Podchaser Logo Rate on Podchaser

Episode 197

full
Published on:

19th Mar 2025

How to Design Workflows That Enhance Your Client Experience [Client Experience Series Pt 3]

This is the third episode of the Client Experience Series! Now that you’ve mapped out your client experience, it’s time to turn those steps into workflows inside your CRM. In this episode, I’m breaking down how to structure your workflows into phases, determine what should happen automatically versus manually, and set up the triggers that keep everything running smoothly. If you haven’t listened to last week’s episode on mapping your client experience, go back and give it a listen first!

Find it Quickly:

01:19 - Breaking Your Client Experience into Phases

02:32 - The Four Essential Workflows

04:21 - How to Assign Workflow Triggers

05:13 - Automate vs. Manual Steps

06:11 - Does It Need a Personal Touch?

07:07 - Example: Building an Inquiry Workflow

10:26 - Creating a Workflow Recipe

12:41 - Testing Your Workflows

13:56 - Final Thoughts & Next Steps

Client Experience Audit

Ep. 195 - A Breakdown of My Audit Process

Ep. 196 - How to Begin Mapping Your Client Experience

Transcript
Colie:

Hello.

2

:

Hello.

3

:

And welcome back to another solo episode

of business first creatives podcast.

4

:

Now, today is part three in a

four part series on creating

5

:

the ultimate client experience.

6

:

If you haven't listened to episodes

one and two, I highly recommend that

7

:

you go, you download those episodes

and then you come back to this episode.

8

:

But bare minimum, you should listen

to episode two where we mapped

9

:

out your entire client experience

before you attempt to tackle the

10

:

tasks that we are going to be

talking about in today's episode.

11

:

So after last week's episode,

you should have your entire

12

:

client experience mapped out.

13

:

If you haven't pause and go do that

first because we can't automate chaos

14

:

and it's way easier to start this

process with a list of what you want

15

:

to do, before you start building

the individual workflow steps.

16

:

So if you've got that in front of

you, what we are going to do now

17

:

is literally divide our all of

those steps into different phases

18

:

and each one of those phases is

going to become its own workflow.

19

:

I am a big believer that your workflows

should be small and mighty and that

20

:

you shouldn't use one very long

workflow in order to run your business.

21

:

The problem comes in when you

are mid workflow, and you decide

22

:

that something needs to change.

23

:

Maybe they decide to go

a different direction.

24

:

Maybe they initially inquired about

a maternity session, but then they

25

:

decided to book a newborn session.

26

:

Like there are a lot of different

things that could change in between

27

:

the inquiry and the delivery.

28

:

And so you want to make sure that at

each step you have the opportunity

29

:

to choose a workflow that will

best serve you and your client.

30

:

I have talked ad nauseum about my

favorite four workflows that every

31

:

photographer and creative entrepreneur

should use in their business.

32

:

And just in case you haven't heard

that podcast episode, I'm going to

33

:

give you a very quick refresher.

34

:

The first one is your inquiry process.

35

:

The second one is your booking process.

36

:

The third is your onboarding

processes, including the service.

37

:

And then the fourth is your offboarding,

including asking for those amazing

38

:

client testimonials that you want.

39

:

Now, I'm not saying that you

have to use those four phases.

40

:

In fact, if you're HoneyBook, I

now recommend that you combine your

41

:

inquiry and your booking workflows,

because the new automation builder 2.

42

:

0, the one that has conditional logic

has made this way easier to do . My

43

:

four previously recommended workflows

will not work for everyone, and

44

:

they're not the best fit for everyone.

45

:

But now that you have laid out your

entire client experience, you are in

46

:

the best position to divide all of

that information up into phases that

47

:

make total sense for your business.

48

:

Because the phases are going to be

the backbones of your workflow and

49

:

for each one of these workflows, you

are going to be able to decide whether

50

:

that workflow is going to trigger

automatically, or if it's going to

51

:

need to be started manually by you.

52

:

Okay, so client experience, you now

have it divided into the four phases.

53

:

Now I will say when you outlined your

client experience, if you did not

54

:

indicate how that client was going to

come into your CRM, there might be a

55

:

trigger in action that you are missing.

56

:

So, for example, if when you mapped

out your client experience, you didn't

57

:

include that client filling out your

contact form for your website, that

58

:

is actually going to be the very

first step in your client experience.

59

:

And when they fill out that contact

form, the very first inquiry workflow is

60

:

going to start inside of their project.

61

:

Okay.

62

:

So for each phase, I want you to ask

yourself What triggers the next action?

63

:

So i've already hinted that you are

going to start your inquiry workflow

64

:

when someone completes your contact

form or if you are someone who requires

65

:

consultation calls, you could always

have the option of embedding a scheduler

66

:

directly on your website and having

the first step that they take be

67

:

to schedule that consultation call.

