hire a robot to do your job

Just kidding! Made ya look!

I do not think robots should replace people.

BUT I do want you to find ways to automate the shit that doesn't move the needle for you.

Listen to this. My client was inundated with new client inquiries. Clients just kept coming and the work was piling up with more than she could handle. Deadlines were approaching faster than she could keep up. She was overwhelmed and working 14 hour days. Desperate to find any way possible to find more balance. She wanted to eventually have a life outside work and didn't see the light at the end of the tunnel.

She hired a Project Manager to deal with all Potential New Clients. And this person spent their time welcoming and hand holding these Potential New Clients for many touches until their first appointment. There was booking the first session, emailing them a new client survey, adding them to their CRM, emailing them a welcome packet, confirming their appointment, etc. Not to mention the client call, and THEN the personalized quote, super detailed, in an email. Whew! ALL of this before they even knew if their timeline, budgets, or project was in the realm of possibility.

And I get it. In my former business, Portland Garment Factory, we were already booked solid for 3 months and were barely taking on new clients. And we would take appointments with Potential New Clients only to find that they were hoping for 25 cat beds* to be finished by a cat party happening on Friday. Not possible, and just. No. (*not a real example, but you get the picture!)

And I know we don't want the client to feel alienated, or cold, or like the client experience is too impersonal, but there is a happy medium here.

We have to be able to exchange the general information before they get in the door to see if they are going to be the right fit. And we need to automate the client onboarding process to be as seamless as possible until they are truly a paying client. No more 1,000 touches before they give you $1.

And the transformation I offer my clients in this situation is not the actual system (although we organized and automated this entire process to completely eliminate the need for an employee to manage this, which saved her hundreds of dollars a month, and made the client experience a freaking breeze) the real transformation happens with my client’s confidence.

Often times my clients are afraid of giving too much information away in the beginning, or even on their websites about turn around times, prices, ideal clients, etc. because they are afraid that it will slow the flow of Potential New Clients.

And to be honest, this DID happen at Portland Garment Factory. What was once the most welcoming women-owned garment factory in the Pacific Northwest turned into a badass design and manufacturing facility that was hard to get a foot in the door. But that was actually exactly the right thing to have happened. The not-good-fit clients stopped reaching out, and the good-fit ones knew just what to say to get us to respond. (or they knew how to finagle their way in. its pretty easy to recognize email addresses like Levis, Nike, Adidas, & New Balance, ;) )

But when you have the confidence in your expertise, confidence in your funnel, confidence in your work, then you have NOTHING to lose. You control the faucet. You control who comes in the door, how much you charge, the turn-around times. If someone comes to you whose budget is tiny and needs it next week, you have ZERO responsibility to make that dream happen for them. Now, be my guest, pull it off if you want.

But there better be a fat rush fee in there.