If you're ready to scale your business to reach that six figures per year milestone, we can tell you one thing -- you're going to need systems! Systems keep you in control - and streamline your business, so you can juggle a roster of clients with various needs, without burning you out.
So if you’re ready to work less, and earn more, let’s dive right in.
Here are the systems every social media manager needs to scale…
1 | System to Attract New Leads
If you wait until you actually need clients to market your services, you’re already behind. You never know when a client’s business could completely change or shut down (hello 2020!). To protect your business from the unexpected, you need an ongoing system to attract new leads, even if you can’t take them on right away.
PS: If you’ve found yourself buried in client “busy work” with no sense of freedom or autonomy, and no time to market your own business or take a day off, it could be time to scale.
This lead capture system could look like paid ads, posting consistently on social media about your services, creating an email “wait list” for a new client opening, and tapping into your personal / professional network.
The general rule is: to always be marketing your biz!
2 | System to Onboard New Clients
You never get a second chance to make a first impression. That goes double for your client experience. That’s why your onboarding system is arguably one of THE most important systems to have in place for your business. It’s what takes someone from a potential client or a “lead” all the way to the bank as a newly signed client. Here are a few steps commonly found in an onboarding process, that you can tweak to your needs:
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Lead Capture Form
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New Client Questionnaire
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Invoicing
3 | System to Communicate With Clients
Not only is it important to set up a client communication system for revisions, approvals, and general updates, but it’s also important because you need boundaries in your business.
There’s nothing worse than getting a text at 7AM on a Sunday asking you to “post this real quick”. We recommend establishing one channel of communication for your clients (and team members!) so there’s no question on how best to reach you. PS. Slack is our preferred method, learn about the other tools we recommend here!
4 | System to Support Your Team Members & Manage Day-To-Day Operations
Similar to how you communicate with your clients, establishing a clear communication channel with your team members is important.
You need to be able to quickly reference conversations, files, links etc., if needed. Aside from general communications, you’ll also want to set up an easy way for your team to reference your clients’ brand guidelines (voice, emojis, content strategy, etc).
There are a number of platforms you can use for this, but we recommend Trello or AirTable. You can outline workflows, brand guidelines, and anything else you need for a point of reference in order to create a smooth operating system for your services.
