Automation is every entrepreneurs best friend. And, executed well, automation saves you tons of time. One of the first things you should work to automate is your client onboarding process.
Client onboarding is the best place to start automating for two reasons:
- when done manually it gobbles up tons of time and
- it’s a crucial process for any service based business owner.
BUT, because the allure of automation is just so damn tempting, many entrepreneurs try to start automating too soon.
Now when I say too soon, I assure I DON’T mean years in business, after x number of clients or after hitting the 6 figure (or whatever income amount) mark. Because trust me when I tell you, the sooner you automate the better.
When I say too soon, I mean you haven’t first clearly created the process you’re trying to automate.
Does this sound familiar?
You open Dubsado and click that beautiful little word in the left navigation of your dashboard – Workflows.
Oh, it’s exciting! Automation here we come.
But then you see this…..
****screech****
That’s the sound of your enthusiasm coming to a grinding halt.
Where do you even begin?
What do all these things even mean?
What I am trying to automate anyway?
It’s ok, I get it. It can be really overwhelming to start automating your business when you’ve never done it before. Not to mention you are likely doing this in the evening or on the weekend because you’ve spent all week getting client work done.
Now, not only do you need to learn a new tool, you also need to figure out what the hell it is you are automating.
The secret here is to map out your automation first. Automating your process is impossible when you aren’t even exactly sure what your process looks like. Never even mind trying to figure out Dubsado or the CRM you are using.
In order to fully automate your client onboarding process, you need to establish a few things before clicking that magically little Workflows button.
Clear beginning and end.
Know when your sales process ends and when your client onboarding process begins. Typically, most service providers will end “selling” and start “onboarding” once they send the contract (sometimes proposal but that’s a story for a different day).
Additionally, you need to know when onboarding ends. When do they become a member of your business family? Right after the contract is signed? After your kick-off call? When do they transition from onboarding to ongoing?
Deliverables.
THIS. ONE. IS. HUGE. You MUST know what “pieces” you need before you can start automating. These pieces include things like the contract, deposit, expectations email, kick off call scheduled, new client questionnaire, etc.
<< Grab my FREE Client Onboarding Checklist HERE so you don’t miss a thing! >>
You have to know this list of items AND in what order they must go out before you can effectively automate your process.
This is super important for two reasons:
- you don’t want to forget something (you know, like the deposit!)
- you don’t want them getting things out of order (don’t spend time on a kick off call when you don’t have signed contract)
Once you have these two items established, THEN you can consider starting the process of automating.
Want extra help mapping out your client onboarding process so it’s ready for automating?
Schedule a Getting Paid strategy session with me. You’ll have 60 minutes with me guiding you through your client onboarding process. You’ll know what you need to send and when and what your workflow (i.e. automation) should look like.