Online scheduling tools allow your sales team to spend more time having meetings with leads and less time on mind-numbing manual tasks.
That’s important given that the average rep spends nearly two-thirds of their time (64.8%) on non-revenue generating activities.
And fortunately, you don’t need to have a massive budget to take advantage of online scheduling tools.
Chili Piper is the market leader in terms of inbound revenue acceleration. Simply put, Chili Piper allows you to turn inbound leads into qualified meetings instantly.
Chili Piper is a paid platform. However, since it allows you to connect with buyers faster, there is near-instant ROI for all of our customers.
For Free Online Scheduling Tools options, consider these choices.
Setmore is a platform that’s designed to take the complications out of scheduling.
It has a simple interface that lets your reps manage their calendars and keep the inbound meetings flowing.
While their free plan isn’t as robust as their premium paid plan, it still gets the job done and is more than adequate for many businesses.
Here’s what comes with Setmore’s free option.
First, you get up to four staff logins and calendars to accommodate a handful of sales reps.
These calendars feature:
Next, you can create automated notifications and emails to confirm meetings with leads and remind them when one is coming up to prevent no shows.
Third, there’s a feature called “Teleport,” where leads can book video appointments with a single click.
“With one in three people video chatting at least once a week, video calls are quickly becoming an equal channel to voice calls,” says Business Wire — making this a nice touch.
Setmore also sets up quickly, and you can start booking meetings within minutes of creating an account.
And unlike some platforms that are only free for a limited time, Setmore is free forever, so you can use it as long as you want.
This platform offers “the next evolution of the calendar experience” and is perfect for keeping a steady stream targeted leads coming in.
And it’s about as straightforward as it gets.
Your reps set up their availability, and leads can start booking meetings based on their schedules.
This is something that can be done in seconds, and Calendar will automatically sync meetings into your reps’ Google, Office 365, or Outlook Calendar.
The free plan accommodates up to 10 team members and gives you up to two customizable scheduling time slots per team.
And coming soon, there will also be access to basic analytics for a drilldown of your team’s time so you can see how it’s been spent to identify any potential areas for improvement.
While the free version is more limited than what you get with the paid version, Calendar is definitely a solid choice if you just need the online scheduling essentials.
Let me first say that Appointy is largely geared toward service-based businesses like salons, personal trainers, and attorneys.
So, it’s not necessarily the first online scheduling software that comes to mind for sales teams looking to book meetings with leads.
That said, it can definitely be used in the latter context, and there’s a free option, which is why I’m mentioning it.
Here are the specific features that you get with the free plan.
It offers 100 appointments per month, which can often work for small teams.
Leads can easily self-schedule and choose a date and time that works best for them.
Then, the meeting is added to the correct rep’s calendar.
There are automatic reminders to tame no shows and keep leads in the loop when upcoming meetings are about to happen.
And Appointy also comes with website and Zapier integration, which connects with over 1,000 apps.
While there’s nothing earth shattering about this online scheduling tool, it’s definitely worth considering if you just need something basic but don’t want to spend any money.
Calendly is an online scheduling tool that’s often compared with Chili Piper.
They have similar features like self-scheduling where leads can book meetings with sales reps without either party having to deal with needless back-and-forthing.
So, rather than having to wait to hear back from your company, leads can go ahead and book a meeting when they’re most engaged, which makes your speed to lead time lightning fast and sets the stage for higher conversions.
Here’s a quick video of how Chili Piper meetings can help you double your inbound conversions.
With Calendly, you create a booking link and can share it through email or place it directly on your website.
Chili Piper works on the same premise, with the only difference being that you can share it across additional channels like demo signups and webinars.
Chili Piper also has an ultra efficient lead routing system, where you can send leads to reps based on preconfigured rules…
…or through round robin routing.
Just like with Chili Piper, Calendly syncs up with major Calendars like Google, Office 365, and Outlook.
It also offers automatic notifications so reps are always in the loop when it comes to upcoming meetings.
And with Calendly’s free option, you get standard email support and access to their help center.
The main downside is that there’s only one calendar/user with Calendly, which won’t work if you have a large team of sales reps.
In that case, Chili Piper is probably your best bet for the simple fact that it can accommodate larger sales teams.
That said, Calendly can definitely work if you just need a basic free online scheduling tool for an individual user.
This is another online scheduling tool that’s geared toward service-based businesses, but it can also work for sales reps who need to book meetings.
It’s pretty simple to use with a very minimal learning curve.
A rep just clarifies their availability, and leads can start setting appointments through Acuity Scheduling.
From there, the meeting syncs with the rep’s calendar and Acuity organizes the lead’s information.
You know the drill.
