The Challenge
Sarah Johnson is a balayage specialist in Miami with a growing Instagram following. When her content started gaining traction, she was flooded with DMs asking about availability and pricing. She spent hours every day responding to messages, only to have potential clients ghost her or book through DM and never show up.
"I was literally glued to my phone," Sarah recalls. "I'd be in the middle of a color appointment and my phone would be blowing up. I couldn't focus on my client, and I was losing potential bookings because I couldn't respond fast enough."
"I was spending 3-4 hours a day just managing messages and scheduling. That's time I could have been doing actual hair."
— Sarah Johnson
The Solution
Sarah signed up for Willo and set up her booking page in under 10 minutes. She added all her services with prices, set her availability, and enabled the deposit feature to require a $50 deposit for all color services.
Then she did something simple but powerful: she replaced the link in her Instagram bio with her Willo booking page.
Now when followers DM asking about availability, Sarah has a simple response ready: "Hey! You can see all my availability and book directly at the link in my bio 💕"
The Features That Made the Difference
Deposits
The $50 deposit requirement eliminated almost all no-shows. "People who pay upfront actually show up," Sarah says.
Automated Reminders
Clients get text reminders 24 hours and 2 hours before their appointment. "I never have to send a 'see you tomorrow!' text again."
AI Assistant
Willo's AI handles booking questions, rescheduling requests, and even answers FAQs about services while Sarah focuses on her clients.
The Results
Within 30 days of switching to Willo, Sarah's bookings doubled. But more importantly, her quality of life improved dramatically.
- No-shows dropped 80% — from about 5 per week to less than 1
- 15+ hours saved weekly — no more back-and-forth scheduling
- Revenue increased 2.5x — more bookings, fewer gaps, zero no-shows
"Willo paid for itself in the first week."
— Sarah Johnson
Advice for Other Stylists
"Just try it," Sarah says. "I was nervous about requiring deposits — I thought clients would push back. But they actually love the professional experience. And the ones who don't want to pay a small deposit? Those are the ones who would have no-showed anyway."
"The biggest thing is getting your link out there. Put it in your bio, mention it in your stories, tell clients in person. Once people know they can book online, they prefer it. And you'll wonder how you ever lived without it."