How to Setup an SMS Reminder Sequence for Calendar Appointments
Why:
Setting up an SMS reminder sequence for calendar appointments can be one of the most effective ways to decreasing 'no shows' & convey professionalism of your service. Before we dive into how to set this up for your business, let's look at a quick example.
Recommended Technology:
I use software that we internally leverage here at T Minus Studios. The software provides automation, 2 way SMS, a calendar widget, power dialer, pipeline, email, & many other tools integrated so you can streamline your entire sales process from end-to-end.
Just email justin@tminusstudios.com or submit a form & I'll provide complimentary access.
How:
We're going to begin by setting up a calendar. This is fairly straightforward. It's very similar to Calendly, just far more robust.
1.Go to Setting > Calendar > Select 'New Calendar'
2. Set your calendar preferences, sync with your Google Calendar, select your availability, etc.
Congrats - at this point you will have a sharable calendar that looks something like this. Upward & onward!
Setup & Customize Your SMS Reminder Sequence
1. Click Campaigns > Create Campaign & give it a name
- Now you're going to build your SMS sequence. You can build in emails & phone reminders if you like, but I prefer to keep it simple. After all, SMS has the best open rate relative to other mediums. Simply Click Add Event > SMS
- I then type out each sequence & viola, it looks like this. You will notice the first message has a '!!" next to it, this indicates that it's sent immediately once a contact is added to the campaign. Next you will notice '-24' hours, this indicates the message will send 24 hours prior to the scheduled appointment. So on and so forth.
Last But Not Least...Setup The Automation
The software we leverage allows you to build custom 'web hooks' which you can customize however you see fit. In this example, I setup a web hook that starts an SMS sequence once a prospect books an appointment.
1. Begin by clicking Triggers>Add Trigger. Once you're here, you will want to ensure that any time a prospect/customer books an appointment, they will be added to this SMS sequence.
Conclusion
This simple 10 minute setup will result in increased efficiency for your entire team. No more chasing down appointments, missed appointments, etc. More importantly, this sets the tone for your meeting & shows you mean business ;)
