Can’t Wait to Automate?

By Dave VanHoose

I can hear you now, “Okay, I get that I need to automate. But I’m nowhere near master level. Where do I start?”
The same place you should start with any new undertaking–with a plan. Here are five important things to keep in mind as you move forward with your automation strategy.

1. Start with your why–We’ve talked about knowing your ‘why’ when it comes to your overall business. The same goes for your automation strategy. What exactly are you looking to gain from automation? Is it lowering costs in a specific area such as customer acquisition or fulfillment? Or what about improving your customer’s experience through consistency? How about freeing up time so you can put that strategic thinking cap on a little more often. Whatever your reasons, be clear on why you’re looking to automate.

2. Put it on paper first–Once you’re clear on the why, document your processes and workflows so you can clearly see which areas are simply screaming for automation. On paper, map out everything from how leads are generated, traffic sources and new customer follow-up to lead nurturing, fulfillment and tracking results. After you’ve identified all the essential activities you do day-in and day-out, look for the ‘sweet spots’ where automation can make the biggest impact to both your bottom line and your customer experience. Don’t overlook the low-hanging fruit, things like how to more easily answer common questions, put your customer acquisition on autopilot with automated webinars or kick off an auto-responder series to stay top-of-mind while delivering value until your prospects are ready to buy.

3. Anticipate and commit–No one likes change, even if it’s for the better. Stay committed to the big picture but know going in that your employees, and possibly your customers, won’t embrace it initially with the same enthusiasm as you do. Acknowledge and set expectations for the troops that it’s likely to get tough before it gets better. Translated that means you have to do some extra work on the front end to make sure your automation efforts accomplish your goals and run smoothly on the back end. Again, stay focused on the outcome. Quantifying the costs and other consequences of not automating is a great way to stay motivated and keep forging ahead.

4. Stay in the loop–In the real world, there’s no such thing as a 100% push-button business–at least one that thrives anyway. Don’t fall into the ‘set it and forget it’ mindset. At the end of the day nothing can replace your personal connection with those you’ve chosen to serve. (That’s Relationship Riches!)  One of the fastest ways to cause a breakdown in your business is to totally remove yourself from the process. It’ll sabotage your success. Never lose sight of the fact that people are at the other end of your technology. Stay in the conversation and keep a pulse on their challenges, desires, disappointments and successes.

5. Explore your options–Most of us automatically think software when we decide it’s time to automate. But there are other equally important options that can add hours back into your day and streamline your systems. Take a hard look at your daily to-do list. How many items on it are directly tied to producing revenue? Offloading essential but non-revenue-producing tasks to a Virtual Assistant might be the perfect solution. Or how about outsourcing an entire step in your process altogether such as sending all of your leads to a phone room. If not your leads, what about having a phone room handle customer service? Be creative.

Automation is absolutely the way to go if you want to seriously explode your business. By using these five tips you’ll make sure you’re ready to take it on, know what to expect and be able to squeeze out every ounce of advantage.

One of the fastest growing areas of automation is webinar automation.  It’s part of The Webinar Way!

#LikesUP for Automated Webinars