Manual Scheduling vs. Online Appointment Scheduling

For individuals and companies that do a lot of their business online, it can be a hassle to schedule meetings with other people. Online scheduling is a great way to eliminate all of the back and forth emails that it would normally take to schedule appointments, through the use of an online calendar and appointment scheduling system. Below is an overview of the BookedIN program.

This online appointment scheduling software lets clients set their own meetings from a free booking website provided as part of the monthly subscription fee. BookedIN charges a very competitive price for the use of its scheduler and allows unlimited users. That means that everyone in the office can have access to the group calendar, see each others’ schedules, and book appointments from within the office.  See a full list of features here.

Imagine you have a potential client that you’ve met online who is excited to talk with you about how you can help them. This client, like many you’ll encounter in your career, just can’t wait to get started with you and your company. You happily offer this client a free consultation that will help you both get on the same page, and you want to take advantage of their excitement by getting them to commit to a time right away. Now you have two options for scheduling their consultation; you can either use an online appointment scheduler or manually schedule on your own.

Option 1: Manually Scheduling Appointments

First, you’ll probably send your new potential client an email (or Facebook message, or Skype message, or whichever form of contact you’re using), including a list of times that will work for you in the next few days. They will probably send you back a message saying that those days and times don’t work for them, but that they are available at certain other days and times, which might not work for you. After several messages back and forth, you finally find a date and time in two weeks that will work for everyone.

Do you really want your potential client to wait up to two weeks just to have a consultation with you? What if that potential client cools over those two weeks, and decides that they don’t need your services after all by the time you meet for your consultation? If you knew that going in, chances are that you would have done a few things differently. The key thing to remember is how much time you waste going back and forth with just one person, and whether or not it is worth the hassle.

Option 2: Using An Online Appointment Scheduler

This time around, you can send that same excited client an email or message on the platform of your choice, but with a link to your online calendar attached so that they can see all of your available time slots. Your calendar will have already been preset to the times that you are available, so all your potential client needs to do is select the time that works best for them. They choose their time and message you again to let you know that they’re all set up, and you’re done!

Maybe your appointment is still two weeks away, but you can see how much time and effort you’ve already saved, just by streamlining this one part of your business. Using an online scheduling program is important for small businesses and startups in particular who can’t afford to pay additional staff to manage their scheduling, or don’t want to waste their own time, or the time of their clients, trying to figure out a time and day that works for both parties. Online scheduling software will save you and your clients time, headache, and a lot of money in the long run.