Scheduling a meeting between two organisations is harder than an internal one because free/busy data does not cross the boundary and neither side will grant calendar access to the other. A date poll answered by a plain link solves it without either company's IT being involved: propose dates, both sides mark them, and the winner gets a calendar invitation.
Why the usual tools fail here
Inside one company, the calendar system tells you who is free and the problem largely disappears. Across two, you have half the picture and a lot of confidence in it, which is worse than having none.
The other direction - sending a booking link - is fine for a supplier and frequently the wrong tone for a client, because it asks them to fit around you.
Getting it right
- Propose, do not demand. Three to six dates reads as accommodating; a booking link does not.
- Include your own attendees in the poll, so you find out internally before the client does.
- Say the length and the purpose in the title, which decides who the client sends.
- Keep the title neutral. The link may be forwarded inside their organisation.
- Send the calendar invitation immediately, from your side, once it is settled.
What it does not need
No account for the client, no calendar connection, no software their IT has to approve, and no install. That is usually the difference between an answer this week and a thread that runs to eleven messages.
Common questions
- Will this look unprofessional?
- A short list of proposed dates is the most standard thing in business scheduling. Keep the title and description plain and it reads as organised.
- Can the client see who else is attending?
- Yes, names on the grid are visible to anyone with the link. Email addresses are not.
- Do they need to install anything?
- No. It is a web page, and if you invite them by email they can answer inside the message.
Ready when you are
Meetings and work
Getting a room full of calendars to agree without eight rounds of email.
Related
- A Calendly alternative for group dates Calendly books a slot in one person's calendar. This gets a whole group onto one date. Free, no account, and no calendar to connect.
- How to schedule a meeting with multiple people Past about four attendees, finding a time by hand stops working. Propose the dates, send one link, and let the counting happen for you.
- Interview panel scheduling Get the panel's availability in one pass, then offer the candidate real options. Days faster than the usual round of individual emails.
Read next
- How to schedule a meeting with a group A short, practical method for getting a group of people onto one date: how many options to offer, how far ahead to ask, and how to close it out.
Or see everything we have written in one list.