One simple change that could positively affect your coaching business

I’d like to cover a very simple idea that, when employed properly through your website, could make a big difference in your coaching business. This simple idea was not easy for me to implement at first. Not because it was difficult to execute technically, but because it was difficult for me to execute mentally. I had to be willing to let go and give more control to clients and prospects. Once I crossed the chasm and made the decision, it made a real difference in how I run my business and interact with clients and prospects.

What was that change? It was adding a link on my website to an online calendar for self-scheduling appointments.

I’ve been running my own business since 2008, and for many, many years I didn’t allow clients or prospects to see my calendar. They had to go through me to get an appointment, or possibly someone else on my team. So, I would play the email game with clients and prospects. They would message me through my website. I would send them back a reply. Sometimes they wouldn’t respond and that was the end of it, but I liked having control.

Are you like that? Do you like having the control over your calendar and not allowing other people to schedule time for themselves that best suits them? Maybe this is something you need to consider letting go of.

Several years ago, I started releasing control of my calendar. I no longer had to play the email game. I would answer inquiries by saying: “Here’s a link to my calendar. Find a spot that works for you and schedule a 30-minute session with me.” I also added a link in my email signature that says “Book time with me.”

That’s how committed I became to the process of releasing my calendar. I even embedded the link to my scheduling page in several locations on my website.

With prospects, they can look at my calendar and book time right away. I believe I get more appointments with prospects this way.

Does it happen sometimes that they land on my calendar at times where I wish they wouldn’t? Yes. And I deal with that in one of two ways. One, I just grin and bear it and be thankful that I have a meeting with a prospect. Two, I contact the prospect and say: ”I’m sorry my calendar wasn’t accurate. I have a conflict at that time. Could I ask you to pick another time?” This, in a way, is actually an acid test to find out if they’re really serious about meeting with me. The ones who are, do, and the ones who aren’t, don’t. There are some prospects I actually never meet with, and that’s okay.

Even when I’m not asking prospects to reschedule their appointment, I’m generally writing to them in advance and confirming that I’ve received their request for a meeting and I’m looking forward to meeting with them. The real prospects will respond to that email. If they don’t respond, I follow up once more and ask them to respond. If they don’t, I delete the appointment from my calendar because I don’t want to meet with people who aren’t communicative and looking forward to meeting me.

So that’s what happened with scheduling prospect meetings. Clients also appreciate it because their time is valuable, just like mine is. They don’t want to play the email game. Instead they know they can just go to my calendar and schedule a time. It’s very convenient. Especially for occasional clients who just want a coaching session here and there. I have a few clients like that whom I’ve worked with over the years and they know they can just go online and book a time with me for a one-off meeting.

I hope this idea relieves the burden on you of feeling like you don’t want to let go of your calendar, because you can. Just block out all the times you don’t want people to schedule, and that way you retain the control you need to meet your own needs and obligations.

The point is, you can let other people schedule their meetings with you while still maintaining essential control over your calendar. So, set that up on your website using a scheduling tool you like and you’ll be good to go. I think you’ll see an increase in the number of clients and prospects you meet with. And, you’ll be doing it efficiently with less email!

Of course, if you’d like to talk with me, go to my scheduling page and book time. I look forward to meeting with you soon.

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