68

:

The second question that I want

you to ask yourself is, does it

69

:

need to happen automatically?

70

:

Not every single action inside of your

workflow will happen automatically.

71

:

There are going to be times where you

are going to want to add an approval

72

:

button so that you have control over

whether or not that action is started.

73

:

We also have conditional actions

inside of both the Absado and

74

:

HoneyBook, if you have Automations 2.

75

:

0, where you will be able to trigger

something automatically based on an

76

:

action that the client has taken.

77

:

This is where those super awesome, if

form not completed, Actions inside.

78

:

This is where those if form not

completed triggers inside of Dubsado

79

:

that make my heart so happy will work.

80

:

And if you are inside of HoneyBook

using the new Automations 2.

81

:

0, the conditional steps where you

are going to be able to watch a form.

82

:

A scheduler and you, whether or not

they viewed it or they completed

83

:

it, you are going to be able to make

the next step happen automatically

84

:

after a certain amount of time.

85

:

So not everything in your workflows

is going to happen automatically.

86

:

The third question that I

need you to ask yourself is,

87

:

does it need a personal touch?

88

:

Again, this is where if you feel the need

to customize the form or customize the

89

:

email, you are going to want to add an

approval button, if you're inside Dusbado

90

:

or in HoneyBook's new automation 2.0,

91

:

you will be choosing create email

draft instead of create email.

92

:

Okay.

93

:

So I'm going to give you an example

that's kind of going to bring

94

:

all this together so that you can

have a solid idea in your head.

95

:

Let's say that when someone inquires,

I love starting with this one because

96

:

it is the most basic workflow that

you can create, but it's also going

97

:

to give you the most bang for your

buck because you are not going to be

98

:

trying to figure out how to chase your

leads and how to deal with your leads.

99

:

If we can put that on autopilot, you

can focus on more important activities.

100

:

Like the booking phase

and the onboarding phase.

101

:

So the trigger of your inquiry

workflow is going to be either

102

:

when they complete a contact form.

103

:

Or when they schedule a consultation call,

if you are choosing to embed a scheduler

104

:

directly on your website, the first action

inside of that workflow should be to

105

:

send your automated lead response email.

106

:

Now, this is an email that

I think is an absolute 100%.

107

:

Everyone must have it.

108

:

There should not be a chance where

there is going to be a pause while

109

:

you try to figure out if you want

to work with someone before they

110

:

hear from you initially after

inquiring about your services.

111

:

This first email doesn't have

to be, um, super specific.

112

:

It doesn't have to offer

them the opportunity to book.

113

:

You are simply acknowledging that you

have received their inquiry form and

114

:

you are giving them some information

to read and consume, before you were

115

:

able to get back to them personally.

116

:

Now, this email should tell them when they

should expect to hear from you next, give

117

:

them next steps if that's appropriate, but

you should also include those beautifully

118

:

crafted blog posts that many of us have

on our website that you want to make

119

:

sure that that client and that lead has

read before you actually talk to them.

120

:

This is also a good opportunity.

121

:

If you have like an amazing client

testimonial, you can include it in this

122

:

email or some frequently asked questions.

123

:

If you tend to get a lot of

objections at this stage,

124

:

Your second action is going to be to

send that personalized follow up email.

125

:

This is after you've actually had a

chance to review their contact form,

126

:

see what they're interested in, see if

you're available, and then you are going

127

:

to make the decision on whether or not

you are going to move to the next step.

128

:

Now, if they fill out a contact form

and you are someone that requires a

129

:

consultation call, this is the email

that should include the scheduling

130

:

link so that they can book that call.

131

:

If you are someone who can pre qualify

your leads just off of their contact

132

:

form, your next step may actually be to

send them the actual booking proposal.

133

:

This is totally dependent on

what your business needs are.

134

:

And so the last action that I tend to ask

people to put inside of this workflow is

135

:

a follow up email because humans are busy.

136

:

And in this day and age, everybody

gets so distracted easily.

137

:

So you always want to have a follow

up email, that either happens

138

:

automatically or that you manually

trigger to remind them to do the

139

:

next step after you have indicated

that you are excited about working

140

:

with them, scheduling a consultation

call, whatever your next step may be.

141

:

Now these steps can happen

with or without you.

142

:

They can be done automatically or you

can add an approval button to kind of put

143

:

a pause until you are able to do them.

144

:

But having a semi automated inquiry

process is going to save you so much

145

:

time and energy inside of your business.

146

:

Okay.

147

:

So first we talked about breaking

up your client experience

148

:

into the different phases.

149

:

In step two, I'm talking

about specifically assigning

150

:

the action triggers.

151

:

So you are going to choose

the action, like send email.

152

:

Send form, send scheduler,

create to do task.

153

:

The second thing that you are going

to do is indicate whether or not it's

154

:

going to happen automatically, or

you're going to add an approval button.

