Ask your sales staff whether they prefer working in the office or out in the field and, chances are, getting out and meeting with customers face-to-face will win every time.

But working in the office does have one advantage—easy access to all sorts of useful information.

Leave the office, however, and it's a whole new game. Answering customers' questions in a face-to-face meeting can be problematic when you don't have the necessary data at your fingertips.

For example, you could be standing in the middle of a commercial job site, talking to a customer about how you can help him solve a problem. He agrees that your idea is a good one and wants to know how much inventory you've got on hand and how soon you can get it to him. What do you do? You probably pick up your cell phone, dial the office and hope that someone on your inside sales team is available to take the call.

But what if you could get the information on your own instead, on the spot and without involving anyone else in the process?

Today's wireless technology will let you do just that. Recent advancements in high speed wireless data networks are making it easier than ever to deliver critical information to the people who need it, virtually wherever and whenever they want it.

There are two solutions worth considering, both of which work in tandem with an unlimited data plan from a major wireless carrier:

• Full laptop implementation with Wireless AirCards
• Mobile PDA/smartphone devices

A laptop with a wireless connection offers full access to your business management systems and works just as it does in the office. It's likely to be the right choice in sales situations where there's a lot of research and custom order work to be done. And it offers the option of adding other applications and tools.

But laptop computers can involve complicated (and costly) implementation, training and maintenance requirements. Plus, on a more personal level, you need to consider how a customer might react when you or your salespeople walk in with a laptop, turn it on and start typing away.

Mobile PDA/smartphone devices, on the other hand—including the BlackBerry, Palm Treo and Motorola Q—offer a small, more portable option that gives salespeople quick access to just about all the information they'd need to answer most customer questions in the field. What's more, the total cost of ownership for a smartphone can be considerably less than for a laptop.

It's now easier than ever to provide your salespeople with quick and easy access to important business information while they're out of the office. So go ahead and start making plans to get out of town.