There’s nothing like waking up in the morning and seeing that a potential new client booked a consultation with me.
They visited my website, saw my availability, and booked the time that worked best for them - all while I was sleeping.
And guess what?
The tool I use is completely FREE!
Seriously, if you’re not already using an online appointment scheduling program, here are 4 reasons you should be:
1. Like Having an Assistant
If you hired an assistant to help book your appointments, you would have to train them on a few things first.
You’d teach them what days and times are open for appointments, how long they should be scheduled for, how much time to give you between bookings, the maximum number you’d want on any given day, etc. You’d also have to teach them how to read your calendar to check for any conflicts and how to add new appointments to it.
An online appointment scheduling program can do all of this and more, and you won’t have to hire an assistant. You don’t have to worry the new person you’re training might forget your instructions or about training another new assistant if this one quits in a couple of months. Just set up these types of preferences and workflows, and the program does the rest (and often, for FREE)!
2. Expedites the Booking Process
Normally, scheduling a business meeting would require several e-mails back and forth. You'd offer a couple of dates, but by the time the other person responds, you're no longer available and you’re starting the process all over.
Using an online appointment scheduling program eliminates this need to go back and forth and completely expedites the booking process. You simply send people the link to your online scheduling page and they’ll be able to see your available time slots and book the one that works best for them.
3. Automation Built-In
As soon as someone books an appointment with you, the program will automatically add an event to the calendar of your choosing and send you an email notification. The participant who booked the appointment will also receive a confirmation and/or an invitation to add the appointment directly to their calendar.
If you want to cut down on no-shows, you can schedule reminder notifications or text messages before an appointment. If you’re looking to increase customer satisfaction, you can set up a post-meeting email with a link to a survey.
There are lots of features to choose from and customize, including automatic workflows, integration with Zoom meetings, and more, but it will all depend on the exact online appointment scheduling program and plan you choose.
4. Prevents Double Bookings
The best part about having an online appointment scheduling program is that it prevents double bookings. If you’re putting all of your plans, personal and business, on your calendar, you can’t be overbooked!
As soon as you schedule a vacation or make lunch plans with a colleague, add it to your calendar so the scheduling program can update your availability. There are no additional programs to update or office assistants to notify. Your online appointment scheduling program knows you’re no longer available and won’t let anyone book you during those times.
To see how an online appointment scheduler looks, or for help choosing the right program, click here to view my Tackle My Tech Session booking page.
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