đź‘ŁSemi Automate Coaching Calls
Last week I mentioned sharing some IFTTT recipes that I wanted to set up, but my week took a different turn & I didn’t have a chance to play with IFTTT…
And, since this email is about the tools and resources I really am using, I decided to share an appointment call workflow that you can set and forget. I wrote about it on my blog in 2014 — and I’m using it as a starting place for this email today :)
I call it “semi-automated” because there are still a few things you will obviously need to handle (like the phone call/meeting itself)… :)
This is a completely free method. If you’re not offering a lot of calls (or different call packages) this method is perfect (or, it is for me).
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But, if you happen to be offering group calls, calls that you’re regularly charging for, then I highly recommend Acuity. Their setup is super easy. You can keep your free account with them, and upgrade to paid during months when you’re hosting a group program, or offering more paid coaching.
This is my referral link: http://herportable.biz/acuity
In fact, you could swap out Calendly in this “stack” for acuity, if you prefer… their free options are both great — but I use Calendly for my own… so that’s what I’ll share with you.
When you begin offering consulting or coaching calls to clients / customers, you might first start with an email exchange. Or, maybe via Facebook Messenger.
Usually there’s a “let’s pick a time” conversation, and a bit of back and forth… Which is great, but not terribly efficient & you can easily lose track of things.
You might also be asking your client/customer to book the appointment first & pay second. Or, pay first, and then send the link to pay second.
This is completely your choice. But I’m going to show you how to set it up with payment first.
You’ll need 4 free tools for this to work:
- Uberconference
- Calendly
- Paypal or Shopping Cart (like woocommerce or Easy Digital Downloads)
- Google Calendar
Step 1: Setup Uberconference for your calls
- Go to http://www.uberconference.com to set up your account
- If you want all of your calls to automatically be saved as MP3, go to Settings > Always Record Calls. Otherwise, make note of your “Organizer PIN #”
3. Make note of the Uberconference number they’ve assigned to you or click on the Copy button to copy it to your clipboard for the next steps.
Step 2: Setup Calendly Event
Calendly: Sign up for the free trial of Calendly to use the premium settings for the first 30 days, including making extra changes to confirmation emails, etc. When you downgrade to the free version until to do a big blitz of scheduling.
I’ve been upgrading every 6 months or so, for just one month to the premium version. Everything you set up still works when you downgrade — you just can’t edit some settings in the free version…
Although, I may consider using Acuity next time — because it allows me to skip the payment step.
- Go to your Calendly dashboard
- Edit one of the events they’ve set up for you
- Change event time, name, duration, etc
- Edit the custom URL if you’d like
- Change your availability
- If you’d like to ask any questions in advance of your meeting, add them to the Questions area
- Click on Email Settings and edit the “Confirmation” settings
8. Add your Uberconference information (click the copy button in Uberconference) into to the confirmation email template
9. Edit the confirmation & cancellation messages too.
10. Save your changes.
Step 3: Payment Options
You may want to use something as simple as paypal.me
Just type in any amount after the forward slash, and it will automatically prepare things for that amount, like this:
paypal.me/loralee/25 creates a $25 transaction in my own currency.
If I wanted to use another currency, add the code to the end like this:
paypal.me/loralee/25AUD
The downside of this method is that they won’t receive a tailored thank you note from you…
Which means you’ll need to follow up with links to your appointment… Or, collect payment, after the appointment is scheduled.
But, if you have a shopping cart on your website already, this is the method I prefer:
- Set up your item to receive payment
- In the receipt copy, include the link to the URL you created in Step 2- #4 (the calendly URL)
Step 4: Promote Your Offer
Congrats! You’re basically done now! When a potential client needs to book an appointment with you, they’ll go through the following steps.
- They’ll order the item from your shopping cart telling you a payment has been received.
- They’ll receive a receipt including the link to book their appointment
- After the client books, their appointment it will be automatically added to your Google calendar
- You’ll both receive confirmation in your email inbox
- At the interval you set, you’ll both receive an email reminder about the appointment.
- At the scheduled time, click through to your Uberconference line (works in Google Chrome), or call into the bridge line on your phone with your Organizer PIN #
- If you didn’t choose to automatically record calls in Step 1. 2, then let your client know you’d like to start the recording, and click on the record button in your browser.
- When the call is completed, go to Conferences > Past Conferences > View Summary
- If you promised your client the call recording, you can download the file & send it to them, or send them the link directly from Uberconference.
Just a quick mention again that you could swap out the payment / calendly option for the more robust Acuity. If collecting payments for calls is something you’re doing frequently, it’s worth the $10/mo for sure…. I don’t very often, so I stick with my free method. :) http://herportable.biz/acuity
Disclosure: This post contains some referral or affiliate links. If you click through and create an account, I may receive compensation, at no additional cost to you. In many cases I’m also able to provide you with special coupons, or extra bonuses, saving you extra $. When you click through, you’re helping me to keep writing, creating and supporting entrepreneurs in their journey to create a sustainable online business. Thank you!
Originally published at preview.mailerlite.com.
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