Checks ? Here Today, Here Tomorrow Visa and ... - The Green Sheet

Page 49
On The Road Again
You’ve been talking with a promising prospect for
weeks, and a meeting finally has been set up.
You’ve done solid preparation and are happily
on your way to yet another important presentation.
You check your bags, get on the flight, arrive at your destination,
deplane and are greeted with every salesperson’s
worst nightmare – your luggage is nowhere to be found.
The airline promises delivery within 24 hours. Your meeting
is in two hours. What to do?
Another stressful scenario: You arrive at the airport in
plenty of time. Then it happens. Your flight is delayed,
perhaps even canceled. Either way, you’re going to miss
your meeting. You may have your luggage by your side,
but you have no plane to take you to your destination. How
do you avoid another business loss in terms of time and
productivity?
the road.
• Always call ahead to confirm that your dial-up modem is
compatible with hotel phone lines. The hotel network may
or may not provide the proper IP address support.
• Take advantage of online data backup services to access
your office files while you’re on the road. Myspace
(www.freediskspace.com), Xdrive Technologies
(www.xdrive.com) and i-drive (www.idrive.com) all offer
from 50MB to 300MB free space to store your company
files should you need to retrieve something while on a
business trip.
• Check out the business centers now being offered by airline
clubs. American, Delta, Northwest, United and US Air
all offer fax machines, free local phone calls, Internet connectivity
and, in most cases, conference rooms at their
respective clubs. These services are invaluable for those
travelers stranded at airports.
Because the lifestyle of an ISO is nomadic, these travel trials
and tribulations are part and parcel of their business
world. American Express statistics show that the average
business traveler will spend three years just waiting for
flights and another two years going to and from airports!
Living out of briefcases, suitcases and the like, field professionals
are challenged regularly. Meeting those challenges
is the difference between success and failure. Here
are a few tips for your next travel challenge:
• Don’t leave home without it – a laptop computer.
Always, always carry it on the plane or in the front seat of
your car, including all its power cords and connectivity
lines.
• Install the necessary software in that laptop so you can
access your e-mail from any location.
• Keep backup files of your entire presentation on a separate
disk should your laptop get lost or damaged. Carry
that disk in your pocket.
• Your cell phone is your on-the-road link to the world.
Carry its battery charger in your briefcase as well.
• Be sure there is a business center at the hotel where
you’re staying. If not, find one in the area before you hit