GET
YOUR SYSTEMS IN PLACE NOW!
When I first started making the transition
from therapist to speaker, Somers White offered
me the opportunity to visit his office where
he was running his successful speaking and
consulting business. I came away from my visit
with one basic rule (and a multitude of tips)
firmly in mind: get your systems in place
first.
Somers'
advice is as timely today as it was then.
Get your systems in place first, especially
if you want to automate your business.
The
myth of automation says computers will solve
all our problems. Not so! If we don't have
good systems before we automate, we'll have
terrible ones, unworkable systems, after
we try to put them on a computer.
Good
systems keep us on track. They outline all
the steps of a task or project, remind you
of the details, build in back ups and benchmarks.
The
most important technology tools for defining
a system? A pencil and a piece of paper.
If you can't sketch out the work flow for
a task, project or process on paper, you'll
never be able to do it on a computer.
The
most common complaint I hear from 1Person
Business owners is how to take care of all
the details of running the business while
they are busy providing products and services
to their clients. Usually this question
comes after missing a deadline, not returning
a crucial phone call, or bringing the wrong
materials to a client meeting.
Each
of these "mistakes" costs big.
We look like we don't walk our talk, aren't
truly professional or aren't worth the investment
our clients make in our services.
Good
systems, keep track of details, mean we
don't have to remember to remember. Our
systems do it for us.
So,
get your systems in place first, before
you make one of these mistakes. Or, if you're
in rehab mode, do it now.
Establishing
a system is a "sharpening the ax"
activity. Initially, it takes time, but
quickly saves much more time than you invested.
Let's
use your new client forms as an example
of getting a system up and running. This
will start building your tool kit of standard
forms, letters, responses, and procedures.
Collect
the letters, questionnaires, invoices, agreements,
you used for your last three or four new
clients. (Your fees and prices don't matter
for this activity. We'll get to setting
costs and pricing later.)
What
information did you ask for from the client?
What information did you miss and have to
go back for? What letters did you send?
Agreements? What kinds of people did you
need to talk to? How did you arrange for
expenses? Reproduction of materials?
New
client packets represent all the details
of making sure both you and the client are
on the same page: you both know who is going
to do what, at what cost, when and where;
how you're going to get there and what you're
going to leave behind.
My
new client packet includes templates for
a proposal, letter of agreement, and the
cover letter that accompanies it, an inquiry
response, check lists, a background questionnaire,
invoices, invoice cover letters, travel
itinerary, and so on and so on. I sometimes
don't use each form for each client, but
I hate to start writing letters from scratch
when I've got a lot to do.
Use
your pencil and planning paper to sketch
out the formats you prefer for each form
you'll use. Highlight the phrases you've
used that you want in your standard forms.
Now,
go to your word processor. Open a new file,
format it like you sketched, whether a letter
or a form, and "save as" a file
in your New Client Packet folder in the
folder called Speaking Admin.
Use
place holders for information that varies
with each letter i.e. name of contact, amount
of fee, date of program. I use CAPITALS
or a series of XXXXXX to indicate data needs
to be filled in.
When
you're satisfied with a form or form letter
file, "save as" instead of "save."
You'll see a scroll window with format options,
usually close to the file name box. Scroll
down to stationery or template, highlight
this option and then click on the save button.
(When you save as stationery or template,
the new file will automatically open without
a file name. You are forced to save it as
a new file, leaving your stationery file
unchanged and ready for next time.)
Next
time you need to do the paper work for a
new client, just open the New Client Packet
folder, chose the letter you need, fill
in the specific information and send it
off.
As
you come on a repeating process, take a
few minutes of your week to ensure you've
documented all the steps. It makes it much
easier than trying to remember to remember.
Reprinting and
Reposting
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