Advisers: free intro call or paid first consultation?

Offer a short free intro call when you need to check fit before taking a case, and a paid first consultation when the first meeting already delivers advice. You can also use both: a fifteen-minute call to filter and orient, then a paid consultation for those who need real work. Set each up as its own bookable service, say plainly in the description what is and isn't covered, and keep a limited number of free calls each week so they never crowd out paid work.

A free intro call answers one question: can you help, and how? It's short, it doesn't include advice on the case, and it ends with a next step. A paid first consultation is real work: you review the situation, give initial advice and outline options. Mixing the two creates frustration on both sides: clients expect advice from a free call, and you give away an hour of expertise without being paid.

If your first meeting regularly ends with concrete advice, a document reviewed or a plan of action, charge for it. Say what the client leaves with, and whether the fee is deducted if they instruct you afterwards. A paid first meeting also filters out people who are only gathering free opinions.

On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page, and each slot belongs to one service with one place. Separate services let each have its own length and its own description of what is included.

Durations and prices are examples: set your own. Book doesn't take payments, so say in the description how a paid consultation is settled.

Free calls can fill a week if you let them. Open only a few each week, at set times, for example two short slots at the end of three afternoons, and repeat them weekly on the weekdays you choose until an end date. When they're booked, they disappear from your page until the next week. If demand outgrows them, it's a sign to shorten the call or move more clients straight to the paid consultation.

An intro call works well by phone or video: it's short and nobody travels for fifteen minutes. Say in its description how it takes place, who calls whom, or that you send a video link by email. Keep office slots for paid consultations, where documents and signatures may be involved. If you offer the paid consultation both at the office and by video, create two services so the client chooses, and you know in advance where to be.

The booking form takes first name, last name, email and phone, plus an optional note that reaches you in the new booking email. Ask for the type of matter and, for legal work, the names of other parties so you can check conflicts. The note also appears in the client's calendar file, so don't ask for confidential details there; invite clients to send documents by secure email after booking.

At the end of an intro call, if the client wants to go ahead, book the paid consultation yourself from your calendar. First and last name are required, email and phone optional; enter the client's email so they receive a confirmation with a calendar file. Book doesn't send reminders, so a date in their calendar is what keeps the next step from slipping.

Clients can't move bookings online: they contact you, and you reschedule or cancel from your bookings list, then confirm it yourself, since Book doesn't email clients about changes. Say your cancellation rule in the paid consultation description. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.