The problem
New enquiries email you asking for a call, and you swap times back and forth while on a client's books. If you get 10 enquiries a month and each takes 4 emails at 3 minutes, that's 120 minutes, 2 hours a month.
What the AI does
Calendly lets you share a booking link; people pick a free slot from your connected calendar. The free plan has one calendar connection but no reminders or payments. Standard adds automations and reminders. Put the link on your website and in your reply to new enquiries, and ask for a one-line description of the business when they book.
A worked example
A sole bookkeeper in Norwich gets about 10 enquiries a month from her website and local networking. She replies with a booking link for a 20-minute free intro call, instead of agreeing times by email.
Before
4 emails of 3 minutes to agree each of 10 calls: 2 hours a month
After
About 3 minutes to check each booking: 30 minutes a month
What it's worth
About 1.5 hours a month saved (90 minutes), worth around £45 if your time is worth £30 an hour. Cost is £0 on the free plan, or one Standard seat at $10 (about £8) a month billed yearly, or $12 (about £9) billed monthly.
How to set it up
- Create a free Calendly account and connect your calendar.
- Set a 20-minute 'intro call' with your working hours and a buffer either side.
- Add a question asking what the business does and whether it is VAT registered.
- Put the link on your website contact page and in your standard reply to enquiries.
- After two weeks, decide whether to pay for Standard to turn on reminders.
What goes wrong
- The free plan has no reminders, so people can forget the call. Standard adds reminders; check the plan before relying on them.
- Calendly's Standard rate is $10 a seat a month billed yearly and $12 billed monthly, roughly £8 or £9.
- Don't take client financial details in the booking form; ask for those later through your own secure route.
- Block out deadline days in your calendar, or prospects will book into your busiest periods.