Nobody likes waiting. Whether it’s in-line or on the phone – or even to get an email reply – waiting is a waste of time. Make it easy for prospects to book their meetings directly with you.
1. Make it easy for prospects to connect with you.
Everyone is busy these days! Many of us don’t have time during regular working hours to sit down and book an appointment by phone with our financial advisors. Also, we don’t want to waste time emailing back and forth to find an appointment time that works for both of us.
That’s where online booking works. Your prospect can see when you’re available and simply pick a time and date that works for them—no back-and-forth emails- just a quick and easy way to set up an appointment.
2. Manage your schedule
One of the objections I hear is, “I don’t want to show my whole schedule, or I don’t want someone to book a meeting on a Friday afternoon.”
With an online booking system, you can control:
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Your availability. (ex. If you only want to do meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays, you can set this.)
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The length of time your meetings are. (ex. 20 minutes is sufficient for prospects to determine if there’s a fit.)
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Limit the number of meetings per day. (ex. You can set a max of 3 sessions per day.)
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Buffer time (ex. Add 15-minute transition times between meetings.)
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Prevent last-minute bookings (ex. Don’t let someone book you within 24 hours.)
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Specify the date range. (ex. Don’t let someone book you two months out; you can limit it to 30 days.)
3. Automatic sync with your calendar.
This might be a given, but your online booking will auto-sync with your Outlook or Google calendar once a prospect selects an appointment time. So, you never have to worry about forgetting a prospect appointment or accidentally double-booking yourself!
4. Automate
Another benefit of online booking is that you can put automation in place; this means:
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Integrate your online booking system with Zoom, GoTo Meeting or Teams, which means it will automatically create conference links and dial-in options that are sent directly to your prospect.
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Set an auto-reminder to go to your prospect before the meeting.
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Set an auto follow-up that goes directly to your prospect after your meeting to thank them for their time and reach out if they have any questions.
5. Make it easy to pick a specific topic.
You and your prospect will get more out of a meeting if you’re clear on what needs to be discussed. With online scheduling tools, when a prospect wants to set up an appointment, they can:
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Select a time and date that works for them.
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Indicate what financial matters they’d like to discuss. (ex. life insurance, retirement planning, estate planning, tax planning)
All of this helps cut down on no-shows and means you and the prospect can be well prepared for the meeting!
6. Where should your online booking system be placed?
Your online booking lets you confidently share your availability with prospects when they are most open to receiving it. By using high-visibility spaces to share your schedule, you’re giving prospects convenient access to the information they need so they can quickly contact you.
Your online booking is an obvious call to action; make sure your booking link is added to your:
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Website
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Email newsletter
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Facebook company page
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LinkedIn Profile
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Twitter
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Instagram
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Email signature
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All sales and marketing communication
7. Which booking systems work well for advisors?
The most popular online booking systems for advisors are:
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Calendly.com: If you’re unsure, this one is easy to try out since you can get the basic version for free.
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MicrosoftBookings.com: If you’re on Office 365, this is an easy one since it’s already fully integrated.
There are many online booking systems available. The key is to find one that works for you. First, check with your CRM to see if it can book online meetings.
We Can Help
Do you want to add your online booking system to your website or email newsletter but don’t know where to begin? We take care of this for our advisors. Click here to schedule a meeting with us to learn more about how we can help.