Heading off around the World on a business trip is an exciting time, perhaps you are off to try and strike a deal, maintain relations or go to a seminar, either way this will be a great trip for you and the business. Amidst the excitement, it is important that you make the effort to properly plan all aspects of the trip so that it runs smoothly and you don’t have any worries whilst you are away. Assuming the planning is in your hands, here is how you should be preparing for your first business trip.

Butch_Jones_exiting_plane

Transport

flight delay compensation

Make sure that you get plane or train tickets booked up early, this will alleviate any concerns which you may have about traveling and also ensure that you get your tickets at the cheapest price. You also need to think about getting your airport transfers booked and how you will travel within your destination. There are some great companies who offer a professional limousine service which is perfect for business travel, businesses like Blacklane for example who operate in over 200 cities worldwide and offer you a personalized and professional car service. Make sure that you have given the flight number for your transfer as delays can be problematic enough, without missing your transfer too. In fact, If you are delayed for over 3 hours, you could well be entitled to flight delay compensation. This compensation is often overlooked by travelers who have been forced to wait, so make sure that you’re not one of them.

Entertainment

There are likely to be a lot of moments where you will need to keep yourself entertained such as during your travel and waiting around in hotels and you should prepare ahead of time for this. Download music, videos and games to your phone, laptop or tablet before you leave home will be a great way of ensuring that you have sufficient entertainment whilst you are away.

Schedule

The last thing you want to do is to miss or be late for any meetings that you have so it will be important that you have your schedule with you at all times. Check and double check all of your times and events before you go and then put a copy of your schedule on your phone so that you can keep an eye on it, you should also ensure that you have a paper copy, phone batteries can die at the worst possible moments!

Rehearse

If you are heading to a meeting to further promote your business then you need to be sure that you know exactly what you are going to say and how. Make sure that you are fully armed with information about your business and use any down time which you have to practice what  you will say.

Staying in Touch

Even though you are heading off to foreign lands, you will still need to stay in touch with people back home and you should ensure that you have plenty of ways to do so. Calling or texting the office, the kids or friends can be easily done with any one of the instant messenger services out there, apps like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp offer you the chance to call, video call or text people back home and all you will need is an internet connection. Before you go, be sure to download any relevant apps and let people know exactly how they can contact you.

As they say, fail to prepare and prepare to fail, this is especially true when it comes to business travel and if you want your first trip to be a success, then make sure you are totally ready.