09/ 15/ 2005
by Vicki Gerson
How do you keep track of your appointments? Your PDA? E-mail? Sticky notes stuck to your desk?
Your appointment book isn’t just a collection of pages with names, phone numbers and dates determining when you’re scheduled to meet or speak with someone. Your appointment book can control when you work and how much time you’ll be spending with each customer or client. If sticky notes control your life, it’s time to rethink things. But if you control your appointment book, you’ll be able to take control of your schedule as well as maximize your time and profits.
Here are some suggestions on handling scheduling and appointments.
Establish a schedule: When considering a schedule, determine what your time limitations are by allowing for commute time, family schedules and regular obligations outside of work. If you dislike early morning meetings or calling on customers at 8 a.m., don’t do it. Establish a schedule that works for you. Try to avoid scheduling 10-hour days. You will burn out and not be as sharp talking to customers or clients.
Once you’ve determined that you will leave your small business at, say, 6 p.m., block off the other times in your book. If you don’t work Saturdays or only work a half day, block off that time. This avoids the temptation to try to squeeze in extra meetings and hours. Customers and clients will soon realize what your schedule is and see you during the business hours you have established.
Determine the time needed: If you are a salesperson, determine how long an average customer call takes. If you have a territory, determine the average amount of time traveling between calls. Use your favorite way to keep track of your schedule to make the most of the time and distance between sales calls.
When your business involves many conference phone calls or meetings, decide on the best time of day. In addition, decide if these can be accomplished in an average time of 30 minutes to 45 minutes and block out the time. This way you won’t feel pressured that you need to see the person sitting in the waiting room with your assistant, but you’re not done with your call.
Develop scheduling policies: How many times have you found yourself waiting for a client to arrive, but he or she is late. That throws your entire schedule off. What you must do is develop a scheduling policy. This is necessary if you see other clients on that particular day.
Regardless of what kind of small business you own, experiment to find the best way to schedule your time, because time is money. Make time for yourself, be consistent and throw out the sticky notes for meetings that have already passed!
