Streamline and Automate
Since time is a nonrenewable resource, we all need to optimize and streamline how we do things…so we can get more done, in less time. When we then find ourselves with more time we can invest it in more creative thought, innovation, and scaling our business. But it starts with freeing up our hours.
There are so many tasks we do day-in-and-day-out in our businesses – or at least every week. Oftentimes by not streamlining or automating pieces of these tasks you end up with a bottleneck in the process, or (worse yet) a hole in your boat allowing prospects or necessary to-do’s falling through the cracks.
Let’s start with a few things to consider for streamlining:
Content-Batching
Before you start considering what content tasks to automate or streamline you need to determine your over-all marketing strategy and see if it needs to contain a long-range content plan. If it does – start here:
First determine what your 3-5 brand pillars are – those areas of focus where you can be seen as a thought leader in your industry
Next, divide each pillar into topics and areas of concern. One way to do this is to think of the frequently asked questions you get regarding each pillar. Or what exactly you want to share and have people know about each one.
Curate an editorial calendar (a predetermined strategy and timeline for all your thought leadership, social media, and other value activities).
Now that you have that decided you need to write and record content in larger batches then one at a time. This allows you to ‘get in the zone’ of creation and avoids any last-minute panic posts.
Oftentimes I will write 3-5 articles in one day. This creates more consistency and flow from one article to the next.
A secondary Content-Batching strategy is to do your Content-Repurposing-Batching…taking the time to curate quotes, graphics, short-form copy from all of your long-form articles. Do this while the article is still fresh in your mind.
Time-Batching
In addition to setting aside blocks of time to do Content-Batching, you can also Time-Batch client calls, networking follow-up, social media response time, or sales calls. By doing this you, again, get in the zone of what you are focusing on. It allows you to concentrate, put your best foot (and words) forward when you are not multi-tasking or task-switching.
One of the best Time-Batching activities also includes the use of an automation tool – something like Sendible or the new scheduler in Canva. These tools allow you to create all your social media posts for the week or month (or more) and schedule them to go live across multiple platforms with the click of a button. HUGE time saver! Just remember to also have a few Time-Batches on your calendar to check your notifications and activity and respond on your favorite social media platforms. (Don’t post and ghost).
It is not just Time-Batching social media posts however. The biggest Time-Batch I have on my calendar is for networking follow-up and prospecting. This is dedicated time I take each week to ensure I reach out to people who have attended NBG, or that I have met at other area events. It is when I communicate with people who have expressed interest in working with us as a Grow participant, or joining Speaker League, or even work with us 1:1. If I omit having this time on my calendar – honestly, it probably wouldn’t happen. I would stay focused on other things and those activities would get missed (and consequently the pipeline would dry up).
Customer Experience Automation & Streamline
Maybe you are all set with content creation and posting (or maybe your business model doesn’t require this), and maybe you are all set with prospecting time each week, but perhaps you have a client/customer experience that warrants pieces being automated so it is more hands-off from you and your staff. Of course, it is important to keep the personal touch even through automation. But, it could be argued that automating pieces of the customer experience can actually enhance and improve the overall satisfaction meter! 😊
A well-crafted customer experience results in more consistent communication, increases visibility, and can provide more opportunities to upsell or cross-sell current clients. PLUS, the added exposure will raise referrals and testimonials from current clients. It’s a win-win!
This might include your onboarding, invoicing, or perhaps aspects of your workflow. Think about those tasks, questions, and work that is repeatable. Things you do the same with each and every client you work with. Think about what you would love to implement with them if you only had more time.
Make a list. Implement some tech, automations, processes. This frees up more of your time so you can create even more great experiences for your clients.
There are dozens if not thousands of tech tools you can use for different types of application. Many are very low cost and have a low threshold for learning how to utilize their power.
Once you have a list of what you would like to do – contact others in your industry or in industries similar to yours and ask what they use. Or call us! Rodger and I are happy to talk through your options and point you in the right direction.
Here are a few to consider:
Things that can increase connection to the next step in their journey to working with you:
Chat bots on your website
Curated responses that can be automatically sent for frequently asked questions
Autoresponders or Auto-Delivery of resources and resulting emails series
Pop-Ups with value add or connection information on the website
You can even streamline the back-and-forth of meeting scheduling. Many of you probably already use Calendly (or something similar). This is the number one tool I use to save hours of my time each week. Plus, it has drastically decreased missed meetings, no-shows, or “ugh-I never got her on the calendar” happenings.
Then, once they are ready to dive in further with you consider automating your onboarding, contracts and agreements, invoicing and more.
Beyond that you can define, streamline, and automate many pieces of the journey to keep them engaged with you and your company and keep them moving and motivated. Even a way to encourage them, thank them and keep you top of mind.
Once the transaction and deliver is complete you can automate your request for a testimonial, referral or even an upsell to the next greatest thing you can provide for them.
It just takes defining what you want to do and implementing it into practice. The great thing is that once it is set up it is done! Think of the time (effort and even money) you can save be having these up and running.
Copy Collection
In the Grow program we talk about this all the time. I have dozens upon dozens of emails and paragraphs in my email platform to avoid having to rewrite the same information over and over and over when responding to requests.
These communication hacks save me time, thought, creativity and more. One of the greatest things is that because they are well thought out and pre-crafted responses, I know that I am always saying exactly what I want to say and conveying it in the best way possible.
Take five minutes – right now – and list the top things you have to repeat over and over again in email communication. Create templates (a copy collection) for yourself. Then next time you need to say that – simply copy and paste! Easy-Peasy.
Then, over the next 2-3 weeks as you write back and forth communications… save responses, communications, outreach emails, etc. to use in the future. Don’t forget about things you use in social media as well. Have a document with all your ‘saves’ in a convenient place that you can readily access from anywhere.
There are many other tricks, tips, automations and streamlining ideas…. too many to talk about here. Plus, each business is different and has different needs. The ideas here may get the juices flowing – and that is great! But without taking action, and even getting some help to implement, next week will look like last week and time will get away from you and you won’t make the changes needed.
So, take time, right now, to do the list making and thinking we prompted here and put on your calendar time to implement what you need to do. Or make an appointment to talk with someone who can help. Here is my Let’s Chat link if you want that someone to be us – happy to help!
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