One of the most common issues I see with online business owners is not having a clear and easy path to follow when working with their clients.
Business owners are disorganized, have pieces in too many different programs, are spending waaay too much time re-creating the same emails, asking the same questions over and over or worse, are missing leads, forgetting to send emails and hating the process. It’s no wonder we are always exhausted as business owners!
The Bad News
Is that you are never going to be able to grow your business to that next level if you don’t have a clear process to follow every time a new client decides to work with you.
What if I told you there was a much easier way?
What if I told you that in a few hours, you could fix this problem for good?
Would you be interested?
The Good News
Designing an amazing client experience where your clients feel like they are your only client, well supported, informed and on track is as simple as figuring out the process that you want your clients to go through. This process will save you time, energy and can be done in 3 really easy, simple steps.
Are you ready to get started?
Step 1: Figure Out Your Big Picture
Grab a piece of paper and start writing out the big picture pieces for your client journey. You don’t need to be super specific here. The idea is to figure out the main bullet points of your client journey.
For Example:
- The client reaches out to me by email, contact form, social media, etc.
- Book a discovery call to see if they are a good fit
- I send them a proposal with contract and invoice
- They sign contract, pay the invoice
- Start onboarding them to business
- Complete tasks/ project
- Client approves work
- Off-board client
Step 2: Break It Down Further
Let’s go through the steps you wrote down in Step 1 and break the process down further. This time you are going to add the different actions that need to take place for each step. (Take a look below for an easy Post It Exercise to make this easier)
Think about including the following actions:
- Emails you need to send
- Forms to create to gather information
- Tools/ Technology you need to complete a step
For this exercise, I like to grab a blank wall, some post-it notes and a few writing supplies. Write down all of the steps for your processes and remember to get as detailed here as you can. Think as both the client and the business owner. Walkthrough the process the way it would be if everything were perfect! The best part about using the post-it notes is that you can move things around until you get it perfect (this might take a few tries).
Here is an example of how I set up my wall:
Pink Post It Notes: Emails that need to be sent (ex. Thanks for booking your call, Thank you for reaching out to us to learn more, Let’s get to know each other better, Welcome to our business, etc.)
Blue Post It Notes: Forms or Documents to send (contact us form, form to gather information about the client before the meeting, etc.)
Green Post It Notes: Technology that I need to have to complete that action (ex. Scheduler, payment processor, email program, a place to store documents)
** Tip: Once I have put this masterpiece together on my wall, I like to record myself explaining the process from start to finish with my phone. This will help you really understand your process and also act as a refresher in case you need to refer back to it later.
Step 3: Start Creating all of the Pieces
Start creating the pieces you mapped out from above. Create the email templates, create the forms you want to send clients, set up your payment processors and the invoices, etc. Take the time to automate the process wherever possible. This will help you save time with each new client and give you the confidence to know that you are taking your client on an amazing journey!
I hope that you found this process fun and easy! Getting to know your business and creating a process will help you relieve stress, feel more in control and be so much better prepared when you get your next client. Don’t be worried if you find that some of the pieces you create need to be tweaked as you go. This is completely normal and will help to constantly fine tune your process, so you are building great relationships with your clients.
If you are overwhelmed with your systems or want me to help you through this process, book a Free 15-Minute Discovery Call where we can talk about how I can help!
