When I was starting my business, I was overwhelmed with all the tools and systems to choose. It was like researching what kind of stroller to get for a new baby, there are so many options and recommendations and in the end they are all quite similar with different branding.

When it comes to elevating your brand with the help of systems and tools, what does that look like? I'm talking about the behind the scenes view that people don't necessarily see.  Today I'm going to break it down into the five categories of systems that will elevate your brand, essential for saving time and increasing the conversion rate from leads to clients!

1.  Scheduling

One of the first things I recommend for any business to have in place first is a scheduling tool.  Why?  Because it saves time with back and forth coordination of appointment times by providing a link to your scheduling tool.  This leads to an increase in sales conversions as a result of 1) more sales conversations and discovery calls where clients can get to know you better, 2) the ability to book paid appointments on the spot.  With buyer behaviour, it's important to catch buyers when they're in the mode of wanting to buy and expressing interest.  If too much time passes... the chances of losing interest or finding another supplier increase.  There are so many scheduling tools on the market. I am currently using Acuity and Dubsado and have it linked to my email marketing service provider.

2.  Productivity

This is a big bucket in itself however I want to highlight the importance of having a way to stay organized and track tasks and progress.  As your brand grows, so will the number of to-dos!  Having a way to track tasks, to-dos, client projects and internal project is key.  Tracking provides a pulse on status', items coming due, items planned... and now, project management tracking tools are getting even more complex with ability to create forms to collect data, automation, workflows, and ability to integrate with other systems and tools. It can be as simple as starting out with a spreadsheet however getting onboard with a project tracking tool is the way to go! There are so many great ones out there.  I've used ClickUp, Trello, and Air Table and currently expanding into ClickUp.  It's helped keep me and my content manager connected so well!

3.  Design

So you've got your brand colours and logo, now it's time to use it consistently everywhere!  Design tools are essential for ensuring that everything is on-brand and provides a consistent experience to your brand vibe no matter where a client is at.  Some examples of brand tools I'm referring to for DIY is Canva where you can put together any size and type of graphic you can imagine with your brand colours, fonts, and brand photos.  Other design tools to get familiar with are photo editing and video editing tools.  With the rise in popularity with video content, Instagram reels and tik toks, knowing how to edit simple videos will help you keep up with the trend.

4.  Connection

Staying connected to clients, followers, and leads is crucial for your business and for gathering consumer feedback, helpful for improving your brand.  Some ways to stay connected is on social media platforms and through your email list.  Both are great when used in combination.

Having an email marketing platform is highly recommended because it is your list that you own and provides a way to share updates and stories about your brand - deepening that connection and trust and a great place to showcase brand photos. Also with email marketing tool, it provides helpful metrics on open rates and clicks and can go more advanced with workflows and funnels.   I am currently using Constant Contact, it has a great drag and drop feature for ease with designing attractive emails that are onbrand.

With social media platforms, consider getting on board with using scheduling tools such as Later, Buffer, or Planoly for ease of batch creating content to share with your audience.  Showing up consistently and staying in touch is key for being top of mind with your audience and provide a way for them to get to know, like, and trust you.

Another tool that is essential for connection is a CRM (customer relationship management) tool such as Dubsado.  It holds all the information about a client project in one place including their invoicing, contracts, and emails so you can easily refer back to the history of working together and continue building on that relationship.

5.  Financial

So the biggest thing is to have a way to receive money and track those sales and expenses!  Having a check-out function is key for ease of accepting payments and yes there are fees attached so asking for an email money transfer can work for low volume payments.  Often times the tools will have an invoicing feature as well.  The more experiences or products you can get into the hands of interested buyers, the more organic growth through word of mouth marketing and reviews and testimonials your business can collect.  See how it all connects?  And then from there... tracking all the things financials so that you know where you're financial health is at. This is useful to know for making key decisions such as what to start/stop in the business to elevate the brand.  I currently use Quickbooks for bookkeeping, Dubsado for invoicing, and payments are processed through Square or PayPal which is attached to a check out interface through Dubsado, Acuity, or Thrivecart.

Conclusion

If the thought of doing any of the above makes you hurl, know that there are so many small business experts that can help out!   You are not alone.  In fact there are professional who can even get you set up in a day.  Yes!  I was in a Done in a Day coaching program by Systems Saved Me and in the group are experts who can set up systems solutions in a day.  For example Dubsado in a day, AirTable in a day, ClickUp in a day.  So there is lots of opportunity to get it done quickly through a VIP day.  A VIP day where you can help out clients in a day and eliminate the back and forth and retainer.  If you're an expert in one of the systems and tools and want to see how you can turn your retainer days into a VIP day, check out the The Done in a Day program.

I hope that this episode was  helpful. I really want it to just break down the categories of systems that will really help elevate your brand. And again, these aren't something that the client will see. It is in the background and it is something that you'll see and you'll be aware of but if you have these in place, it'll just really streamline your processes and the customer experience.

Thanks for tuning in.

Listen in to this week’s episode to learn more about the top five categories of systems that will help elevate your brand.

Systems and Tools mentioned in this episode:

• Dubsado
• Done In A Day Program - Build Your VIP Day
• Constant Contact

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