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Last updated on March 27th, 2022
So you decided to start your own business! Congratulations! But, now what? Time and time again I see new business starting out strong but buckle under the weight of growth. That’s where this 3-step client workflow for new entrepreneurs comes in.
When you start your new business you don’t always have a lot of cash flow to invest in tools to keep you organized and you also may not know those tools even exist.
There are so many things you can do when you start a business that are inexpensive or low cost that will make scaling a whole lot easier and pain free.
One of the most important things you can do when you are setting up a business is to understand the client journey or the funnel your client or customer goes through.
Note from Kayla: This is a guest post by Rebekah Chaifetz Saltzman of BalaganBeGone.com! Guest posts on Writing From Nowhere provide well-rounded advice, and Rebekah has generously shared her organization expertise with us in this blog post on client workflow for new entrepreneurs.
Introduction To Client Workflow For New Entrepreneurs
From the time that someone first initiates contact, how are you going to nurture that person? What roadmap will potential clients follow?
By putting protocols in place and understanding the client or customer journey you are going to be able to create protocols and templates to help you manage these situations in less time, with fewer headaches, and make your growth less painful.
Templates allow you to spend less time typing the same things over and over and over again, and they minimize errors.
So how do you do it?
The first thing you need to do is map out what happens at each step of the process.
You can do this by opening a google doc and creating a flowchart: on the left write where the client is on their journey and on the right write the response or action you need to take.
You can then use the Google doc to set out the templates and use the document outline on the left to help you keep it organized! It is important to clearly label each template type so you can quickly find and duplicate the text in your emails.
Have a question, comment or thought to add? Leave a comment at the bottom and I’ll reply right away 🙂
3 Steps To Setting Up A Client Workflow
Without paying for a client workflow software, I should add.
Setting Up A Client Workflow Step 1: First Contact
A customer finds you through social media or a google search and reaches out to you. Then what happens?
If they reach out to you on social media – do you have an automated response set up in chat to send you an email or book a time on your calendar for a consultation?
If you don’t, you should. You can use a free calendar scheduler like Calendly or acuity to set this up. They both have basic levels that are free, as you grow you can level up and switch to the paid service but, starting with the free service is just fine!
If a client contacts you through email directly you will want to also create a template email to push them through to your calendar to book a time to chat.
A lot of what happens in the client journey can be mapped out through calendar tools but just for clarity, I’ll continue to walk through the process.
Once they have set up a free consultation or discovery call you can set up the integrations (Integrations are amazing tools that allow different tools with seemingly no connections to talk with each other. Like your calendar service with your Zoom account!) with the calendar service to automatically send a Google Meet link or a Zoom link for the call.
You can and should also set up email reminders 1 day and 1 hour before the call to minimize no-shows.
Many scheduling tools also have small surveys your clients can fill out so you can learn more about them. If this option is not available on the free level of service you can always create a Google Form or JotForm for clients to fill out through a link in the confirmation email.
Recap: In this step, you may need:
- Automatic response to social media messages
- Template response for email message to push people to the calendar
- Confirmation email to confirm consultation
- 24-hour email reminder
- 1-hour email reminder
Step 2: Consultation
Once you have a client book a consultation, you will want to create a post-call template recap.
This should include what you will offer, how you can serve them, your action plan, your pricing, your availability and the next steps. Everything you should have spoken about on the call, plus anything you may have forgotten to say!
Many calendar tools automate this step – but I have found that most people need some sort of customization of this step and so I don’t like to automate it. That being said – you can create the templates in advance and cut and paste them into the new email so that you don’t have to type everything all over again (nor should you!)!
Step 3: Follow Up
Follow-up is often the most critical part of booking a client. I like the one-week and one-month follow-ups – but you can also automate this in Gmail by using the send later feature.
Once you send the email to a client – you can go into your sent mail and hit reply, and insert your follow-up template, instead of hitting send, hit send later and schedule the email from one week from now and one month from now.
One very important reminder: if you are in contact with them before – make sure to cancel these emails.
3-Step Client Workflow Final Thoughts
As a new entrepreneur, it’s easy to think that paying for X, Y, Z program will make you more organized and efficient. Truthfully, no software can replace knowing your own roadmap. You have to figure that out for yourself, and these 3 simple steps will get you there.
If you need help creating workflow or setting these and other time-saving tools up in your business, reach out – [email protected] or balaganbegone.com – a special offer for readers of this blog – you can get 1 bonus week of coaching when you book a 10-week program.
Note from Kayla: I have used paid client workflow systems in the past, and this simple Google doc solution does the job perfectly for new entrepreneurs. Establish your roadmap. No paid platform can do that for you. You’ve got this!
After you’ve mastered your client workflow, here are other resources for new entrepreneurs on Writing From Nowhere:
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