155

:

And the third part of

that is the timeline.

156

:

So remember, when we originally mapped

out your client experience, I had you

157

:

guys write down what the optimal timeline

was for each of those steps to happen.

158

:

That is going to be critical in

terms of timing your workflow.

159

:

So now we're ready to move into

step three, which is to actually

160

:

build your workflows inside of

your CRM and then test them.

161

:

You started with your client experience.

162

:

Each one of the steps in your client

experience is going to become an

163

:

action and a trigger with a timeline.

164

:

You're going to have all of these

written down and then you are going

165

:

to go into your CRM and actually

start building the workflows.

166

:

Now, if you do it in a way to

where it's very nicely laid out,

167

:

creating the workflows should take

you no more than 10, 15 minutes.

168

:

I mean, it really is that quick.

169

:

But in order for you to do that, you

should have all of the actions, all

170

:

of the triggers, all of the timelines

written down, and at this point, you

171

:

should also have every single asset that

you need for your workflows created.

172

:

So, if you are going to send them that

automated lead response, you should

173

:

already have your automated lead

response, inside of your email templates,

174

:

with the appropriate smart field.

175

:

So between mapping the client experience

and turning them into a workflow

176

:

recipe, you do need to make sure that

you have a list of every email, every

177

:

form, every scheduler that you need,

and literally check them off one by

178

:

one as you add them and as they are

ready to be sent inside of your CRM.

179

:

Okay, so once you have created

all of the assets, and then you've

180

:

created the actual workflows.

181

:

This is when you're

going to want to test it.

182

:

I guarantee you are going to have errors.

183

:

Why?

184

:

Because I have errors when

I set up other people's.

185

:

I mean, there are tiny things

like maybe I didn't notice that

186

:

the spacing in an email was off.

187

:

Maybe I didn't notice that I

accidentally deleted one of the

188

:

braces from a smart field, and

so it's not populating correctly.

189

:

Literally, the only way that you can find

these errors is by testing your workflows

190

:

completely from beginning to end.

191

:

Now, hear me on this.

192

:

Make sure that when you are testing

your workflow, you are using a personal

193

:

email address and not the same email

that you use for your business.

194

:

Of your CRM, this is so that you can

see the emails that are for clients

195

:

separately, for the emails that you get

as the business owner that kind of send

196

:

you the notifications of what's happening.

197

:

You wanna make sure that those emails

are being sent to two completely

198

:

different emails so that you can see

what happens both as the photographer

199

:

or the business owner and as the client.

200

:

And that's it.

201

:

That is really what it

takes to efficiently craft

202

:

workflows for your business.

203

:

It's not just a set of fancy checklists.

204

:

They are your secret weapon for

booking more clients and giving each

205

:

and every person that comes into your

business a consistent experience.

206

:

Now all of this is actually not

what I do with my own clients

207

:

inside of the CRM blueprint.

208

:

If you are in my course, You

actually don't start by mapping

209

:

out your client experience first.

210

:

I have told you what the

ultimate client experience is.

211

:

I have told you every single asset that

you need, and I have actually given you

212

:

a template for every single one of them.

213

:

So if you are in my course, Or if you

are thinking that you need a little

214

:

bit more help with this inside the

course, everything that you need

215

:

is there and then you just have to

customize them for your business.

216

:

It is a different mindset, but at the end

of the day, we all get to the same place.

217

:

If you would like additional

information about the CRM blueprint,

218

:

there is a version for both HoneyBook

and Dusbado, and you can find out

219

:

additional information by going to

coliejames dot com slash blueprint.

220

:

So what I really hope is that you actually

pull out your calendar and you schedule

221

:

a one hour block to start this process.

222

:

I can't guarantee that you're going

to get everything done in an hour, but

223

:

at least it's a good place to start.

224

:

And I promise once you get in the groove

and you start creating the workflow

225

:

actions and triggers, you are going to be

so motivated to see the process through

226

:

now, please come back next week because.

227

:

I am going to be discussing part four of

the client experience series, and this

228

:

is when I'm going to be talking about

what I see is probably the most important

229

:

part, and that is creating a five minute

booking process inside of your CRM.

230

:

All right, that's it for this episode.

231

:

See you next time.

Next Episode All Episodes Previous Episode

Listen for free

Show artwork for Business-First Creatives

About the Podcast

Business-First Creatives

Every creative deserves to turn their craft into a business that brings them joy and profit. Here you'll find a no-BS approach to what it takes to put the business first, prioritizing the systems and strategies that will actually move the needle and ensure your creative business is profitable rather than an expensive side-hustle. Your host is Colie James, a Disney-loving family photographer, and filmmaker turned Workflow and Automations Guru who helps creative service providers automate their sh*t, reclaim their time and get back to living!