The Secret to Simplifying Business Operations is a Kickass CRM
I finally made the switch to a CRM / All-in-one tool just in January 2022. And I already had a pretty great client management system going, but I was using too many tools and behind the scenes it felt so clunky.
In this video, I share the top 6 benefits I've experienced since implementing a CRM software (customer relationship management) in my business.
Here's what's changed since I made the switch: I streamlined my processes, automated client hand-holding, improved consistent communication, provided a clear dashboard for tracking my business, enabled lead tracking, and saved me time and headspace.
Transcript below!
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0:00 Hey, my name is Ellie. Welcome back to the Calibrated Concepts YouTube channel. Today I want to talk to you about what, sorry, today I want to talk to you about the six ways that having a CRM or a Customer Relationship Management Tool changed my business for the better.
0:18 Before we get into that though, I want to give you a little bit of backstory. I had used a CRM for clients and businesses quite a lot.
0:26 I'd used a couple of them actually, but I really, really, really, ragged my heels when it came to using a CRM because I really liked my accounting software and it was a really robust accounting software and it did quite a lot for me.
0:41 The main thing I was terrified of leaving it for was it manually input all my expenses. Cause it connected to my bank card and it was a fairly expensive software for my accounting tool because it did a lot and so is Dubsado because it does a lot and I just didn't feel like I could justify both expenses
1:01 . So, it took me almost four years into my business before I finally made the switch and while I wasn't using it, I'm still a systems gal, I was still doing quite a lot in my business.
1:14 So, I had contract software, I still had so many things automated, right? So, like contracts, invoicing, a scheduling tool, I had all these different ways and I had them all sort of pieced together.
1:28 but it wasn't actually effective because not all the time, not all those tools talked. onboarding clients took a long time, I couldn't easily, like I did eventually outsource it but I had to really provide a step-by-step-by-step tutorial for how.
1:43 how to onboard and bring people into the business and it just was so clunky, my process was so clunky. maybe not from the outside but behind the scenes it was just phew and it felt heavy.
1:56 And so, two years ago I finally made the leap and the first thing that changed and for the better and this is probably the most obvious one is that I had fewer tools to pay for.
2:10 instead of having all these different, things that I just mentioned I was paying for one tool that handled my contracts, my scheduling, my invoicing, my forms, all of those things and because it's all one tool they all talked they all work together and it made it so things could be really really simple
2:28 . Especially behind the scenes for me and my team we could see everything in one place, everything talked and worked together as long as I knew how to set it up right which I did but I've actually learned so much over the last couple of years and really been able to optimize as well which has been really
2:42 great. second thing, and this has a little story with it, was automated client hand-holding. When I first started my business, about a year in, I held, I had some friends over actually into this very space because it used to be my dining room.
2:58 And I asked them for feedback about my business, some business-y friends, past clients, those kinds of things. And the number one thing I came away from was that my clients actually wanted way more hand-holding.
3:10 They wanted told what to do as opposed to them telling me what to do. And this was back when I was a VA, and I thought clients were supposed to tell me what to do, but a lot of times they don't know what they need.
3:23 And so the onboarding process or even like the during and after bits, so the offboarding and the client maintenance throughout the contract is something that's so easy to automate in Dubsado, in my CRM or in any CRM.
3:40 And what I love about that is you can make it really branded and really personal, and they don't. You don't even necessarily need to know that it's all automated, but you're still doing your part.
3:53 They feel really supported, but you don't really feel it's taking up all of your time or anything like that. It just, it doesn't feel burdensome.
4:02 But you can still really, really be there for your clients. So I love, love that. That was the number two, benefit of starting a CRM in my business.
4:11 The third goes hand in hand with that, and that is consistent communication. And. Well it may sound like it's the same as the other one, but what I mean is that it's the same for every single person.
4:24 My brand, my messaging, the way I communicate, the way I send my contract, the timing of it all is exactly the same for everybody.
4:32 Which means. That my customer service is exactly the same for every single client and that goes over so well. I say this a lot, but people, no matter how good you are at your job, what makes people really recommend you is the experience of working with you.
4:50 And if that feels really seamless and it feels really easy, on top of you doing a really good job at whatever you sell, it's going to make people refer you and come back to you again and again.
5:00 The fourth thing that has really changed is being able to check in with how my business is going in the blink of an eye.
5:09 And I love this. So, Dubsato has a really, really clear dashboard, the very top of the dashboard where you can see where I am with my monthly income goals and anything that's outstanding from clients forms, contracts and voices.
5:21 I can also see my calendar and any appointments that I have coming up. It imports my calendar from Google, but also is connected to, you know, my scheduling tool within Dubsato.
5:31 So, appointments that clients have scheduled for themselves. Sure. it also will track my income year on year. So, I can see that kind of thing too, which is really handy for being able to start to predict your income, your expenses, those kinds of things as you grow your business.
5:49 The other thing that I wasn't really doing before, and this is number 5, the thing that I wasn't really doing before I had a CRM, which is kind of one of the core points of a CRM, is lead tracking.
6:01 So now I have really clear data on how people find me. I have from their intake form. I also can see them all the way along the customer journey, right?
6:12 They come in when they fill out the former book a call with me, they immediately are tagged as somebody who's interested in working with me.
6:18 I can send them the appropriate, templated emails, personalize them in just the right way so it doesn't feel stuffy, you know with their name or any information of things we've talked about.
6:28 and I can see if they tag them from there, move them along to if you know if we've already had the coal, if I've sent them over their kind of the summary email after one of our discovery calls, I can check in with them if they're not right fit, I can tag them that way and then if they move on into my
6:44 actual client I can see if they're in the homework stage, if we're in an active project, if they're, you know, everything's launched and they're sitting there waiting for me to get a testimonial and all of that stuff, the off-boarding stuff, the request of testimonial is all also automated which I love
6:59 . again really consistent for me helping me get in more people through those testimonials and just providing a really nice hand-holding process for the clients on the end.
7:10 And the sixth and final thing that I really really love and have benefited from using a CRM in my business is all the things I've saved.
7:20 I have saved time, hours and hours and hours of what it would take me to be sending these emails, contracts, invoices, client follow-ups, testimonial . requests, like all of those things, invoice reminders, those kinds of things, all automated in my CRM.
7:35 The other thing I save is money. By cutting down all of those tools that I was using and switching to Dipsato, I'm saving- So I was paying double a year for using a different invoicing tool, or a different contract tool, a different scheduling tool to manage my forms and everything.
7:57 And, So I'm paying half now and that's so much better. And then I've also saved a load of headspace. I feel lighter, I feel like I have less clutter in my brain, I know those pieces are ticking on in the background, and I don't have to think about them, so I can step more into my CEO role.
8:11 and do the things that are going to move the needle forward in my business, and I can also take more time to do things like this and create content for you.
8:19 So, I hope you found that really useful to just summarize really quick. the six ways that a CRM changed my business, will be- last two plus years is fewer tools to manage and pay for, automated client handholding, consistent communication, a clear dashboard of what's going on in my business, lead tracking
8:41 , and See next time. Saving time, money, and headspace. Alright, if this has been useful for you, please give it a thumbs up, subscribe to the channel, I talk all about systems simplifying your business and websites over here.
8:56 Have a good day.
