Choosing a meeting scheduling tool in 2018
We’ve all been there: countless back-and-forth emails trying to figure out a time slot for a quick meeting or a call, only to notice a last-minute conflict and having to start again from square one. It’s frustrating, a huge productivity killer and meetings that should happen as soon as possible, get delayed. Ain’t nobody got time for that!
Since you’ve found this article, you probably are aware of the myriad of meeting scheduling tools out there. As a quick refresher, it’s the kind of tools where you can replace all those emails by sending a simple link which allows the recipient to just book a slot from your calendar. The tools connect with your calendar to make sure there are no double bookings, and in most cases, you can also, for example, make only specific hours available.
tools where you can replace all those emails by sending a simple link which allows the recipient to just book a slot from your calendar
The challenge is, which of the meeting scheduling tools to use? At PrompterAI we obsess over meeting productivity, and many of our users are also heavy users of all kinds of tools to make sure they spend their time as efficiently as possible.
Here are a quick overview and comparison of some of the tools, based on both our own experiences as well as feedback we’ve heard from our users.
Polling tools for one-off meetings
Sometimes all you need is a way for a larger group to quickly figure out the best time slot that works for most of the people. In these situations simplicity is what matters, and there’s no need for deep integrations with calendars or other tools.
Doodle
Doodle is one of the simplest tools around, but that’s not a bad thing! With Doodle, you can jot down a few suggested time slots and then email a link to all participants, who can then choose one or more possible times that work for them. Finally, as a result, you have the time slot that works for most people. I personally use Doodle quite a lot when scheduling get-togethers or for example lunches for a bit larger groups. Instead of a long email thread, it’s just one message “hey can you mark your available time slots here,” and perhaps a following up with a reminder for the lazy ones.
Instead of a long email thread, it’s just one message “hey can you mark your available time slots here,”
The best part is, that it’s straightforward to get started, no need to sign up or add payment details. You just create a poll, send a private, hard-to-guess link to the others, and that’s it.
In addition to the paid plan, there’s also a premium subscription starting from 29 euros per year (not too bad!) with additional features like automatic calendar invites, reminders and requests for further information.
Create your first Doodle in https://doodle.com/create
NeedToMeet
Another polling tool, NeedToMeet, provides similar functionality. While the standard package is available for free, users also have the option to pay $12 or $19 per year for more features such as Outlook integration, one-on-one meeting scheduling, a personal online calendar, and contact syncing.
Grapple
Similarly, Grapple offers a free and straightforward polling page so that invited members can view available time slots, choose the ones best for them, and see other members’ selections. Color-coded time slots allow users to select options such as “available,” “not preferable,” or “can’t make it,” making it simpler for attendees to reschedule around each other’s obligations.
Dedicated Scheduling Tools
If you’re on the lookout for something that’s more than a polling tool but is still a simple, straightforward service to help you optimize your coveted calendar space, check out these meeting scheduling tools which stick to the tried and true basics with a bit more functionality than polling alone.
With most of these you also essentially send a link to the other attendee in the meeting, and then they can choose a time slot that works the best for them. What sets these tools apart from the more basic polling tools is the depth of integration with your calendar and other internal tools. Instead of larger, one-off meetings, they are more suitable if you regularly spend time, for example, scheduling sales calls or pitch meetings.
Calendly
One of the most popular meeting scheduling tools among PrompterAI users is Calendly. It connects with your choice of a calendar and automatically updates available slots. Whenever you’re scheduling a meeting, you just send the other person your personal Calendly link with preset meeting duration, and they can then choose whichever works the best for them. This automatically creates a meeting in your calendar and sends out an invitation for the other person as well.
Whenever you’re scheduling a meeting, you just send the other person your personal Calendly link with preset meeting duration, and they can then choose whichever works the best for them
Extra features like time zone detection, automatic time buffers, and implementations for team collaboration make scheduling a smooth process for both you and your invitees.
It’s effortless and straightforward to use, and you can get started with their free subscription. With paid plans, you get more automation, integrations and improved professional look with customized links (e.g., https://calendly.com/janedoe) and branded pages.
