourself!
Since these items are must haves for the cutting edge wholesaler, I have provided links directly to each product for further investigation and purchase if you wish.
1. Logitech 2.4 GHz Cordless Presenter – the model that I have, has been upgraded to the newer Logitech Professional Presenter R800. Either way this is a must have for the professional presenter. Why?
- It has an LCD display with timer and silent vibrating alerts to help you manage time without watching the clock. Admit it. Most wholesalers do not know how to deliver a presentation in the time allotted. Rather than looking at your watch you can set the timer and get a subtle reminder that you need to start closing.
- Up to 100-foot wireless range for freedom to move and mingle around the room. So depending on how big the crowd is you don’t need to be concerned you’ll go out of range. And besides, you don’t ever present from behind the podium, ever, do you?
- Intuitive controls for easy, one-touch slideshow navigation which is important because when a presentation includes the presenter fumbling with the remote controls I get concerned about the quality of the talk.
- You have 5 minutes to set up after the last speaker and you have 2 minutes to clear out when you are done. Plug-and-play USB wireless receiver stores inside the presenter for easy set up and pack up. Carrying case included.
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2. In the olden days (you know, before electricity) we did not have GPSs. I remember riding with a fellow wholesaler in NY one time and he had a FULL SIZE Auto Club map spread over the steering wheel and into the passenger seat where I was sitting. I thought I was going to die. Fortunately today there are GPSs and they’re cheap!
The Magellan Maestro 4700 4.7-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator is the latest from a company that makes great units. This model makes the one that I own look prehistoric.
- Exclusive OneTouch Favorites Menu
- Exclusive AAA TourBook Guide
- 4.7-inch Touch Screen
- 6 Million Points of Interest (POI)
- Voice Command
- Highway Lane Assist
- Bluetooth Compatibility
- Predictive Traffic – it automatically analyzes past traffic patterns when creating a route to help you avoid known delays, saving you time and making your journey less stressful. Choose to stay on your current route or go with the new less-traveled route.
- Highway Exit POI Search -search for gas stations, restaurants, hotels, and more near upcoming highway exits.
- Multi-destination Routing -plan a trip within a city with multiple stops in the order you want, or have it optimized for the most efficient route.
- Find your Car – can’t remember which rental car you have this week? Easily remember the location of your car in parking lots, airports, malls, universities, amusement parks, or stadiums. When your day is done, the Maestro 4700 will automatically guide you to your car.
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3. If you really want to up your presentation game, and great wholesalers do, then you need to listen back to a presentation and critique it for yourself. That means you need to record it and the Olympus DS-40 Digital Voice Recorder is the right tool to use. The features that I like are:
- Professional-grade digital voice recorder with high-sensitivity microphone. Sometimes the mic picks up too much room noise which is why I also recommend the Olympus ME-15 Microphone which clips onto your lapel and offers clear and discreet recording.
- With up to 136 hours of recording time and a 30-hour battery life you don’t need to be to concerned that you’ll run out of juice. Plus it operates on 2 AAA batteries.
- Because you can connect to a PC to transfer files you can listen from your office in big speaker sound. If you are really feeling geeky you can edit your talk with Audacity, a free audio editing program.
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4. Sometimes I want to pipe my iPod music into an external speaker when I am on the road. Sometimes I need to play an audio track for 
an audience and have learned (the hard way) not to rely on the hotel or conference center’s audio system. The Altec Lansing iM-237 Orbit Ultraportable Speaker does an amazing job. I have used it in a room of 50 people and nobody complained that they couldn’t here the audio loud and clear. A few features include:
- Compatibility: all MP3 players; iPod mini; iPod nano 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G; iPod classic 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, 5.5G, 6G; iPod touch 1G, 2G
- Conveniently connects to any music player with 3.5-mm connection and music phones with 2.5-mm adapter (not included)
- Compact size and battery power for maximum portability; LED indicates power on/off and battery status
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5. 
