Clients Scheduling Themselves - What will they think of next??

I went to a talk about a year ago held by an ecommerce specialist in Montreal, it was a networking opportunity, but I wasn't sure I would learn anything. Well, of course I was wrong. One of the biggest tips I got from her was to make it super easy for your client to buy your services. Majority of the time, if they are faced with a convoluted process on one hand, and a click of a button on the other, they will click the button. 

So think about it: you work hard on your website... you make it beautiful and you make it flow from page to page, leading your potential client on the journey of what it would be like for them to be your client. They end up on the pricing page, and they think, "Wow! I like this photography! I want to hire them!!" What happens next?

Well in most cases people then have to email that photographer for a full price list, then when they decide they will book they start going back and forth on dates and times, by the time the session is fully booked there have been 3 - 5 emails written by each party. 

What if we did it a little differently. What if we give our clients that buy now button. I wonder what will happen?

Well I can tell you, because I signed up for Acuity Scheduling (thanks to one of my mentors letting me in on her secret) and since then it has been easier to book clients in, and it has decreased the amount of back and forth I have to do normally to set up a session date. Not to mention when a client books themselves in, it is added to my calendar, which syncs with my iCalendar on my phone and laptop, but also with my 17hats calendar as well. I am never without the info I need to know when and what my sessions are!

To start you set up a session, then each session has its own link. When you are responding to an inquiry, or even right on your website give the client that link and they will be able to pick the time of their session. 

You can set the times you are open, and when someone books a session that time is blocked off on your calendar. You can even block off dates. It still gives you lots of control over when your client schedules their sessions. 

And the best thing is that it all connects to your paypal so you can have your client pay their deposit online right at booking. One less thing to worry about! Not to mention the intake form is completely customizable and a great way to pick your clients' brain on what they want from their session!

I have had more bookings and more clients willing to commit to a session using this scheduling program then I have ever had before! I really hope you consider signing up for a trail, you will see how easy it is to keep track of your bookings. 

Just one more thing to not worry about :) Seriously 2016 is gonna be YOUR year for balance!

Final tip! Even though I have everything online, I still love having a printed out and filled in Calendar on my desk, saves me the need to log in or pick up my phone which is a huge distraction while I work. Having a printed out calendar for the month on my desk means I can just glance over to see what I am doing on any given day that month. Every morning I check over my printed out calendar to make sure it matches my online one.

Double booking is a nightmare, one that, for me, has not yet been a reality, but I have come really close... this is why I surround myself with calendars, online and in person. It saves me a headache down the road!

In addition to showing you all about Acuity Scheduling, I have made up a printed calendar that I really love the design of. I hope you do too, and that you get to use it lots over the next year!! Click here for your free calendar!