Now I will admit that there’s a huge disparity in terms of the features you get with the paid versions and free version of this platform.
As you can see in this comparison breakdown below, the free option only works for one user, and you don’t get notifications, reminders, brand customization, and so on.
So, this probably isn’t the right online scheduling tool if you’re managing a big sales team and need a lot of bells and whistles.
In that case, I suggest checking out Chili Piper.
However, Acuity Scheduling can certainly work if you only need it for an individual user and just need a simple platform.
Also, note that Acuity Scheduling does offer unlimited appointments for free.
A recent study found that over two-thirds (67%) of people in the sales industry are currently or close to experiencing burnout.
And I can see why.
There’s a lot of pressure that comes with having to hit quotas, and when you throw in all of the manual administrative tasks involved with day-to-day operations, things can get overwhelming in a hurry.
TimeTap is an online scheduling tool that’s specifically designed to get scheduling under control and keep chaos at bay.
It provides a straightforward way for leads to book meetings with your reps and streamlines interactions.
In terms of features, this tool has self-scheduling capabilities that allow leads to book meetings 24/7, lead management, and unlimited appointments.
And the free version is free forever with no strings attached.
The main downside is that it only supports a single user, and you don’t get nearly the same amount of features that you get with the paid versions.
But, if you only need a platform without a bunch of frills, TimeTap is definitely worth considering.
Here’s another basic online scheduling tool that offers all of the usuals in terms of features.
SuperSaaS Appointment Scheduling allows you to create your own customized booking link, which can be added to your website and Facebook page.
Like Chili Piper, it offers automated confirmations and reminders to ensure leads don’t forget their bookings.
You get reporting and analytics so you can keep an eye on booking trends and sales rep performance.
It’s also customizable, where you can insert your own logo into the booking page and align it with your branding for a greater sense of homogeneity.
It’s also a highly secure software, and their “servers are located in a state of the art datacenter with 24/7 monitoring, redundant power supplies, and internet links.”
Besides that, they’re fully compliant with the EU GDPR regulations, which is important considering that 7 million data records are compromised every day, which translates to 56 records each second.
When it comes to the number of users, SuperSaaS free allows for up to 50 registered users, which is far more than most other platforms.
However, the main downside is that this version doesn’t integrate with calendars like Google and Outlook.
The UVP of this online scheduling tool is that it uses AI to streamline the process, and that’s what differentiates it from the pack.
Like most other platforms, you first share a personalized booking link.
Then, a lead chooses a date and time that’s convenient for them.
From there, a meeting request is scheduled instantly to keep things moving without forcing your team to complete any extraneous tasks like manual data entry.
And whenever a rep’s availability changes, x.ai allows them to tweak their schedule accordingly.
Here are some specific things you get with their free plan:
On top of that, there’s a daily meeting email prep feature where a rep receives an email preview of the meetings that are scheduled for the next day.
This comes with leads’ profiles and any potential scheduling conflicts that could occur so they have a heads up on what’s happening.
When asked what they “spend too much time on,” modern sales reps say the number one thing is email, explains Ray Schultz of MediaPost.
Harmonizely is an online scheduler that was specifically built to help reps “schedule meetings without exchanging unnecessary emails.”
It operates similarly to most other platforms where a lead can select a meeting that’s convenient for them based on a sales rep’s schedule.
The booking then syncs up with the rep’s calendar, giving them a bird’s eye view of what’s happening.
Harmonizely comes with timezone detection, and the scheduling page is available in several different languages, including English, Italian, German, and French.
Also, it offers a wide range of calendar integrations, such as Google, Office 365, Zimbra, and iCloud.
In terms of features you get with the free version, it comes with:
The main downside is that you only get one calendar/user with Harmonizely, which means it’s not ideal for teams.
Simply put, it helps coordinate meetings between sales reps and leads.
In most cases, it allows a lead to book a meeting at a time that’s convenient for them and automatically syncs it with a rep’s calendar.
Many tools also come with automated confirmations and reminders.
“At the heart of online scheduling and client management is enhanced efficiency, customer loyalty and, ultimately, more revenue,” writes Arash Asli or Forbes.
Besides that, it helps keep your no show rate in check and generally makes your team’s lives easier.
92% of interactions with sales reps and leads still happen over the phone, and 78% of deals go to the first company to respond.
So, being able to efficiently book meetings and jump on leads while they’re hot is an absolute must in 2020.
Online scheduling tools offer a seamless way to accomplish this and ensure your reps can capitalize when leads are the most engaged.
And as we’ve just learned, there are several free options that should get the job done.
Looking for an online scheduler that can double your inbound pipeline as well as your conversion rate?
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