Towards the end of every year, I sit down and do my business “year in review,” outlining all the wins and areas still needing improvement. Wrapping up each year is made easy because of the high level of organization I’m able to maintain. No more loose receipts or shuffling through piles of papers that need filing. So how do I do it? I use HoneyBook to streamline and manage each process in my business. In preparation of my annual #12DaysOfHoneyBook event, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to share my experience and process with potential, new and existing users.
HoneyBook has brought so much order to my business and shined a light on all the areas that needed massive improvement. My business had no clear operational direction and the lack of systems caused me to lose loads of time and money in the long run. I was spending too much time doing the same tasks over and over, and I really had no clue about my business back-end until each tax season came around. The lack of streamlining and automation prevented me from being productive and efficient on various levels and it was limiting my ability to up-level my business in so many ways.
After implementing HoneyBook, I was able to grow exponentially both in my business and as an entrepreneur. For the past four years, this system has positioned my business both as professional and reliable across the board. On top of that, I have been able to deliver an elevated client experience that has given me the know, like, and trust factor that is the foundation to developing and maintaining positive relationships.
Here are 12 ways you can start up-leveling in your business right away.
1. Position your Business Branding
Your brand identity is key in creating a feeling and an experience for your business. The moment that you attract a customer into your business, you need to give the best experience so that you can set the tone. With HoneyBook, doing this is simple. In account settings, you can set up your brand colors, logo, headshot, mission, core values, etc. in minutes. When your brand is consistent and professional, client trust is built from the start. Remember, first impressions are everything!
2. Capture and Educate Leads
Collecting leads on your website using HoneyBook’s contact form ideas is the first step into funneling them into your HoneyBook account without having to do additional work. Best part? You can have multiple contact forms. When you connect your forms to a workflow, the work is done for you. You can send brochures or questionnaires that will educate your leads on your services, your pricing, and your process. This eliminates multiple steps and you can focus your extra time in more efficient ways!
3. Create Templates that Convert
Templates are huge. Why continuously spend time writing and creating documents over and over? Create templates that cover all your bases and make sure to make them short and interactive with a call to action of some sort. Prompt your clients and leads to ask questions, schedule a call or meeting, read a blog post, or simply connect with you on social media. In HoneyBook, you can set up email templates/canned responses (for every situation) that are ready to go when the situation pops up. When you have templates in place for each process in your business, your efficiency levels go way up and you get interaction started.
4. Streamline your Proposal/Invoice/Package Process
Again, templates! When you set up all your offerings as templates, creating and sending documents is a breeze. You can respond to inquiries faster, which I’ve found in many cases, leads to more bookings.
5. Close Sales with E-Signatures, Pay-in-Person, and Payment Schedules
What better way to seal the deal than having a contract ready to sign at the end of your consultation? This is made possible with HoneyBook’s online contracts. Also, if you are consulting in person, you can have them pay on the spot too with a digital invoice. Most importantly, having the ability to provide a custom payment plan, has allowed me to provide clients with a systematic approach to affording my services. By allowing multiple monthly payments through our online payment software, the overall breakdown makes my services seem more affordable vs. taking very large payments that many simply cannot afford.
6. Elevate your Client Experience with Workspaces
Creating a positive client experience is huge in my business because in the end, you gain so much leverage. When clients are happy, they refer more business your way. With workspaces, communication is seamless, files can be exchanged, and planning can be done with multiple people, all in one place! No more losing information, forgetting details, and the best part? You can see when documents are viewed, selected, signed, and paid. No more guessing games!
7. Know your Numbers with Reports
If you are like me before, you did not know your numbers until tax season came around. Am I right? Knowing your numbers is a key way to know if you business is on track and navigate ways to stay profitable. By tracking my expenses and pulling reports, I am able to see the health of my business quickly and painlessly. No more surprises at tax time.
8. Track your Time
If you bill your time, this feature is for you! Each workspace has a built in time tracker where you can keep track of every minute you spend on a project. No more time sheets or additional software to invest in.
9. Qualify and Educate Clients with Questionnaires
Questionnaires are another piece of my workflow that are triggered when leads make a brochure selection. I can qualify leads from the beginning and also keep things nice and organized along the way as the planning continues. It is also a great opportunity to “educate” your clients on what is important to you, your business, and your process.
10. Stay Organized with Workflows
You can create workflows for different type of events. A workflow includes different steps that are triggered with every new inquiry. These steps can include emails, brochures, questionnaires, and tasks and can be automated or approved before sending out. This feature has allowed me to stay organized with each client and never miss a beat in my process. You can also integrate a mini nurture/welcome series into your workflow to educate your leads/clients along the way!
11. Run your Business on-the-go
As busy entrepreneurs, being at the computer or even taking calls can be a challenge. With the HoneyBook App, you can literally run your business from anywhere. Respond to leads immediately, send invoices, answer emails, and so much more.
12. Automate with Integrations
You can automate emails, brochures, and questionnaires to save you time in your process. With Calendly, you can sync your calendar and appointments that are created are posted to your activity feed. With Google, you can sync your email and calendar. With Quickbooks, you can manage your expenses as well. However, my favorite, is Zapier. You can create multiple triggers that connect to other apps to track leads, emails, and so forth.
Let’s Do This Together
Want more detailed insight on how I do all of this in my business and how you can start? I’m launching #12DaysOfHoneyBook in a matter of days to show you how I use each and every feature to position my business and convert more sales.
What is the #12DaysOfHoneyBook?
This year, the #12DaysOfHoneyBook is a 12-day challenge with me popping into your inbox to deliver exciting tips and tricks for you to implement each day. The goal is for you to take action: start using this system, get the most out of each feature, and finally use HoneyBook to its highest potential!
And the best part?
It’s 100% free to you!
Sign Up for the #12DaysOfHoneyBook
Sign up here to join the challenge and receive the full schedule of daily topics.
Hope to see you soon!
