You’re working really hard, you know where you want to go, you want to grow your business, you want to make a consistent income, you want to do what you love, & serve your clients well.
The right clients, charging more, & Working ON your business
But right now these clients just are not the right people for you. The things that you’re doing in your business is all that busy work that doesn’t move the needle, & you find yourself working IN your business, not ever ON your business. What do you do to move your business to the next level so that you can up-level and attract the clients that you seek?
One of the first things you may want to look at is your backend systems. They may be all out of whack…and not working for you! Let’s look at ways you can implement these systems so that they take some tasks off your to do list, while simultaneously enhancing your client experience.
Do you have a consistent system for keeping track of your clients or projects?
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel every single time! That’s just a waste of time, and time–and thus, money!! Being efficient & reducing the amount of time it takes to finish a project = more money per hour. I like the way that sounds!!
I’m a huge advocate of a Client Relationship Manager (aka CRM) like Dubsado or Honeybook because they give you the tools to keep track of your clients, canned emails, workflows, contracts, & invoices all in one place.
Having a tool like a CRM means that you can effortlessly provide each client a consistent experience–adding to your perceived value & allowing you to raise your prices. Implementing some simple workflows can automate the process of sending out emails, contracts/invoices, or remind you of tasks that need to be accomplished.
If you don’t feel like you’re ready for a CRM, at least have a system for keeping track of your clients, progress of a project, and canned emails.
Your client journey
In order to set up your system in a way that works for you, you have to make sure that you know what your client journey looks like. Outline the different steps that you take your client through in your time together…it’s time to get out those post-it notes!
Get ahead of their Questions
One of the biggest parts of my client experience is ensuring that a client is always educated and knows what the next step is. Question how you can get ahead of their questions, give them everything they need before they know that they need it…raising your professionalism and authority in your industry.
Consider sending the following types of emails throughout your journey:
- Confirmation (for appointments, contracts, invoices, etc)
- Next steps they need to take
- Next steps you’ll take
- Tips & tricks
- How to prepare for ____
Tools to help you
Here are some tools that you could consider adding to your toolbox to help you with a consistent client experience:
- Gmail canned responses (free)
- Google Calendar
- Project Management tool (Trello, Asana, Notion)
- CRM (Dubsado, Honeybook, 17 Hats)
