Organisational Tools for Your In-Car Office
In these busy times, many people are now finding that they can derive massive benefit from running an office from their car. Salespeople are the most obvious choice in this area. They run from appointment to appointment, and while doing this they can also run up a massive, unproductive mess in their vehicles. Some salespeople have taken this as an opportunity, however. They realise that they have to pretty much run an office from their car. When it comes to organising their week, for example, they have to do a lot of this from their vehicle. In addition, their day has to be organised too. Having the foresight to run a healthy working day out of their car makes all the difference to their wellbeing and their stress levels.
Let us take the most basic problem that many people who work on the road have. Say you have to meet an important client. They have a ten o’clock with you. The meeting is incredibly important, because the outcome could mean a major sale for you and your firm. So you are on the road, and primed for the meeting.
When you get there however, you realise that the major document that you need that client to sign is not in your car. Normally you are pretty efficient. However, with this client, the document that you need to clinch the deal is on your kitchen table, rather than your passenger seat. So the outcome is a lost sale.
It does not have to be a sales matter. You could be a consultant, who has a number of appointments in a day with high powered clients who demand the best service. They are relying upon you for information and advice that can help them run their organisation better. If you turn up without that key information, the end result is a loss of business. You have to be reliable, and if you are not, because the key documents are in your home or place of work, then you will lose trust, and money.
There are a number of measures that you can take that will transform the organisation of your in-car office. For the purposes of this article however, let us focus on just three core essentials.
The first and most important piece of advice that you can take on board is to make sure that your organisation is impeccable. In fact, there is absolutely no margin for error here. If you are not organised, scenarios like those above will occur, and you will find yourself leaving key documents at home, or not turning up with some document that you promised to bring.
So get a calendar. Everyone is now reachable by cell phone. This means that they could very easily call you out of the blue and make an appointment or change an appointment. You must have a calendar that is handy. You can have a paper one to hand and use that one. Or alternatively, you can buy a PDA (Personal Data Assistant) and synch that with your computer when you get home. Whatever you do, if you do not have a calendar that you can access when you are in the car, you cannot run an effective office from your car. For salespeople and consultants in particular, this is crucial. Not being able to input key information into your schedule on the fly will cost you money.
If a client calls up when you are on the road you will want to make notes if that call turns into an extended conversation. It is extremely important that your car has some kind of notepad in it. This can be a paper or electronic one, it does not matter. Whatever shape it takes, make sure that it is easy to access, and allows you to make notes quickly.
Finally, index cards should be part of your in-car office stationery. If someone calls you, or you have a thought that you need to get down, having these little cards to hand means that you can record the info and then input them into your at-home or office organisational tool. Carry a pack in your case or your pocket. They are invaluable.
Take these three core tools on board, and use them in your day-to-day work. Running an office from your car is easy, as long as you know how to organise yourself. These simple ideas will help you to do that.