If your work involves field sales, account management, or any job that’s heavy on appointments and travel, your calendar can either be a lifesaver or a black hole. This guide is for anyone who’s sick of double-booking, wasting time zigzagging across town, or losing track of which meetings actually move the needle.
We’ll walk through how to use Badgermaps calendar features to actually make your day easier—not just add another layer of “organization.” I’ll call out shortcuts, honest limitations, and real tips to help you prioritize what matters.
1. Getting Set Up: Syncing Your Calendar
Let’s start at square one: Badgermaps doesn’t want to be your only calendar. It’s designed to play nicely with what you already use, like Google Calendar or Outlook.
Here’s how to connect your calendar:
- Go to “Settings” in the Badgermaps app (web or mobile, same idea).
- Find the “Calendar Sync” or “Integrations” section.
- Choose your calendar provider and follow the prompts to connect your account.
- Grant the necessary permissions (yeah, you have to let it see your calendar events).
Pro tips: - If you use multiple calendars, pick the one where you actually schedule your sales meetings. Don’t sync your family calendar unless you want to accidentally route to your kid’s soccer practice. - Syncing is usually one-way: Badgermaps pulls in your events, but changes you make in Badgermaps may not always push back to your main calendar. Test this with a dummy event before relying on it.
2. Adding and Managing Meetings in Badgermaps
You can add meetings in Badgermaps in a couple of ways:
- Directly on the map: Click or tap a pin (a customer or lead), then select “Schedule Meeting.”
- From your calendar view: Pick a time slot and add a meeting, just like any other calendar app.
What works well: - When you add a meeting to a client’s location, Badgermaps automatically ties the event to that address and puts it on your map. No more copy-pasting addresses or digging for details. - If you’ve imported your customer list, it’s easy to pick the right contact and avoid typos.
What’s not so great: - Recurring meetings aren’t Badgermaps’ strong suit. If you have, say, a weekly check-in at the same place, you’ll have to make those one at a time or stick to your main calendar. - If you’re trying to coordinate meetings with multiple team members, Badgermaps isn’t a group scheduling tool. It’s built for you, not for booking boardrooms.
3. Prioritizing Meetings: Which Ones Deserve Your Time?
Here’s where most salespeople stumble: not all meetings are equal. Badgermaps gives you tools to help focus on what matters.
A few ways to prioritize:
- Color-coded pins: You can tag customers or leads by priority (red = urgent, yellow = follow-up, green = routine). When you look at your map or calendar, it’s obvious who needs attention.
- Custom fields: Track things like deal size, last visit, or VIP status. Make a habit of updating these fields so you’re not just guessing.
- Filters: Use filters to show only high-priority accounts or those you haven’t visited in a while.
Skip this: - Don’t get bogged down tagging every possible detail. Focus on one or two fields that actually change your decisions—like “last contact date” or “deal stage.”
4. Route Optimization: Getting More Done with Less Driving
Here’s where Badgermaps stands out. Once you’ve loaded your meetings for the day, you can let it optimize your route. This means less time stuck in traffic and more time actually meeting people.
How to optimize your day:
- On the map, select the customers or meetings you want to visit.
- Click “Optimize Route.”
- Badgermaps will re-order your stops to minimize driving time.
- Save the route to your calendar.
What works: - You can include both scheduled meetings and “maybe” stops (like prospects you might swing by if you have time). - The route updates in real time if you add or remove meetings.
What to ignore: - Don’t try to cram in too many meetings just because the app says the drive times fit. Always leave buffer time—traffic is rarely as good as the app thinks.
Pro tip: - Use Badgermaps’ “Suggest Nearby” feature to fill open slots with prospects close to your route. This is way more effective than cold-calling random leads across town.
5. Calendar View vs. Map View: When to Use Each
Badgermaps gives you two main ways to see your day: the map view and the calendar view. Each has its place.
Map View: - Best for planning routes and visualizing your day geographically. - Quickly shows if you’re zigzagging all over or working one area efficiently.
Calendar View: - Best for checking your time commitments and avoiding double-booking. - Lets you spot awkward gaps or overlaps.
Don’t overthink it: Use the map view to plan, and the calendar view to sanity-check your timing. If you’re a visual person, you’ll probably use map view more.
6. Adjusting on the Fly: Dealing with Cancellations and Changes
No plan survives first contact with reality. Meetings get canceled, traffic happens, someone isn’t at the office when you show up.
How to adjust:
- If a meeting cancels, delete it from your calendar and re-optimize your route. Badgermaps will shuffle the rest.
- If you need to add a last-minute meeting, find the spot on the map and add it. Then re-run route optimization.
- Use the “Notes” feature to jot down why a meeting changed—saves confusion later.
Reality check: - Don’t rely on notifications alone. If your day is in flux, keep checking the app so you’re not driving to an empty office.
7. Reporting and Looking Back: Did You Prioritize the Right Stuff?
At the end of the week or month, use Badgermaps’ reporting to see where your time actually went.
Here’s what you can do:
- Export your visited locations and meetings.
- See which accounts you’re visiting most (and which you’re neglecting).
- Spot patterns: Are you spending too much time on low-priority clients? Are your best customers getting enough face time?
Don’t waste time: - Ignore vanity metrics (like “total miles driven”). Focus on meetings that led to results—sales, renewals, or key conversations.
8. Common Pitfalls (And How to Avoid Them)
Don’t try to plan every minute. Leave breathing room between meetings for traffic, notes, or just not losing your mind.
Don’t use every feature. If something doesn’t save you time, skip it. You don’t get a medal for using every button.
Don’t overcomplicate your priority system. Two or three levels (high, medium, low) are enough for almost everyone.
Don’t forget to check your main calendar. If you have personal events, make sure you’re not booking over them by accident.
Keep It Simple, Iterate as You Go
Badgermaps can make your meeting planning much less painful—if you stick to the basics. Sync your calendar, prioritize what matters, optimize your routes, and give yourself enough buffer to deal with the real world. Don’t chase perfection. Try one change at a time, see what actually helps, and adjust. Your calendar is supposed to work for you, not the other way around.