Tech Bit #6 by Gregg Marshall

Emails can start piling up fast just trying to figure out when’s a good time to meet.

So you need to have a meeting or conference call with 10 people.

The emails start. Who is available when? Is this option or the other better for most people? If everyone is hitting reply all, then hundreds of emails could be generated.

What a pain!

There are Web-based alternatives (

http://www.setameeting.comorhttp://whenisgood.net).

You log in, set the parameters of options for when to meet, and the email addresses of who is attending. They get an email with a link to a custom preference page. They give their preferences, the Website keeps track of the “votes.” When everyone is done (or as many as you want), you take the best option and send out the invite.

So is next Tuesday at 9 am good for you?

Gregg Marshall, CSP, CPMR, is president of Rep Connection Inc., a consulting company that works to help maximize the effectiveness of manufacturers and their professional outsourced field sales forces (reps), especially in the areas of electronic commerce and partner results optimization. He is a past president of the Association of Industry Manufacturers' Representatives (AIM/R) and has served on the Manufacturers Representative Education Research Foundation (MRERF) and Institute for Professional Advancement executive committees. He was chairman of the AIM/R Technology Committee, the AIM/R EDI Task Force, and a member of the American Supply Association Center for Advancing Technology Steering Committee. He can be reached by e-mail at gmarshall [AT] repconnection.com, by phone at (303) 475-6634, or visit his LinkedIn profile at www.linkedin.com/in/greggmarshall.