10to8
10to8 is another highly ranked appointment scheduling software which stands out among the pack as an option which offers its core services for free! By integrating 10to8’s services with Google Calendar, Facebook, Wordpress, Paypal, and more, it’s possible to conveniently track performance and decrease no-show appointments by sending out automated appointment reminders.
x.ai
This one’s actually a little different than the other meeting scheduling tools and feels more like a virtual assistant than just an extension of your calendar software.
With x.ai, instead of sending out a link with available time slots, you CC either Amy or Andrew to the email thread: “my assistant Amy (CC’d) can help you schedule a meeting with me.” The trick is, that while the assistant feels and discusses like a human, it’s actually a bot powered by artificial intelligence.
The upside is that for the other person dealing with “an assistant” feel much more personal than just a link with an automatically updating list of available time slots. The downside is, that while you get away with sending out those emails, the other person still has to go through finding the perfect time slot one email at a time, getting meetings actually scheduled might take a bit longer.
I’m looking forward to the future, where both attendees just use these kinds of AI-tools, and we have two bots sending emails to each other. And maybe as the next step, it’s just the robots handling the meeting as well, who knows!
I’m looking forward to the future where we have two bots sending emails to each other, both thinking the other one is a human :)
There’s no free version available, but you can get started with a 7-day free trial, and after that, the subscription is $29 per month.
Built-in appointment scheduling in your CRM
If you’re serious about sales productivity, you probably already are using some kind of a CRM-system, which might actually already have these scheduling features built-in.
Pipedrive
Pipedrive’s Gold Plan (€24.20 per month per user) includes a Scheduler feature, deeply integrated with the other CRM functionality. You can create different kinds of events like recurring or one-off ones, and then send your customers a link to schedule the meeting. All those will automatically connect with the rest of the CRM data, and show up as new activities in your feed.
Hubspot
Hubspot has a free meeting scheduling tool, which you can use even if you aren’t using their CRM to manage leads and sales contacts. Getting started takes only a few clicks, though at the same time you do also sign up for a full Hubspot account. So even if it’s not a completely separate product, the expectation is that eventually, you’d also adopt other aspects of the Hubspot suite. And there’s no reason not to!
Which is the right one for you?
The dull and usual answer: it depends. But, here’s a few questions to help you choose.
How actively you use and keep your calendar updated?
If your calendar doesn’t have all your meetings and blocked time slots always up to date, it might be easier to stick with the polling solutions. More advanced scheduling solutions, which essentially let the other person choose any time slot as long as it’s vacant, are quite risky if the seemingly available slot is actually reserved for something else, but it hasn’t been updated to the calendar. With polling solutions you always specify possible time slots for the meeting, so your time management doesn’t have to be fully automated.
If this is the case, go with Doodle.
Is there a specific niche-functionality you absolutely require?
Or are you already either using a CRM provider or other tools which also includes means for scheduling meetings?
While most of the meeting scheduling tools are fundamentally quite similar, it’s the details which count. If you need to collect payments for your appointments through Paypal, 10to8 is your go-to service. Do you hate the idea of the lack of personal touch of just sending out links as opposed to “human interaction”? Then you should choose x.ai.
Also, especially all other things being equal, I’d recommend trying to minimize the number of different tools and vendors. While always having the perfect tool for the job makes sense, also adding up a bunch of overlapping tools increases complexity. For example, if your CRM provider already has a scheduling functionality, use it!
You just want meeting scheduling to be more productive
If you, like most of us, just want to get the meeting scheduled more efficiently, then there’s actually not that much difference between the different tools. Since paralysis by analysis is also a thing, I’d recommend just choosing the one whichever looks nicest to you. It will anyway work really well, and all the tools for example in this list are solid.
If you don’t want to decide yourself, choose Calendly. It’s simple to get started, looks professional and the pricing is reasonable.
If you don’t want to decide yourself, choose Calendly. It’s simple to get started, looks professional and the pricing is reasonable.
Get started with Calendly here: https://calendly.com/signup
