Episode 223: How to elevate your client experience with a CRM with Kelli Esquilin

As a graphic designer for 10 years, Kelli knows what it’s like to feel overwhelmed and frustrated by all the administrative work and processes involved in dealing with a client. This took her away from what she loved doing – designing and wowing her clients with stellar service. So Kelli traveled down the long road of spending lots of money on classes on designing amazing websites, communicating with clients, and how to streamline a process. Once her systems were in place, she kept getting comments from fellow designers and other business owners on how pristine and organized her process was and that’s how Kay + Co. Studio was born. Their signature done-for-you VIP Services will result in newfound confidence as their clients (you) take the reins of their (your) business in as little as 3 weeks. Why Designers Need Client Relationship Managers When it comes to your design business, a client relationship manager (CRM) can help you build that relationship with your clients, provide a great experience, and build better communication. From the initial inquiry, your CRM is making the first impression. It also helps with the communication process all the way to the proposal and invoicing—your CRM manages this for you. It can serve as an all-in-one platform to handle every single aspect of your client communication. When you start to dread the onboarding process and getting started with a client, that’s when you should consider consolidating all of your processes into one platform. CRMs for Designers If you’re looking for a CRM for your design business, the top two in the industry are Honeybook and Dubsado. (Bonnie uses Honeybook in her own business.) While there are dozens of tools out there, these two are robust, yet simple enough for ease of use for designers. Common Mistakes Designers Make with CRMs Overall, when a designer chooses to use a CRM, they’re choosing to work smarter, not harder. A CRM offers so many things for designers, but here are a few mistakes you may be making: * Not using templates—canned emails, proposals, etc can be templated.* You don’t have to attach everything to a workflow. Try Honebook at bisforbonnie.com/honeybook. Creating a Thoughtful Experience for Your Clients One of the first things to consider with your CRM is how are you creating a thoughtful experience for them. As you onboard a client, it can be easy to overwhelm them—look at how you’re communicating with them in the first email. Is it bombarding them with information? You can ease them into your work together through multiple emails. Another consideration is reminder emails, because while you may set due dates, your clients need to be reminded of them! Lastly, look at any frequently asked questions you have to request from your clients to determine if there are things you can adjust in your workflow so that you’re not always asking for it. There is always room to adapt and improve in the work that you’re doing and the processes you set up! Try Honeybook Long gone are the days of using 50 different apps and tools to work with your clients! Instead, leverage Honeybook to transform your client experience from start to finish.  Position yourself as a pro AND save yourself precious hours every single week with Honeybook. Are you ready to take your client experience to the next level, friend? Then click below to save 50% off your annual su...