Trying times

The Admin

Scheduling meetings takes a big part of my day. I spend hours to arrange a simple conference call, with email, voicemail, callbacks, confirmations, and making sure everyone has the latest agenda and materials. A big executive presentation or customer site visit can take weeks to schedule-and business stays "on hold" until it happens. After all that, sometimes the meeting just falls apart-and rescheduling is a whole new nightmare.

I could do a lot more for this company if I could bring people together faster. My Outlook calendar helps, but not everybody keeps theirs up to date, and it doesn't work for all the meetings I schedule outside the company.

Scheduling shouldn't be so hard. Just give me a system that works with my Outlook email and calendar, tracks responses and helps me distribute meeting materials. It may not sound like much. But it would speed up the way we do business around here, and help make me a lot more productive.

TimeBridge Solution

TimeBridge organizes everything you need on one Outlook screen, and eliminates errors and busywork. Just propose meeting times in an email—TimeBridge monitors responses, selects the time that works best, updates your calendar, and creates a place for you to post meeting materials online. If you need to reschedule, TimeBridge manages all the updates and notifications, so you never need to start from scratch.

Making the most of time

The Sales Manager

When I'm in a city, I want to see as many customers as I can, especially if I'm bringing along a product specialist or top executive. But after the juggling act to make and change appointments, my schedule looks like Swiss cheese. I end up meeting just four customers instead of ten, and waste downtime sitting in Starbucks, with my Executive Vice-President. It's embarrassing.

I'm paid to sell, but some days I do nothing but set up, move and confirm appointments. And as much as I hate to bother customers, I have to check back with them to avoid double-booking and no-shows.

I just want to suggest a few meeting times and let my customer pick one that's convenient. I don't want to track and cancel the extra times, adjust for time zones, or shuffle my calendar, email and contact list. Isn't this why we bought all these computers?

TimeBridge Solution

TimeBridge was made to help busy professionals keep tight schedules. Just block out your meeting schedule in Outlook, TimeBridge lets your customers confirm their own appointments, and manages any conflicts in real time. Your customers and your calendar stay effortlessly up to date, while you stay productive and in control. Now you can keep a full appointment schedule and spend a lot less on coffee.

No time to find time

The Consultant

All my new business comes from my network, it's my lifeline. But I lose my grip on it every time I get a big assignment. I try to stay in touch by email, phone and IM, but it's hard to get together in person with contacts, even for coffee. Sure, I'm busy, and so are they, but it's not like we work all the time. We just can't sync up fast enough to use the time we have.

To stay productive, I need to network during assignments, not just between them. Technology helps, but it doesn't close the loop. Phone, email and IM are great, but they don't connect with my calendar. I don't have an assistant, and I can't spend a lot of time record-keeping. I'm getting my work done, but my networking and business development are starting to suffer.

When I see some free time coming up, I want to use it, to meet a contact for coffee, have lunch, pitch a new idea, and maybe just get together with a friend for tennis. I don't need more time, but I need a better way to use the time I've got.

TimeBridge Solution

TimeBridge takes the overhead out of scheduling meetings, so you can accomplish more with the hours in your day. Just tell your contacts when you're available, TimeBridge helps them choose convenient times to meet, resolves any scheduling conflicts, and refreshes your calendar automatically. You stay effortlessly connected, effortlessly up-to-date, and make the most of every minute.