How To Handle A Lead Retrieval Crisis
Some of these might sound basic but they can be game-changers in the heat of the (panic) moment.
1. Check that your tablet is turned on.
a. It is surprising how many people have lead retrieval devices that are dark and won’t work – until they are turned on. Simply hold the on switch to power it up.
2. Check if your tablet lead scanner is in the proper mode.
a. If you’re in an offline mode, put your tablet in airplane mode (with Wifi OFF) to save battery and not interfere with Wifi.
b. If you’re in an online mode, make sure your Wifi is turned on, your network is configured, your password is stored or you have logged into the secure network through the browser. Stay near a router at amplified levels.
3. Check that your camera is clear / clean (including by removing the plastic protective sticker!).
a. If your camera is blurred or skewed by a clear plastic sticker, then it’s probably taking a long time or not scanning your barcode at all. It can be easy to take the tablet scanner out of the box and go without realizing it still has the protective wrapping on it.
4. Make sure you have a charger.
a. Battery power gets depleted quickly and even more so when using an online Wifi-dependent app. When Wifi is on, more than 33% of your battery is going to keeping a consistent connection. (That’s a lot of power!)
5. Check the barcode type with your software compatibility.
a. What type is it? Different software isrequired to scan different types of barcodes. Use a different scanner (easily downloaded on the app store) to see what information it extracts from the barcode. If a different app can extract information but your app isn’t, it’s probably because the software cannot read the barcode.
6. Give the camera enough time to read and recognize the barcode.
a. Hold the camera still.
b. Avoid shadows.
c. Avoid glares.
d. Tap once on your tablet to make the camera focus on the screen.
7. Check the size of the barcode vs. amount of information.
a. A vCard with 15 fields of information including long names and email addresses on a 3/4” by 3/4” QR code is too small for a camera to read quickly
b. Best practices state that QR codes should be at least 1” x 1” for most information. The more information in a barcode, the more pixels it will have; the bigger the QR code, the faster a camera will it.
8. Do not cover up the barcode.
a. You can skew a QR code anywhere from 10% – 30% as it has the most error correction built into it. However, if the issue is any more than it’s error correction, the camera will not read all of the information the code contains between the white spaces.
9. Use a work-around if you can’t scan in the moment.
a. Take a picture or collect a business card.
b. Scan a workable badge and change the email address to be the person’s info you want.
c. Write it down.
10. If it’s on a tablet, make sure only one finger is on the screen.
Lastly, the most important piece of advice is:
Be patient and ask for help.
Every piece of software is engineered by a human who has more answers than you do. If you have a question, chances are, someone can fix it.
We got your back – call us.