des moines, iowa and beyond

workflow & systems strategist

Workflow Elements that Get Overlooked

Business, For Creatives, Systems & Workflows, Uncategorized

There are a lot of pieces that go into your business workflows. How do you know if you’ve missed something? Over the years, I’ve noticed a few common workflow elements that get overlooked.

While this isn’t all inclusive, these are the most commonly overlooked workflow elements that I want you to think through. 

Gifting partner collaborations

If you are sending any kind of client gifts, consider partnering with a gifting company. This takes the actual sending of the gift(s) off of your list. How much time are you spending sourcing the items, packaging it, going to the post office, etc? Let someone else operate in their zone of genius and outsource it. You can often get deals on a branded gift as well, when you partner versus purchase one offs – it’s a win win!!
–> A few of my favorite gifters: Loved & Found | Fox Blossom | Luxe and Bloom | The Little Market | Teak and Twine

Use your CRM’s scheduler

I cannot tell you how many times I see people not using or underutilizing their CRM’s scheduler tool. This is such a time saver and experience elevator! 

Templates 

Oh man – templates are so underutilized! Make sure you’re using them for documents, text messages, invoices, reminders, confirmation emails, etc. The golden rule is – if you send or do it more than once, it needs to be a template! That doesn’t mean it can’t be personalized, but do yourself a favor and work smarter, not harder!
–> Check out this blog post for more helpful tips for templates!

Testing

Please, don’t just set something up and go live. Take the time to test your full workflows and automations in a test project before it goes live. Whether that’s using your personal email to demo as a client or finding a biz bestie to do it with, it’s so CRUCIAL!

Email signature

Make it work for you! This is a great place to reiterate and set expectations for office hours, connection details (like social links), upcoming out of office dates, etc. Use it as an important touch point!

CRM Integrations

There are so many of these that people don’t realize are available and there are often new ones available! Make sure you’re aware of what your CRM offers and maximize use of them. These are things like conferencing connections that create meeting invites for you, financial tools and so many more. 

Client portals

Whether you use the portal in your CRM, a Google Drive folder or a combination – make this a highlight benefit for your clients. Having a clear, easy place for them to find everything they need while working together is HUGE.
–> Check this out for more client experience elevation ideas!

Feedback questionnaires

Make sure these are working for you AND you’re sending them consistently! Be sure to ask questions specific to the experience and any tools your clients are using with you. Most people send feedback questionnaires, but then what?! Have a process built in that helps you easily access and leverage those answers!

I hope these workflow elements that get overlooked help you think through how you can optimize them in your own business. While I do consider them important elements, keep in mind that your business is unique to you and there may be cases where you don’t necessarily need all of these. 

Xoxo,

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