Thought I’d share a recent experience from the world of mobile cloud CRM.

I had a meeting with a wealth management client this week to talk them through how best to expand upon their thus far introductory usage of Salesforce CRM. One of the protagonists was their head BDM, a savvy, high-energy sales type who demanded quick evolution of the system for it to keep up with his frenetic pace. We talked through foundational matters of roles & responsibilities, data structures and processes, which were critical to success, but barely of enough interest to keep the BDM from twiddling with his iPhone 4 throughout.

However, once we arrived at the far sexier topic of mobile CRM, his eyes immediately lit up as the killer concepts of sales, gadgetry and freedom from his desk fused in his brain. I began to talk through the potential, but in the minute or two it took me to explain it he’d found the Salesforce Mobile app on the AppStore, installed it, logged into Salesforce and assessed how he’d access his contacts, make his calls and take his sales notes in Chatter. He interrupted me mid-sentence with a simple “Yep, we’ll have that” and promptly left the room to go back to selling.

It was a stark reminder to me that the decisions around cloud and mobile technology can be every bit as real‑time as the tools themselves. And that salespeople dig gadgets.

Everything mobile is HOT. Mobile advertising, mobile video and mobile CRM are just three mobile trends that will continue to flourish over the next several years.

As mobile adoption increases, mobile CRM will move from being seen as a competitive advantage to “the way we work”. It’s not a question whether should you go mobile, but when.

Companies who use Salesforce find the mobile app to be a great tool. Why? Well, it enables reps to stay connected even when they’re on the move. With instant access from a mobile device, reps can log calls, respond to leads, update opportunities, access key account information and view dashboards, whether they’re in a customer’s lobby or the back of a cab.

And yet, like any successful technology implementation, a well defined process and strategy will go a long way.

Bill Kalma of Model Metrics suggests asking 5 key questions before implementing SF mobile to help “separate fact from fiction and apply a mobile strategy that fits your organization and your users so you can realize success.”

What are they?

1.    Who are your users?
2.    How mature are your processes?
3.    What do users need to do to get their job done?
4.    What device suits your needs?
5.    How will security be maintained?

SF Mobile is available for Black Berry, iPhone and Windows Mobile device users. It’s free on Unlimited edition while Enterprise and Professional edition users can either pay extra for the full feature solution or use Mobile Lite, a free scaled down version.

Increase Salesforce adoption. Increase sales rep productivity. Go mobile today.