Welcome to the first issue of Tips from the PDA Pro!, full of tips and techniques to help you make the most of your PDA. Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter. Please enjoy the articles and contact me if you have any questions about using a PDA to increase your productivity.
Rick Cooper, The PDA Pro
Always Carry Your PDA
To be effective, you must always carry your PDA with you. Just bringing your PDA to work, or stashing it in your briefcase, won't cut it. You must bring it to every meeting and conference call you have. Doubling your productivity means you're always prepared to be productive.
Source: 101 Tips from the PDA Pro, Tip #1
Simple Contact Management
So, you have a PDA and now you want to do something with it. For most people, a PDA is simply an electronic rolodex. That's the most common use for it. But how do you get your contacts into your PDA?
If you use Outlook or another email application, you've probably already entered contacts there. By synchronizing your PDA with that application, you can transfer that information to your PDA. You can enter new contacts into that application or into the desktop application that comes with your PDA. For example, Palm PDAs can be synchronized with the Palm Desktop application. You can see everything that's in your Palm. I currently synchronize with Outlook. I prefer to have my contacts in the same place as my email. However, I will probably switch to ACT! because it has better tracking for contact activities. But, that's another story.
Simple contact management focuses on the basics. First, how many records should you enter for a single person? Ideally you'll want one record per person. I work with a lot of small business owners. Some have several businesses. I create a different record for each company they have or work for. There is usually a different address and phone number for each company. When I meet someone new, I create separate records for the person and the company. Personal information goes in the first record and company information in the second.
Palm allows you to store four phone numbers or email addresses for each contact. This is somewhat limiting. If a person has more information than that, you can store the other details in the notes section. Or, you can create a second record. Palm also provides four custom fields. I recommend that you designate one of those fields for birthdates by naming the field "Birthday." However, if you synchronize with Outlook, you will have to dig to find that information as it's not easily accessible. The Pocket PC allows you to track more information about a person. However, you can always store additional information about a contact in the notes section.
Most people simply don't take the time to make note of important information. Why? It may not seem important at the time. Or, they don't want to be writing in a PDA while someone is talking to them. I keep my PDA handy whenever I am talking to someone. I enter information on the spot. My memory is faulty. When my wife asks me to do something, I pull out my PDA and make a note. I remember important details only because I have taken the time to enter them while they were fresh in my mind. People marvel at my ability to recall information. Whenever I meet with someone, I check my PDA for details about them and then ask about their spouse or children by name. PDA stands for Productivity, Discipline and Action. That's my mantra. You have to be disciplined about using a PDA or you won't be able to take full advantage of the tools available.
So, now you have a wonderful PDA full of contact details. What's next? Well, make use of this information. The purpose of a list of contacts is to follow up. The simplest way to follow up is to schedule a time to call someone. If you schedule an appointment or meeting, enter it into your calendar. If you agree to call someone at a certain time, write it in your calendar. I can't tell you how many people I talk to who don't carry a calendar with them. They might say, "I'll call you tomorrow at 3 pm." I write it in my PDA. But when 3 pm arrives, there is no call. They forgot. Don't let this happen to you. It's embarrassing and you'll lose credibility with your customers and prospects.
Another way to schedule follow up is to use your task list. If I talk to someone and they tell me they don't have time to meet, I add a task to call them in one month. When that day arrives, I see a task that I need to call them. It's easy. It just takes the discipline to add the task when you complete your conversation with that person.
Now, remember, there are complex contact management applications such as ACT! and Goldmine that provide far more elaborate capabilities to track and plan contact activities. For most people, that's overkill. Just learn to use the basic applications and you'll be fine.
Simple contact management will make you a hero to your customers. You will follow through when you have committed to doing something. You will remember the names and ages of their family members. But, only if you take time to note it in your PDA. Contact management will succeed only if you keep the focus on building relationships and keeping your promises.
Protecting Your Little Black Book
The movie Little Black Book features a young woman, Stacy, who is frustrated when her boyfriend refuses to share information about his past relationships. When his PDA, a Palm Tungsten C, falls into her hands, she is faced with a conundrum. Does she give it back, or does she explore it? If she gave it back, we wouldn't have a movie, now would we? Stacy then proceeds to identify his ex-girlfriends and contact them. Let the games begin.
Could this really happen? Of course it could. Most PDAs contain a plethora of information about a person and their activities--their digital footprints. People store contact information, appointments, meetings and midnight rendezvous. They store passwords, login ID's and PIN numbers. They have photos of people they know and sometimes in awkward circumstances. It's a lot to have to explain. The courts are only beginning to grapple with how to handle the evidence found in a PDA. One person's little black book can be very incriminating indeed.
