Sales Reps Take Jan/San Manufacturer Apps To The Field

Stacks of brochures and bulky cleaning supplies used for product demonstrations have begun to collect dust in the closets and corners of offices, and in the trunks of jan/san sales representatives’ cars.

Salesmen are forgoing the backaches — and headaches — related to lugging these supplies around to sales calls and arming themselves instead with lightweight laptops, tablets and smartphones.

From these devices, salesmen are using slick, mobile applications created by cleaning supply manufacturers to accompany sales presentations, virtually demonstrating and describing products in an efficient and innovative way.

“The days of carrying boxes and boxes of literature is over,” says Bruce Browne, a senior sales representative at Penn Jersey Paper in Philadelphia. “I still have them, but I get to the point now where it’s a lot faster [to use apps] because I live 60 miles away from my company. If I need literature I can just bring it up on a screen.”

Mobile applications, or apps, are standalone pieces of software accessed via “smart” devices, such as tablets and smartphones. The tools are typically downloaded for free in the iTunes or Android stores.

For jan/san distributors, these apps have become an integral selling tool that has streamlined the sales process — and thrust sales representatives into the modern age.