Does it seem like you never have enough time to get everything on your business to-do list done? You’re not alone. If you’re like most coaches, you probably aren’t happy about the amount of time that gets sucked up by the little mundane tasks that have to be done when you’re running a business. So much ends up on your plate that you soon realize you need to find a better way to handle it all.
Marketing automation is the answer! You’ll be amazed how much time you’ll save and how much more money you can make. Right off the bat, you will have more time to focus on the things that matter most and over time your automated processes will prove to be more effective in growing your business than manual processes.
Here are three processes that should definitely be automated.
Appointment Scheduling
Boy can you waste tons of time getting potential clients scheduled for an appointment with you. A time that works for you may not work for them and you go back and forth trying to settle on a mutually convenient time. With tools like Acuity Scheduling*, those days can be a thing of the past. The process of booking the appointment, confirming the time, or rescheduling, and sending reminders can be automated from start to finish.
Whichever online tool you can choose should allow clients to see your availability in real-time in their time zone, book their appointments themselves, and even cancel and reschedule if needed. Typically, a confirmation of the appointment will land in their inbox, along with reminders at a later date. You will get an email notifying you that an appointment has been scheduled and it will be added to your calendar with all the necessary details.
Once I have ramped up appointments for my clients, the first complaint I hear, “these people aren’t qualified”. Then we can add questions to prequalify potential clients prior to having the call. This is super important once you can start being picky with who you work with or who can have time with you. Not all scheduling systems are created equal.
A truly flexible platform will also automatically send an intake form so you’ll never have to remember to send it manually. If payment is involved, Acuity can handle that too. This brings us to client onboarding.
Client Onboarding
Yeah, you’ve got a new client! Many coaches will complete their next steps manually. Maybe you’ll send them an agreement, followed by a welcome kit and finally an intake form. Whatever you choose to do at this point should make new clients feel welcome as they embark on their budding relationship with you. Remember, they are likely to have questions and concerns so your onboarding system should address these issues and make sure your clients understand all the services that are available to them.
If you want to streamline the process, you’ll need to create a template for each document and automate it in a workflow so each step after the first one happens without you lifting a finger. Your client onboarding process should be completely professional and should ensure new clients have everything they could possibly need.
Testimonial Requests
In most cases, a powerful testimonial is yours for the taking if you’ll only ask for it. The problem is that many coaches forget to send a request after a client has worked with them. Of course, if you automate the other two processes we’ve talked about you’ll have less tasks taking up your attention, but why not automate your testimonial requests too? You can use a checklist template or set up an automated email flow with the right timing set out within it.
Social proof is incredibly important for anyone who wants to grow their coaching business and testimonials are an essential part of that. You should be asking every client for a testimonial and with automation you won’t miss sending a single request.
Conclusion
Marketing automation can save you a tremendous amount of time, which in turn can free you up to make more money. You won’t maximize the full potential of your marketing automation if you don’t have a strategy though. You can have the most powerful software but if you don’t have a sound plan for how you’re going to use it, you won’t make the best use of the software in the end, and you may not get the results you expected. Automating your appointment scheduling, client onboarding and testimonial requests are great places to start. You should also be aware that automation goes beyond being a time-saver. Any automation reveals useful insights to help you figure out how you can improve or grow your business.
*This article contains an affiliate link. That means if you click and buy, I make a small percentage at no additional cost to you.