Next time you are hosting an event (golf, bowling, skeet shooting, etc.) why not capture the fun with a really simple to use video camera? I use the Flip UltraHD Camcorder and it delivers great quality. Oh, and it is stupid simple to use which is important as I don’t have the patience to wade through a 200 page users guide. In fact the video on the home page of this site was shot with the non-HD version of this video camera.The features I find so useful are:
- Easy-to-use, pocket-sized HD camcorder featuring one-touch recording and digital zoom
- Simple user interface lets you start capturing video just seconds after powering on
- Captures 120 minutes of HD video on 8 GB of built-in memory; no tapes or additional memory cards required
- Convenient flip-out USB arm plugs directly into your PC or Mac to launch FlipShare software
- Built-in FlipShare software lets you easily email videos, edit individual clips, make custom movies, capture still photos from video
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6. You ‘carry the bag” but do you carry THE bag? You have a Tumi briefcase right? I have two. One is 15 years old made of leather and has been refurbished twice. The other is made of ballistic nylon and will not die. All other computer bags, backpacks (perish the thought), and messenger bags from other manufacturers are pretenders.
Get a TUMI….period.
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7. For years I held off. I thought that the cost could not be worth it. “I’ll use the headphones from my iPod”, I thought. Geez, was I being cheap or misinformed or both? Now I don’t travel without my Bose® QuietComfort® 15 Acoustic Noise Cancelling® Headphones. First off all when you wear these on the plane you are sending the important “I don’t really feel like chit chatting” message to Mrs. Farquart in the next seat. Secondly the sound quality is stunning – it even makes my CDs from the 80’s sound unbelievable. Lastly, the noise canceling technology really works, and works great.
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8. Have you ever tried to find something on your computer and searched for hours? You’re looking for that one document, that one 
photo and it’s just not there. You vaguely remember the name of it, but hell it’s been 5 years since you looked at it so you are not sure. You could use the built in search feature in Windows, and I’m guessing you would still be lost because it sucks. Or you could use X1 Email Search, Application Search and eDiscovery.Their site says:
No other product interactively searches across email, attachments, contacts, and files from a single interface. With X1, you just don’t search; you find exactly what you are looking for in seconds.
and it is true. Download a trial for free – you’ll be buying it for a whopping $50 once you experience it.
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9. Do you use products from Google besides their search engine? I do. A lot. One that gets my vote is Google Voice.
When you sign up for Google Voice using your own number you get these features:
- Google voicemail: voicemail like email
- Voicemail transcription: read what your voicemail says
- Custom greetings: vary voicemail greetings by caller
- International calling: low cost calls to the world
- Notifications: read voicemail messages via email or SMS
- Share voicemails: forward, embed, or download voicemails
If you choose to use a Google Voice phone number like I do you get these features:
- One number: a single phone number that rings all your phones
- Free SMS: send, receive & store text messages online
- Block calls: send unwanted callers straight to voicemail
- Record calls: record phone calls and store them online
- Conference calls: join several people into a single call
- Screen callers: hear who is calling before you pick up
Best of all this is a free service.
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10. One of the best gifts you can give yourself is the gift of intelligence. In this case I refer to business intelligence. After all, the great wholesaler is a ‘student of the business’. They are able to consume vast amounts information about the economy, markets, clients, prospects, and the competition – and they do it in the easiest and fastest way possible.
They use Google Reader.
For more information about using RSS (Really Simple Syndication) and Google Reader read these posts:
24 Reasons to Use RSS to Grow Your Business
You Don’t Need Compliance Approval to Listen
Then watch this video (use the password ‘learn’) to learn how to set it up:
Don’t wait for the holiday season, your next birthday or other special occasion. Invest in your business with these tools – you’ll see your productivity go up and your stress go down.
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Lesson From A Living Legend
Ants In The Wholesaler’s Pants
One Great Sales Idea
Sales Trap: Chasing One Hit Wonders
Wholesalers Shouldn’t Neglect The Movable Middle