Calendly-first

All but eliminate no-shows by setting your calendar up the right way

Booking the meeting is just step one. The confirmation and the reminders are where you win the meeting before it even happens.

Worked example throughout: an IT services company (with AI expertise) set up properly.

the timeline ↓

One booking. Four touches. Then they show up.

The whole run-up - from the moment they book to the meeting itself. Here's what lands, and exactly when.

The four things to set up

Each one takes minutes in Calendly. Together they turn a booked slot into a meeting that actually happens.

New to Calendly notifications? Start with Calendly's notifications overview ↗

1

Custom calendar invite

The event that lands in their diary shouldn't say "Meeting" with a blank body. It's the thing they glance at every time they open their calendar - so name it properly and write a real description.

Needs a paid Calendly plan (Standard or higher)
How to set this up ↗ Using Teams / Outlook instead? ↗
Example - the calendar event
ABM Stars × {Invitee Company} - cutting your IT admin with AI

Looking forward to this. Quick context before we meet: we recently built a small AI workflow for an IT services client that automated their ticket triage and gave a 2-person helpdesk back ~40 hours a week.

On our call we'll map where the same could apply to you. Add anything you'd like covered by replying to this invite.

2

Custom confirmation

The booking confirmation is your first impression - don't waste it on "your meeting is confirmed." Bake a real case study and a real result into it, so they've seen your best work before the call is even in the diary.

How to set this up ↗ Using Teams / Outlook instead? ↗
Example - shown on booking

Thanks {First Name} - you're booked for {Day}, {Time}.

Before we speak, here's the kind of thing we do: for an IT services firm we built an AI triage assistant that read inbound tickets, auto-categorised them and drafted first responses. Result: ~40 hours/week saved across the helpdesk, and first-response time down from hours to minutes.

[ Short case study ] · [ What we'll cover ]

3

1-day-before reminder email

A reminder that's also worth opening. Give them one genuinely useful thing - a 2-minute breakdown, a short case study - so the slot earns its place in their day. Include the reschedule link too: a moved meeting beats a no-show.

How to set this up ↗ Using Teams / Outlook instead? ↗

Background reading: Calendly's guide to reducing no-shows with reminders ↗

Example - one day before

See you tomorrow at {Time}, {First Name}.

One thing worth 2 minutes before we talk - a short breakdown of how that IT services helpdesk went from drowning in tickets to 40 hrs/week saved: [link].

If tomorrow no longer works: [ reschedule ]

4

1-hour-before text

An hour out, a short SMS with the join link. It's the single biggest lever on the day itself. Add an optional mobile field to the booking form - we only text where we actually have the number.

Needs a paid Calendly plan (Standard or higher)
How to set this up ↗ Using Teams / Outlook instead? ↗
Example - one hour before
Hi {First Name}, it's {Host} from ABM Stars - see you at {Time} today. Join here: {link}. Reply if anything's changed.

Set your calendar up the right way and no-shows disappear

Four small touches, set up once. Booked prospects turn up - and they've already seen your best work before you say a word.

1 · Custom invite 2 · Custom confirmation 3 · Reminder email 4 · The text