Appointment Setting and Confirmations: How to Avoid No-Shows
If you’re in business, particularly professional services, it’s not uncommon for clients to disappear right when they’re scheduled to see you. It isn’t just clients though. It can happen with colleagues, staff and any number of external stakeholders. These appointment no-shows leave a bad taste in your mouth, as well as costing you time and money. So, how do you go about minimising the amount of times you’re being left stranded?
Treat Appointment Bookings Like Sales
While it’s not always possible to speak with every single client who makes an enquiry about your services, doing so can help reduce the risk of missed appointments. The client made the phone call for a reason – they need your help. But the problem is, you’re probably not the only person in town they’ve called.
However, if you take a few minutes to listen to their situation and reasons for contacting you, it’s possible to create a connection with that client straight away. Certainly more so than if you just let your front office staff book appointments without gathering much information.
Keep Time Open Wherever Possible
Everyone is busy, and it’s not always possible to just have empty spaces in your daily calendar. However, if you’re currently on the lookout for new clients, making it easy for them to see you is a great start. As we mentioned, you’re probably not the only person a client has called, so if you can’t see them for two weeks, you’re likely to lose them before then – and that’s where appointments are forgotten or missed.
Being able to book people in to see you as soon as possible is a great way to minimise no shows.
Use Reminders
A pretty simple concept, but one that works extremely well. It doesn’t matter who you’re meeting with, it’s easy to send email or text reminders to your meeting attendees now. Take advantage of the available technology and send those reminders out whenever it suits you – usually the day before is a great option.
These are just a few tips, but hopefully you can apply some of these ideas and limit the amount of times you’re left waiting at your desk for forgetful clients and colleagues!
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