It happened to me just last week. I was speaking to a new client on the phone when I suddenly realized that I had neglected to send her a new client welcome gift. When we hung up, I scrambled and got it in the mail. Then, the very next day, a different new client sent me an invitation to connect on LinkedIn. Whoa, hadn’t I already invited him?
Well, that’s a problem: in one week, I forgot to do something that I used to do automatically…twice.
It happens to all of us; things are going along smoothly, and then you realize that you’ve forgotten to do something that you had never missed before. At that moment you have two choices: keep fixing things on the fly (after the fact), or invest a little bit of time creating a process. (I hope you can guess which path I recommend!)
Once I realized my predicament, I hit the pause button, popped open an Excel spreadsheet and made a simple list.
When I start working with new clients, I need to:
- Send them welcome gifts
- Add them to Contactually (my contact management software)
- Send LinkedIn invitations
- Add them to my newsletter distribution list
- Get their physical address
- Add them to my distribution list at SendOutCards.com
- Add them to my client rate sheet
- If applicable, send new client referral gifts
Interestingly, as I went through my newly documented process, I realized that some steps were missing. I saw that I needed to create projects in my time tracking software (Toggl) as well as create folders for my notes and documents in Dropbox.
Additionally, it occurred to me that new clients tended to ask the same questions each time we get started. I created a welcome e-mail that answered these common questions.
As my new client set-up process expands, here’s what I’m noticing:
- I’ve got enough in my head already! As the process moves from my head to paper, I no longer have to remember it.
- As I implement the process, I have a chance to keep fine-tuning it.
- It’s now documented and field-tested, which enables me to confidently hand it off to a member of my team.
Remember, small distractions-like a pebble in your shoe-can prevent you from focusing on the things that really matter. Take the time to document your routine business processes, and watch as the larger things go more smoothly.