How to automate work meetings with Agile CRM’s web scheduler

Online appointment scheduling is pretty much what it sounds like. It is a way for customers and prospects to schedule appointments or meetings with you online. This happens through the use of a cloud-based web scheduler app, which automates the process.

The use of online web scheduler apps is growing in popularity. And the rise in popularity shows no signs of slowing down. In 2017, the global market size for online appointment scheduling software was $160 million and is expected to reach $480 million by the end of 2025.

Below we provide tips and best practices around using Agile CRM’s web scheduler to automate work meetings and save time to focus on higher-value tasks.

Setting up your web scheduler

The first thing you must do to take advantage of online appointment scheduling is to set up your web scheduler in Agile CRM. Here are the steps involved in doing so:

1. Open an account with Agile CRM. You can start with a free account—check out our pricing tiers.
2. Navigate to your Agile CRM dashboard and in the Sales section click “Online Calendar.”

3. This will show you the unique link to your online calendar.

4. Select the options you want by clicking the various tabs. You can select the time slots you want to display as available, define meeting types, and more.
5. Then, send your calendar link to anyone who wants to schedule a meeting with you. You can also include it in your email signature, your social media profile, etc. so that anyone can easily find it.
6. Leads and customers select the time slot they want and book at their convenience.
7. The meeting then automatically appears on your Agile CRM calendar.
8. You can set up a workflow that sends you an alert when someone books a new meeting.
9. You can also send an automated confirmation email to the person who booked using your web scheduler.
10. Finally, you can set automated reminders for yourself, so you don’t miss the meeting, as well as an automated reminder email to the person who booked with you, so they don’t forget to attend.

3 tips for streamlining your web scheduler app process

Now that we’ve covered how to set up your web scheduler calendar, we’ll dig into some tips and best practices for maximizing the benefits you receive from using it.

Always include a time buffer

You can’t have back-to-back meetings all day. It’s just not feasible. You need some time in between meetings to wrap up any notes from the previous one and prepare for the next.

When selecting the time slots when you are available, make sure not to leave the entire calendar wide open. Perhaps you block off 15 minutes every hour, or 30 minutes every hour and a half.

This will help you be more prepared for your appointments, which will result in better meeting outcomes and ultimately drive revenue growth and increase customer satisfaction.

Offer meetings of different lengths and for different reasons

You will have meetings for different reasons. You can determine how long the open time slots on your online calendar are and add a label that specifies what the purpose of that particular time slot is.

If you are in sales, you may offer 30-minute time slots for prospects who want to discuss your offering. Or, you may offer 15-minute time slots for customer check-ins.

You determine what those slots are for and how long they are. This prevents someone from booking an hour with you, only to take 15 minutes of your time.

It also gives you more control over your own time when you specify the purpose of the meeting with a label. Moreover, giving customers and prospects clearly defined choices in this way makes the process easier on them, as they can quickly identify which type of meeting they need, and book accordingly.

Don’t forget to block off time for yourself

Give yourself an entire day each week dedicated to the administration of your role. During this time, you never take meetings—it’s “you time.”

Or, you could decide that from 10:00 to 11:00 am every day you are not available for meetings. Your job entails more than taking meetings, and it’s important to have a dedicated block of time to focus on other tasks.

If you’re working on a project but must stop every half hour to take a meeting, you lose your train of thought and become less efficient at other tasks.

Take care of yourself in this way, and you’ll be able to better serve your customers. You will also maintain a more effective presence in the workplace if you can sit down for a dedicated block of time and work through pending tasks. And your online web scheduler app can help you do that.

Send automated confirmations to those who book with you

You should always set up a workflow in Agile CRM to send automated confirmation emails to people who book meetings through your online web scheduler.

Here is a list of the things that your confirmation emails can include:

• Meeting type
• Day of the week and date
• Time (including time zone, which should be done automatically by your solution)
• Duration of the meeting requested
• A calendar file so the requester can save it to their calendar
• A standardized agenda if applicable
• A link to cancel the meeting if need be
• The notes that the requester entered for their own reference
• A personalized note thanking them and telling them you look forward to meeting

3 major benefits of using an online web scheduler

We touched on some benefits of using an online web scheduler above. But here we will dive deeper into some of the major benefits involved.

Higher levels of customer satisfaction

Most new businesses fail in the first year because they can’t maintain satisfied customers.

An online web scheduler app helps to solve for this. Customers enjoy feeling a sense of control in their relationship with you. After all, in their minds, you work for them.

Give customers the option to access your calendar online and book meetings at their convenience. Doing so sends the message that you value their time and want them to have the ability to book an appointment when they need to, not when it’s convenient for you. Do this, and customer satisfaction grows.

Increased productivity and efficiency

Traditional appointment scheduling often involves a seemingly endless back and forth exchange of emails to find a time that fits everyone’s schedule.

A web scheduler app removes this obstacle. The customer or prospect can see when you are available and when you are not. Then they click to reserve that time slot, and that’s it: meeting scheduled!

Imagine what you could do with all of that extra time when everything is automated in this way. Spend it developing your strategy or devoting more one-on-one time to nurturing your customer and prospect relationships and closing more deals.

Staying on top of emerging trends

As mentioned above, the online appointment scheduling market is going to continue growing. You’ll see web scheduler apps used more and more. Adopting the technology now will ensure that you are ahead of the curve and as competitive as possible moving forward.

Plus, millennials prefer to do things online, having grown up in the digital era. They are quickly becoming the largest consumer demographic.

Moving to online scheduling will ensure that you are prepared for that to happen and can provide the right kind of customer experience to millennials.

Conclusion

Online appointment scheduling is on the rise. Now is the time to get on board, if you are not already.

The process is simple, affordable, and provides a host of benefits that will help you grow your business and increase revenue.

With the best practices discussed above, and a better understanding of how it all works, you should now be fully prepared to maximize the ROI on your online web scheduler app.