6 Ways Cloud Storage Can Aid You in Sales
Sales Prospecting Perspectives is pleased to bring you a guest post from Nicki Escudero, Social Media and Content Stategist for CX.
Don’t think of cloud storage as simply a virtual location to store your precious data. It’s also an effective tool in increasing sales and making the sales process much more effective, with collaborative features that make working together easier than ever. Below, find six ways you can use cloud storage to benefit your sales. 
- Store and access client and prospect files from the cloud, any time from any Internet-connected device. Not only does the cloud serve as backup in case of hard drive or desktop failure, it also allows anywhere-access for those important files you might need to download on the go. This allows you to do work no matter where you are, freeing you from the office desk and allowing you to work more efficiently because you can carry all your important data with you on whatever smartphone or tablet you have.
- Collaborate with co-workers in the proposal development. With cloud storage, the need for endless e-mail chains is eliminated because you’re given one centralized dashboard where you can not only store your files, but also makes comments and edits on them all in one place, with real-time notifications keeping your co-workers in the loop of new developments. Saving file versions makes progress on proposals transparent to the whole team, and you’re always able to go back to earlier versions and revise or revert back to them as necessary.
- Share proposals, contracts and work orders directly with clients with a private link to the files in the cloud. If you’ve ever e-mailed someone and never heard back, only to discover your message got lost in the shuffle or, even worse, was relegated to the spam folder, you know how frustrating e-mail can be sometimes. With cloud storage, you can upload files and password-protect them, sharing the link directly from the file with whomever you want. Not only can you rest assured your files will stay safe and sound in a centralized location, you can also feel confident your clients will always have easy access to them, as well.
- Collaborate with clients on the proposals and work orders directly within the cloud. Cloud storage also streamlines the collaborative process, allowing you to work with clients on files in one place, with chat features that allow for real-time discussion and the ability to comment on files to optimize them for your clients. This saves time and frustration for both parties, which will only make your sales clients that much more impressed with your services.
- All documentation and collaboration records kept in the cloud are easily passed to your account management team for post-sale service. Because you can control who is invited to designated sales groups within your cloud collaboration work group, it’s simple to remove and invite relevant team members to groups. Once a sale is complete, sales members may pass on documents within a group to account management employees –all without ever having to transfer files or lose revisions, comments or edits, which keeps everyone in the loop. By keeping your files and documents easily organized in your cloud storage suite, you’ll minimize the possibilities for errors and save everyone involved time.
- Gain new prospects anywhere. Since cloud storage gives you anywhere-access of product information and documents for new prospects, having a cloud storage account means you can whip out your smartphone or tablet wherever you are and show off your wares to potential leads you might meet on the go. With cloud storage, your sales tools are all in the palm of your hand, wherever you are, allowing you to start new developments easily.
Do you have other ways cloud storage may benefit sales? Let us know what they are in the comments.
Nicki Escudero is the social media and content strategist for CX, which provides cloud storage solutions to businesses and individuals, with a focus on collaboration with features such as groups, chat and social network sharing. To get a free 1TB trial of CX for Business for your team, go here