Overview
Why track activities?
We spend a lot of time strategizing and planning in advance. Who should we talk to? What should we say? How frequently do we visit each account or contact?
It is important to have direction and purpose.
But how do we know if we are talking to the right person? Or saying the right thing? Or using our time well?
The only way to be sure that all of our planning has worked is to evaluate what we have done which we can only do if we document our efforts.
Turning the Corner
We have now moved from planning to execution. This signifies some changes to our perspective:
- You have moved from initial setup where you worked with multiple accounts, contacts and events to ongoing maintenance of an account, contact, call-note, and/or expense.
- You will now stop using your computer and do your work on your mobile device. (It is not that you can't track activities on a computer, but there are now advantages to using your mobile device.)
- Activity tracking takes less time, but you should do it after each visit.
Discipline, Ugh!
Did we say, "after each visit?" Really?
Yes, and there is a reason. Two reasons, to be accurate. If you document your visit immediately, you will remember what you did and said more accurately, and you won't forget important details. Furthermore, documentation isn't just about what you just did. You can also prompt your future self with tidbits of good advice and objectives for your next visit. Then, when you are planning the next visit later, you won't need to remember all your great ideas from the previous visit. Okay, so maybe there are three or four reasons.
In this article
- Summary of ARC - Trella Health's best practice for excellent documentation
- Activity Tracking - Let's Do It!
- Additional Resources
ARC - Action, Reaction, Commitment
At Trella Health we just can't help it, we have a best practice for everything, and an acronym to make it all memorable. In this case, the goal is to create meaningful documentation, and the solution is ARC. Each letter represents a type of content required to create meaningful notes.
- Action - Summary of what you talked about and names of those with whom you spoke. Remembering who and what is critical, especially if you met a new contact. You will want to review this content before your next visit to be up-to-date on the last visit.
- Reaction - What was the response from those who heard your presentation? Did someone ask for a follow up action, meeting, or activity? Was someone interested in more information? What you document under "reaction" will inform any next steps you take in preparation for future interactions with your contacts.
- Commitment - Create a list of actions to complete before your next visit.
If you want to see a detailed example, see Creating Meaningful Notes.
Activity Tracking
Important retrospective
As we consider Trella Health best practices, we kinda feel that it is worth mentioning that since you followed ACE up to this point, you will find that tracking your activities is easier, and everything you do will end up connected to the right account and contact.
In summary, what you are going to do is complete your events. As mentioned, this should be done immediately after the visit.
The easiest way to see this process is images with explanations.
Next Step
Success! - If you have reached this point, you are ready to move on to Step 7 - Review Your Performance.
Add Resources
- ongoing maintenance
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