sales-calendly

What this skill does

# Calendly Platform Help

## Step 1 — Gather context

If `references/learnings.md` exists, read it first for accumulated platform knowledge.

Ask the user:

1. **What area of Calendly do you need help with?**
   - A) Booking pages & event types — setup, customization, branding
   - B) Round-robin & team scheduling — routing, collective events
   - C) Routing forms — lead qualification before booking
   - D) API & webhooks — building integrations, syncing data
   - E) Workflows — automated reminders, follow-ups, notifications
   - F) Embeds — inline, popup widget, or popup text in your site/app
   - G) Payments — Stripe/PayPal collection on booking
   - H) Integrations — Salesforce, HubSpot, Zapier, etc.
   - I) Choosing Calendly vs Cal.com vs other tools
   - J) Something else

2. **What plan are you on?**
   - A) Free (1 event type, 1 calendar)
   - B) Standard ($10-12/seat/mo)
   - C) Teams ($16-20/seat/mo)
   - D) Enterprise
   - E) Not sure yet / evaluating

**If the user's request already provides most of this context, skip directly to Step 2.** Lead with your best-effort answer using reasonable assumptions (stated explicitly), then ask only the most critical 1-2 clarifying questions at the end.

## Step 2 — Route or answer directly

If the request maps to a specialized skill, route:
- General scheduling strategy → "This is a scheduling strategy question — run: `/sales-meeting-scheduler {user's question}`"
- CRM integration patterns → "This is a tool integration question — run: `/sales-integration {user's question}`"
- No-show recovery or reminder design → "This is a scheduling optimization question — run: `/sales-meeting-scheduler {user's question}`"
- Comparing Calendly vs Cal.com → "For head-to-head comparison — run: `/sales-meeting-scheduler compare Calendly vs Cal.com`"

If the question is Calendly-specific, continue to Step 3.

## Step 3 — Calendly platform reference

**Read `references/platform-guide.md`** for the full platform reference — capabilities, pricing, data model, integration recipes, code examples.

Answer the user's question using only the relevant section. Don't dump the full reference.

For API or webhook questions, also **read `references/calendly-api-reference.md`** for endpoint details, JSON shapes, and code examples.

## Step 4 — Actionable guidance

Focus on the user's specific situation.

- **Free plan users**: Note the 1-event-type limit — suggest Standard if they need multiple event types or workflows
- **API builders**: Emphasize the read-only booking limitation — Calendly API cannot create bookings, only read them. Use embeds or scheduling links for booking creation.
- **Team admins**: Round-robin and routing forms require Teams plan ($16/seat/mo)
- **Migration**: Cal.com offers a 1-click Calendly import tool if they're evaluating switching

If you discover a gotcha, workaround, or tip not covered in `references/learnings.md`, append it there.

## Gotchas

> *Best-effort from research — review these, especially items about plan-gated features and integration gotchas that may be outdated.*

- **Free plan = 1 event type only.** No group events, no workflows, no custom branding. Standard ($10/mo) unlocks unlimited event types.
- **API cannot create bookings.** The API is read-heavy — you can list events, manage webhooks, check availability, but cannot programmatically book a meeting. Use scheduling links or embeds for booking creation.
- **Webhooks require a paid plan.** Free plan has no webhook access. Standard unlocks `invitee.created` and `invitee.canceled`.
- **Rate limits vary by plan.** 60 req/min on Free/Standard/Teams, 120 req/min on Enterprise. HTTP 429 includes `Retry-After` header.
- **Routing forms require Teams plan.** Lead qualification routing is not available on Standard.
- **Round-robin requires Teams plan.** Equal distribution and availability-optimized routing both need Teams ($16/seat/mo).
- **Salesforce integration requires Teams plan.** HubSpot is available on Standard.
- **No Apple Calendar support.** Only Google Calendar, Outlook/Office 365, and Exchange are supported natively.

## Related skills

- `/sales-meeting-scheduler` — Scheduling strategy across all tools (booking pages, round-robin, no-show reduction, meeting page CRO). Install: `npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-meeting-scheduler -a claude-code`
- `/sales-calcom` — Cal.com platform help — open-source alternative with self-hosting and more generous free tier. Install: `npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-calcom -a claude-code`
- `/sales-reclaim` — Reclaim.ai platform help — AI calendar automation. Install: `npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-reclaim -a claude-code`
- `/sales-integration` — Tool integration patterns (CRM sync, webhooks, API pipelines). Install: `npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-integration -a claude-code`
- `/sales-do` — Not sure which skill to use? The router matches any sales objective to the right skill. Install: `npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-do -a claude-code`

## Examples

**Example 1** — "I set up Calendly but prospects in Europe keep seeing the wrong meeting times"
→ Read platform guide timezone section → Check if the user has set their event type timezone to "Automatically detect" or locked it → Explain that Calendly converts times but the event type's timezone setting matters → Note Apple Calendar incompatibility if relevant

**Example 2** — "How do I sync Calendly bookings to my CRM via the API?"
→ Read API reference → Show webhook subscription setup (POST /webhook_subscriptions for invitee.created) → Provide Python listener example that parses invitee data and POSTs to CRM → Note: requires paid plan for webhooks

**Example 3** — "Should I stay on Calendly or switch to Cal.com? I'm a solopreneur."
→ Compare: Cal.com free has unlimited event types + CRM sync; Calendly free has 1 event type. If user needs multiple booking types or API access on free tier, Cal.com wins. If user values simplicity and brand recognition, Calendly Standard at $10/mo is solid. Route to `/sales-meeting-scheduler` for full comparison.

## Troubleshooting

**Timezone mismatch — invitees see wrong times**
- Check event type settings → Availability → ensure timezone is set to "Automatically detect invitee's timezone" (not locked to your zone)
- If using embeds, verify the embed snippet doesn't override timezone with a hardcoded value
- Confirm the connected calendar's timezone matches Calendly account timezone

**Double bookings or calendar conflicts**
- Check connected calendars: Calendly only blocks times from connected calendars. If a calendar isn't connected, those events won't show as busy.
- Verify "Check for conflicts" is enabled for all relevant calendars in Settings → Calendar Connections
- Buffer time between events: set minimum scheduling notice and buffer time in event type settings

**Webhook not firing**
- Confirm you're on a paid plan (webhooks not available on Free)
- Check webhook subscription is active: GET /webhook_subscriptions and verify `state: "active"`
- Verify the webhook URL is HTTPS and publicly accessible — Calendly won't POST to HTTP or localhost
- Check the signing secret: validate `Calendly-Webhook-Signature` header using HMAC-SHA256 with your signing key