The 5 Commandments of Booking Yourself (Without Slapping Yourself, Later)

Important info you'll want to file away and/or get tattooed on your person. Acuity Scheduling Itching to learn even more about Acuity? Join Nicole for a live weekly webinar: [Register now »] --------------------------------------------------------------- In your business, you’ve got days and times you’re available for bookings and...days OFF. (We hope.) But just hanging up a sign on your digital door saying you’re open for business from 9-5pm (or 7am-7pm if you’re anything like most business owners!) isn’t always enough to keep your schedule swimming along smoothly. (Assuming schedules can swim.) (By the way, your digital door, where clients can book appointments with you, is [ You can change this or embed into your own website under [Client's Scheduling Page].) Here are the 5 Holy Commandments of Booking Yourself (Without Slapping Yourself, Later) - Set up regularly weekly hours....and stick to 'em. - Don’t hold down a regular schedule? Set the exact dates you're available. - Choose exactly when clients can book, down to the very minute. - Offer up classes, workshops, or group events. - Differentiate different appointment types by setting different hours. And without further ado... 1. Set up regularly weekly hours....and stick to 'em. By setting your regular hours, you're setting expectations for your clients and jump-starting the heart of the scheduling two-step. (Nothing is worse than a flurry of customer service emails asking when you’re available this week, or four weeks from now, or four months from now.) How to handle it? [Log into your Acuity calendar] and click on Availability, where you can set your hours for each and every day of the week. For example, (*adorns large and befitting spectacles*), if you want to be available from 9:00am to 3:00pm with an hour break at noon for eating lunch and/or wrestling a giant panda, you'll set your hours as "9:00am-12:00pm, 1:00pm-3:30pm" (And if you’re closed any day of the week, just leave those hours blank.) 2. Don’t hold down a regular schedule? Let's put on our imagination caps, (complete with chin strap and tiny spinner), and pretend you're running an event that centers around exotic bird calls of the South Pacific. (Kaaaa-looooh!? Exotic bird call in question.) Due to the length of your event, you only want scheduling open from June 3rd through the 12th. No bookings outside that date range. No screwing with your previously-set schedule. No hassle. No problem. Once you're in [Availability], clear out your normal hours so you're temporarily closed from June 3rd through the 12th. Then, give a little click to "Override normal hours," and set your special, bird-centric availability for the duration of your endeavor. (Pro tip: You can also use "Override normal hours" to change your availability for any day your work schedule is a little wonky.) 3. Choose exactly when clients can book, down to the very minute. Have an over-excited Edgar who wants to book you for 9 hours every other day for the next 17 years so you can talk about that time his cat crawled into his sock drawer at length? Set boundaries around your time (and peace of mind). [Under Availability], you can set how far in advance clients can book, (hint: not 17 years), and what time intervals they can pick from. The default is every 15 minutes, but maybe every hour on the hour is more your jam. (Or peanut butter. Or quite possibly Nutella.) Also within Availability , you can pick and choose the precise times appointments are open. (Or not.) Feel particularly creative at 2:22 every day? Set up your schedule to reflect your preferences and point your clients in the right direction. 4. Offer up classes, workshops, or group events. Because this is where scalability (beautifully) rears her head. Whether it's a one-time soiree or a recurring event for a group of 150, setting up a class (and getting paid by the head) is as simple as The Macarena going into your appointment types and choosing the exact dates and times you want to offer one clicking on "Offer Class". Then, it’s as simple as getting the word out. 5. Differentiate different appointment types by setting different hours. Example: Maybe you have phone appointments sprinkled throughout the day, but you only like office appointments first thing in the morning, (when you're fresh off a caffeine buzz and freshly powdered from your morning shower.) After you've set up your [appointment types] go to Availability and choose "Set different hours for certain types..." to set the different availability for each of your appointment types. The bottom line? Everyone's availability is like that quirky aunt who only comes around during the holidays and sips on cooking sherry. But once you play around with the above tools, your crazy schedule becomes less chickens with their heads cut off and more ducks in a row. Questions, concerns, or stories about your eccentric Aunt Agnes? Hit reply to this email, and we'll be with you at the speed of (reasonably-paced) light. Gavin, Nicole, and the team from [Acuity Scheduling] [Acuity Scheduling] — [Unsubscribe] PO Box 4668 #64465 New York, NY 10163-4668