As a service-based business owner, you know that keeping your clients happy is a top priority. But how can you do that without being chained to your computer 24/7?

If you are...

struggling to keep track of your clients' information and projects
feeling like you're constantly juggling multiple tasks and losing track of important details
totally tired of being STUCK in your business working on admin paperwork because stuff just wont get done without you?

Listen -

You don’t need to have a team or an OBM or assistants yet behind the scenes of your business to create an amazing client experience.

And you don’t need to spend hours each day manually tracking all the things and emailing with your clients to make it happen either.

If you are still relying on sticky notes and spreadsheets - It's time to upgrade to a CRM.

Today, we're going to talk about why every business needs a CRM.

A CRM is a tool that helps you manage your clients and streamline their experience working with you.

So, let's dive into why you need one for your service-based business.

The Secret Tool to Getting it All Done

CRM stands for Client Relationship Management, and essentially it is the hub for anything and everything related to your clients.

What makes a CRM so great and easy to manage is that you no longer have to keep track of 4+ different sites and platforms for contracts, payments, emailing, scheduling, etc. Having everything in one place allows you to seamless run and manage your business and the life cycle of your clients, without having to wonder, double check, or forget anything you want to happen!

Can you do these things manually? Of course.

But you also want to ask yourself, what is your time worth?

Let's say that task only takes you 30 minutes...-

30 minutes a day, 5 days a week = 2.5 hours a week
52 weeks per year = 130 hours every year 🤯

It adds up pretty quickly when you're not paying attention, doesn't it?

How could you spend those extra hours every week and year? With your family? On a new hobby? Taking some much needed time off?

The possibilities are endless.

If you always say "I don't have the time"
THIS is how you make the time for the things that matter...

Client Management

A CRM makes it super easy to see where you client is in their life cycle, through what is usually referred to as a project pipeline.

Track where your clients are in the process from on-boarding to off, and any follow up in between.

And instead of using a separate platform to send contracts, invoices, follow up, send files, onboard, leads, emails and follow up (phew!), your CRM makes it super easy and seamless to do this all IN ONE PLACE!

You can also even streamline your scheduling process.

If you work on a 1:1 capacity with people and need to schedule meetings, STOP EMAILING BACK AND FORTH TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN.

Within your CRM you can create appointment links with your calendar availability - and no matter their location or timezone they can fit themselves in whenever works best for both of you. One email and you're done.

Set Your Invoices to Autopilot

Instead of using one platform for e-signature, another for payments, and then having to manually send payment reminders each month, a CRM makes it super easy to house all of the backend stuff in one place.

My two favorite CRM platforms for service providers are Dubsado and Honeybook - I'll break these down a little later.

But the benefit of both of these amazing platforms is that they have the option to send a client a contract and invoice together in one clean and easy to follow proposal package. Faster process for you, and more convenient and streamlined for your client.

Plus, if you want to have re-occuring payments, you can set them up with auto-reminders at the same time you send the proposal, and never have to worry “oh crap, did I sent that invoice?” ever again.

Creating a White Glove Experience

Okay, now here is where things get really exciting, and, in my opinion, the best part about using a dedicated CRM – you have the ability to automate emails, follow up, onboarding, offboarding - the works.

Let me paint a picture for you...

Imagine that you send a new lead their project proposal, contract, invoice - all the goods to get started on a new project. But it's a Friday afternoon and you're going offline for the weekend.

So, you send somebody this information and they sign it, they pay...and then crickets. They don't hear from you until Monday when you're back online in front of your computer.

How would that make them feel?

How would that make you feel if you were in that experience?

Instead - what if you log in Monday morning and your client already...

signed their contract
paid their invoice
received their onboarding
completed their intake form

They’re over the moon about this experience and getting started…

…And you’re still on the couch having some coffee, spending time with your kids, walking your pup in the sunshine…

Total white glove client experience and you didn’t have to lift a finger 🦾

Pretty amazing, right?

How to Automate Your Client Experience

This is all done through what are called WorkFlows or Automations behind the scenes of your CRM.

This can include email follow ups, on boarding questionnaires, scheduling, task reminders, and so much more.

Instead of having to email one item at a time (contract, invoice, scheduling), and create SO MUCH back and forth and extra work…your workflow can send everything for you, automatically, based on your triggers, anytime day or night.

The key to creating workflows for your client experience, is to map out the entire client journey - beginning to end - from when someone is a new lead to when they are no longer working with you.

I love to do this through a beautifully color coded flow chart with my clients, but it doesn't have to be that fancy. A simple google doc brain dump can do the trick.

Once you map this journey out, you can then pick out anything you are sending/doing manually, or that could be automated, and create a workflow from there. You can also create templates, so that if a step can't be automated and still needs a little human touch, you at least have a template that can cut back on your time by a LOT.

I've had clients use templates that took a task from a painstaking slog of 50 minutes - down to just 5.

We'll dive into workflows a lot deeper in the future, but I hope this helps start to give you an idea why using these tools can be so powerful for and making sure you are creating an incredible high touch supportive business for your clients, without sacrificing your boundaries or mental health.

Choosing The Right Platform

Our two favorite platforms are HoneyBook and Dubsado.

HoneyBook is a little bit more user friendly, jump right in. It's an easy to set up platform for project-based and event-based businesses. If tech is not your thing, Honeybook is a great place to start.

Dubsado (what we use behind our business!) is a little more robust. Everything can be super customized from your messaging to branding, which also means a bit of steeper learning curve. But I find that it really shines when it comes to automations. There is a lot you can automate in your process using Dubsado's workflow tools.

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Ultimately, a CRM can help you grow your business by providing a more personalized and efficient service to your clients.

So, if you're still relying on sticky notes and spreadsheets, or thinking that its fine to keep sending things manually because it "doesn't take too long" - it's time to upgrade to a CRM. Your clients (and your sanity) will thank you.