Ideas for reference material...

[Doug Walsh]

OK, I'm in sales and I need to have with me my cold calling scripts, my company's product cheat sheets and other stuff that I will need immediately upon a notice. Stuff more like numbers for conference calls, etc. Mostly I satisfied thru Password software on my Blackberry.

For notetaking I like and used to using a hardbound Journal. At the end of a day or week, I take the action items and meeting notes and input them into my ACT database. Kinda double redundancy, I have it in a computer and then I can always reference back to the hardbound Journal. I love legal paper, but it is a pain to organize. It seems that when I use legal paper, I lose the sheet or dont file it accordingly.

So, I'm looking for a way or methods to have reference material with me. I can go elaborate with a PDA, but I already carry a Blackberry. I can keep a separate file folder. I have even written inside of my hard bound journal which works too. Just looking for ideas....

Thanks in advance...

 

[kewms]

How extensive is the reference material? How often does it change? In what form do you receive it in the first place?

Generally speaking, I've found electronic tools are best for material that I receive in electronic form, or that changes often. Electronic tools are also best for large collections of information, like dictionaries and databases.

For me, paper tools are best for notes I take myself from non-electronic input, like meetings or brainstorming. I also like paper for free-form information, like drawings, graphs, or equations, all of which can be really painful to capture electronically. Not coincidentally, these are also static information sources that don't change much after I write them down.

My own solution has been to carry both a paper journal and an electronic tool (PDA, phone, or iPod, depending on the situation). Naturally, this is easier to do as electronic tools shrink.

Katherine

 

[Doug Walsh]

Katherine,

My reference is copies of powerpoint slides and word documents. I have perhpas 15-20 pages of these documents.

I love my journal. And it works out great with my ACT database.

 

[kewms]

With a PDA, you could keep electronic copies of the materials. I don't know if Blackberries support Office files, though.

I've seen journals that either had a file pocket built-in or were incorporated into folios. You might look around and see if there's a journal-folio combination that you like.

In your place, what I would probably do is use a small looseleaf binder. Tuck the pages into sheet protectors so they don't get dog-eared. The same binder might also work for short-term reference material like meeting agendas, maps to customer sites, etc.

Hope this helps!

Katherine