Cool Blackberry Apps for Lead Generation

We’ve decided to avoid the whole “Blackberry VS iPhone” discussion for now.  Know that both can be used for business, and both have a wide range of tools/apps that can help you with your lead generation.  If you’ve got an iPhone, you’ll want to read our other article on iPhone Apps for lead generation.  This article then, is specifically tailored to Blackberry users.

As you already know, your Blackberry is a powerful business tool.  It helps you stay in touch with colleagues, check email, browse websites, and organize contacts, tasks and meetings. If you’ve synced it with e-mail, online calendars or your computer you’ve probably realized that this smart-phone has become a necessity for your daily business operations.

So how can we make it even more powerful?

Aside from the dozens of apps available that can help transform your phone into a powerful tool for contact collection, storage, and organization we’ve found that there are a few key apps that can help assist you with lead generation.

We’ve reviewed a few and provided some snapshots into some new Blackberry apps for contact collection and lead generation assistance, and have listed them in – absolutely no particular order.  

Evernote

This is very popular mobile app that is designed to take quick notes and capture information in a variety of ways. The Blackberry app can scan photos of business cards; take text notes; and capture audio and images with attached notes.

All your useful information is neatly organized and can be synchronized with your computer to update the contact database. Evernote allows you full-featured search among all file types, helping you find contact information quickly and efficiently.

Pros: An excellent, free Blackberry app that takes quick notes and captures information anytime, anyplace.  Great for remember info on those lead follow-ups.

Cons: The free trial version does not include full file sharing and synchronization.

Cool Factor: Evernote includes geo-location information, which can be used to locate your contact on Google Maps!

Gwabbit

A major function for your Blackberry is email. If you’re often way from your desk, or on the road you’ve probably found that much of your business email communication takes place on the phone. Gwabbit is a handy little Blackberry app can literally “grab” contact details and information from any email. The contact details are then automatically updated on your Outlook address book.

Gwabbit uses a patent-pending semantic technology that can accurately find contact details within email body text, saving you the burden of copy-pasting each contact. Once the contact information has been captured, Gwabbit can also help you add prompts and reminders for meeting your contacts.

Pros: Very useful for on-the-go users who find their Blackberry is an essential tool for email and contact management.

Cons: Limited CRM functionality and limited free trial offer.

Cool Factor: Finds, selects, and copies contacts automatically from any email.

Vlingo

The Blackberry app brings a whole new level of hands-free convenience to your contact collection. Vlingo has an interface that can be controlled only by voice command, and uses this feature to deliver several benefits to the busy business person.

Here’s how it works: You can use the Vlingo app to quickly record and organize voice memos, dictate emails, browse the internet, and manage contact lists. This Blackberry app includes Twitter integration, which can help you keep in touch with your social network with only your voice.  

Pros: Contact lists can be searched using just voice commands in this free app.

Cons: Has limited functionality from the CRM viewpoint.

Cool Factor: Hands-free control and command.

LinkedIN App

LinkedIn is the world’s most popular business networking site. It is used by millions every day for lead generation activities, knowledge-sharing, and CRM initiatives. The free LinkedIn app for Blackberry phones brings all these activities on your phone’s screen.

The app has four sections that cover the important LinkedIn features. You can check your contacts, stay updated on discussions, and add new contact details. All your contact collection information is updated on the Blackberry and the LinkedIn servers.

Pros: Excellent free Blackberry app to share contact details between LinkedIn members.

Cons: Not very suitable if the majority of business contacts are not on LinkedIn.

Cool Factor: Brings all the benefits of LinkedIn right to your Blackberry

Regardless of your app of choice, there is wide variety of ways to use your Blackberry as an excellent lead generation tool.  Try a few out, and see what works best for you.