Chicks on a Plane – Top 10 Tips for Business Travel

This one is for all you ladies out there who travel for business.  Some love it, some hate it, but sometimes, the only way to get the job done is by hoppin’ on a plane.  Last week I successfully completed a quick sales trip to Texas and would like to share a few key reasons why it rocked with you fabulous people.

Here are my Top 10 Business Travel Recommendations:

1. Pack it In.  Leaving the office is tough.  Pack in as many meetings as possible in a single trip leaving yourself an hour between each for travel.  Mapquest is key.  It’s amazing how much you can accomplish in a single day if you plan it correctly.
2. Prep Your Peeps.  If you are bringing peers along to meetings, make sure they are informed of the background and purpose of the meeting before it takes place.  I create documents with background, goals, and opportunities to my peers before each meeting.
3. Solo night.  Before your big day of meetings or after, take the night to yourself for dinner.  You are “on” all day and decompressing is necessary more than you think!  Tell your friends or peers you are taking it easy solo instead of going to happy hour.  They will forgive you.
4. AM workout.  Wake up your brain and workout before your meetings.  A 20-minute sweat session will energize you for the long day ahead.
5. Connect.  How often are you seeing these people face to face?  You are typically emailing and on the phone.  Use this time to CONNECT and learn about their families, hobbies, and interests.
6. Notes.  Yes, look at your business partner or client in the eye but don’t forget to write down the takeaways and actions from the meeting.  My mantra: Meetings don’t mean a thing unless you follow-up.  You have nothing to follow-up on if you don’t write it down.
7. What to Eat.  Eat an omelet with berries or oatmeal for breakfast.  Eat a salad with protein for lunch.  Bring almonds in case you get hungry in between meetings.
8. What to NOT eat.  Don’t eat anything greasy or carb-heavy for breakfast or lunch.  Nothing worse than a food coma during meetings.  Don’t just east fruit for breakfast.  You will be starving by 10am and crash from the sugars.
9. Same day follow-up.  Be the person who holds others accountable and follows up right after the meeting.  Sure, you are in the airport.  So what?  You can crank out the “Thank You’s” and “this is what you promised me” emails while you wait for the plane.
10. WiFi.  Buy it.  Use it.  Check and respond to critical emails, write follow-ups, act on immediate tasks from your meetings.  It’s worth the $7 bucks.

Business trips are powerful!  Face-to-Face interaction is critical for building long-lasting trust between peers and clients.  I challenge you to get out there and meet the people you’ve been emailing with for the past 3 years in person.  Email is overrated 🙂