My neighbor, a recently retired F-15 pilot, and I were reminiscing about flying in the Air Force. It was amazing, as we talked, all of little nuances, techniques, and efficiencies that are standardized in high performance flying. These are the things that made us sharp, precise, and mission effective. Whenever I flew, and even with my neighbor now, I was confident that we could be mission effective the first and every time we flew together even though we had never trained or served together.

A big part of this efficiency and standardization occurs in the cockpit. Here is a photo of an F-15 cockpit.

It is complex and dense with information and controls. However, a pilot when he straps on his jet has minimal range of motion–so it all has to be right there. The cockpit has to be designed so the pilot can gather all of the information they need and make adjustments in a split second with minimal movement; all of the while keeping their hands on the controls and their head and eyes outside, in the fight.

As we sat there telling flying war stories it made me think of the parallels in building a mission effective sales management tool:

• It needs to fit the user like a glove, like strapping on your jet–once you are in the system you should have everything to close a deal, without leaving the cockpit
• It needs to be like a fighter pilot’s cockpit–dense with information and controls, but able to gather information and make adjustments split second
• It needs to be efficient like a cockpit design–allowing you to operate at high velocity, without slowing down to use the system

I think a picture illustrates it better than words. Here is a mission effective sales cockpit.

icoSales is a mission effective sales tool. Much like the fighter pilot’s cockpit above, it has one primary screen with everything at your finger tips to close a deal.

• If you need to dial or email the customer, it is there
• If you need to remember your last conversation, it is there
• If you need to document your conversation, it is there
• If you need to send an email follow-up, it is there
• If you need to start a drip email campaign, it is there
• If you need to schedule a follow up conversation, it is there
• If you need to take an application, it is there
• If you need to take a deposit, it is there
• If you need to send offers or program options, it is there

There are no distractions. It allows you to keep your head out of the cockpit and engaged with the customer.

Mission Effective is not stumbling through Outlook, Excel spreadsheets, Mail merge, Goldmine, and notes on legal pads.

Mission Effective is doing more deals while maintaining a fanatical customer experience.