For the rest of us, we may have nothing as exotic; however, we are all in danger of exposure and threat. Identity theft has become one of the largest white collar crimes. There is enough information in the average PDA for someone to take over your life. So, what's the solution? Give up your PDA? No. You face the same problem with the typical planner. It has all of the same information, it's just not as accessible. In fact, a PDA has certain advantages over a planner. You have password protection for some of the data. Most importantly, you have a backup. The data should be safely stored on your computer and archived on external media.
That duplication of data also means an identity thief has more ways to get to it. So, what can you do? Well, the first concern is to make sure that you backup your data. Synchronize your PDA at least daily. I synchronize my Treo 600 two to three times each day, usually when I arrive at or leave my office. Backing up your data means that you should be creating a copy on tape, CD, zip disk, flash ROM or other external media and storing it offsite. If you're not, you are asking for trouble and your business is at risk. If your PDA is ever stolen, you will need to restore that data on a new PDA.
Next, you need to minimize the amount of data someone can actually access. Let's face it, if a hacker really wants to get your data, they will succeed. However, not every criminal is a super hacker. Sometimes you just want to keep your information from prying eyes. Just because you labeled something as private in your PDA doesn't mean someone else can't read it. It depends on what application you synchronize with. If you sync with Outlook, records that are private on your PDA may be public in Outlook.
The best way to protect passwords and PIN numbers is to store them in a password application that encrypts the data. The best applications have both a PDA application and a desktop application that allows access to the information from either system. The trouble is converting that data from whatever format it's in currently. I've struggled with this one myself. There is no easy method I've found so far. Just block out time to copy and paste the data from another source. It might take a few hours to get that information into a secure application.
If you're worried about someone viewing your schedule, the best approach is to archive your past history periodically. Outlook has settings which allow you to specify how often calendar events will be archived. This will wipe the history from your PDA also. Archives are usually stored in an external file which can be accessed later.
If you have incriminating photos, delete them. If you want a copy, save it on external media like tape, CD and flash ROM. For contacts, you can archive them or simply move the record to an external file. Outlook allows you to create a .pst file which you can use to save mail, calendar, address, tasks, or other information. Once you move a record, it will be removed from your PDA.
And, don't forget to delete the cookies and memory cache on your PDA's web browser. Remember that website you checked out last week? Is that something you want everyone else to know? Maybe not.
Don't forget physical security; keep an eye on your PDA. It's possible to take steps to protect your data and remove your digital footprints. Protect your little black book and it will protect you. And, by all means, avoid people like Stacy.
Events
Oct. 23-26 Institute of Management Consultants (IMC) Confab, Reno, NV. Rick is co-speaker with Marc Matheson in a two-part presentation, Beyond the Hype: Technology Tools That Can Add Significant Value to Your Practice. The presentation provides strategies and techniques consultants can use to manage their telecom and computer needs.
Announcements
Rick Cooper, The PDA Pro is co-author of the powerful new book, Marketing Magic, which will be available by year-end. Rick joins noted authors Brian Tracy, Jay Conrad Levinson and Robert W. Bly, to share their insights on marketing, media and public relations. Call 800-677-6708 to pre-order your copy today.
Quick Start Coaching Session By Phone
I'm pleased to announce an offer for free coaching by phone. For a limited time, I am offering a free half hour coaching session by phone to people who have not already attended one of my coaching sessions. Whether you have a PDA or are thinking of getting a PDA, I will offer advice on how best to leverage your time using a PDA. Learn how to double your productivity! Call me at 800-677-6708 to schedule your free Quick Start Coaching Session By Phone.
Disclaimers
The information and resources provided by The PDA Pro website and email newsletter, Tips from the PDA Pro, are intended to help you leverage your time to increase your productivity using a PDA. We hope you enjoy the information provided and gain value from implementing any suggestions you read. We do not specifically recommend or endorse any product or service mentioned in the newsletter or on the website. If you want to share this newsletter with a friend, click "Forward email" below and enter their email address.
This free email newsletter is available only upon request. If you no longer wish to receive it, click SafeUnsubscribe below, or contact me at 800-677- 6708.
Rick Cooper is The PDA Pro, your PDA Coach for productivity anytime, anywhere. He teaches people to manage their time effectively using a PDA. He offers sales coaching and training to help sales teams achieve their revenue and margin goals. Rick is author of the book, 101 Tips from The PDA Pro, which offers tips, hints and shortcuts on using a PDA to increase productivity. He is a national speaker on business productivity and sales.
