Let’s demystify automation in business. Jeanette, drawing on 15 years of experience as a cybersecurity engineer, talks about recession-proofing strategies and explores four key automation systems that can elevate your business efficiency without breaking the bank. From client retention through email marketing to creating a seamless onboarding experience, optimizing non-revenue tasks, and implementing a robust CRM. Tune in and learn how these automations will not only save time but also enhance the client's journey.

We are making it accessible for non-techies too by breaking it all down, to help you strategically trim down unnecessary expenses in your business through four essential automation systems.

"It costs way too much money to get a new client and way less to keep a client. So, we need to be thinking about keeping clients."

"Automations are for testing, evaluating, making them better, or taking them out. It's a testing system."

"When you automate these four things in your business, it will show that you have everything people want when they enter a brand – to be seen, heard, and understood."

In this episode: 

1. Importance of a system for client retention through email marketing, to guide clients through their journey and seamlessly transition them to the next steps.
2. The hassle-free onboarding process that leaves clients feeling supported
3. Non-Revenue Making Tasks that you need to automate
4. How to keep track of client interactions, preferences, and details,
5. Strategic automation that aligns with your brand's vision and enhances the overall client experience.

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Nordpass

Airtable 

GoHighLevel

 Hey girl. Hey, today I am going to be talking about automation and what you need to automate in order to recession proof your business now. If you don't know, I was a cybersecurity engineer for 15 years. So I have over a decade and a half of experience talking about learning about implementing automations and anything tech.

Like I'm your girl. I don't talk techie because it's too under, it's too hard to understand, but I speak English. When it comes to tech things. Okay. So don't be overwhelmed by the tech. I know it's going to be like, this is going to be one of those episodes that's a little more stiff than my other episodes, but this is great information, especially going into the new year and thinking about all the things that we need to trim down.

We're doing our audits in our business. We're thinking about where we need to change, move all the things, right? We're taking that inventory of the last year and then. Seeing what we want to go forward with and what we don't. Okay, so these top four things are the things that I think are the most important.

I mean, you can automate a lot in your business, but these are the most important things when it comes to growing your business in a recession where you don't want to spend a bunch of money doing all the things and you want to be really strategic about what you're spending your money on. Okay, so there are some tools that I'm not going to mention in this.

But I'm going to just mention the systems you need to recession proof because the systems don't really, I mean the systems matter more than the tech does because the tech, different tools can be used for different things. But if you want to know the tools that I use in my, I'll do that. I'll just mention the stuff that I use in my business so that way you can be thinking about those things or check them out.

maybe I'll leave some links in the show notes. They won't be affiliate links because I just didn't do that. Anyways, let's get started. Okay. Number one, the number one tool, I mean, a system that you need to automate, I think is your client retention system. What does that mean? Okay. So you've got a client, you're going through the motions with them.

They are, you're coaching them or you're doing some kind of service based thing with them. And then it comes to the end of the time. You need to be sending them emails. This is client retention through email marketing, sending them emails on what the next step is for their business while they're going through the service before they get to the end.

So they already have in mind what the next step with you is. Let's say you're building out. a project management system for them. Okay. Now they've got their project management system, but you've been telling them through emails strategically, the next thing they need to do with you, which would be, I don't know, hire you to manage the system.

Maybe they don't have time to manage the system. And. This and that and all the things that they're doing because they're more focused on client delivery, which you should be. If you're a CEO of a business, if you are the product, right? Service based businesses, we sometimes are the product and what we do is part of that client delivery system, right?

Okay. So. Maybe you've been telling them why you're great at managing these project management systems. Maybe you're telling them that they only need it for a certain amount of time. I don't know. Let's, let's say some completely different business. Let's say that it's a project, not project, a product based business where you sell cookies.

Let's say you're selling cookies and Okay. You made them a batch of cookies. That's a one time thing, but you send them emails saying, Hey, I know that you got cookies for XYZ's birthday party. This is the next thing that we're having coming up. Why don't you think, have you thought about doing cookies for Christmas or for Valentine's day?

I've got these cute boxes that you could buy and always thinking about retaining those clients for those special things, whatever that is for your business. So if you're using email marketing, This email marketing system that you need to be using. You need to have the foresight to think about when the next email needs to go out to continually keep them with you, to keep them with your process, to keep them with being a client of yours, because that's what we need is client retention.

It costs way too much money to get a new client. And a way, way less to keep a client. So we need to be thinking about keeping clients. Okay. So that's the first automation system that you need to be creating to an onboarding experience system. Okay. So when you're onboarding with somebody, You need to make it so easy, right?

It needs to be like a Disneyland roll out the red carpet system and it needs to be so easy for them That they don't have to do anything. You've already thought of all the questions. You've answered them beforehand You're giving them everything they need and it makes them feel like okay this person knows what they're doing I can trust them.

They've thought of everything. I feel Taken care of I feel held I feel Good about this thing that I bought a lot of people have, what is it called? When you buy buyers remorse, a lot of people have buyers remorse, especially if you're a high ticket offer, especially if they're spending a lot of money with you.

They're like, Oh, should I have bought that? Can't I do this myself? Why would I have bought that? Oh no. Is this going to be even a good process? But as soon as you start implementing those onboarding experiences where you're You're giving a gift maybe, or you're sending an email out telling them exactly what to do, but not overwhelming them.

Sending strategic emails out saying, all right, this is what you need to do to start your onboarding experience. You send them another one, maybe he's got a video in it and shows them step by step by step of exactly what to do. So they know that, okay, Jeanette's thought of everything. Like if she's out of everything here, I know she's going to think of all the details for my business.

She's already thought of all this. This is going to be a great experience. I want to continue working with her. Those onboarding experiences can be a part of your client retention system as well. So another system you need to think about is that onboarding experience. So what do I do in my client onboarding experience?

I have a Things they fill out so I know exactly what they need, how I can help them. And then it goes to a gift giving because I love giving gifts and especially books. So there's a book, a thing. I also, this is a little nugget. I also get their birthday so I can send them a handwritten birthday card and or flowers depending on where they live.

I like to make sure that people feel safe and loved and that they can trust me with their things. So I, when I have emails, I mean, Emails and passwords. Sometimes I get into their systems like that. I implement a system that I don't have their passwords. As a cybersecurity engineer, that creeps me out anyways.

Don't just be going, giving out your passwords on the internet. Don't do that. I know you think they're cool. They could be trustworthy, but you don't know what they're doing with their passwords. You don't know how, like, How lackadaisical they are with their systems. Ugh. Don't do that. So I use a password management system that you can send me a password.

Okay. It's getting a little nerdy here. It's called a hash, which is basically the, the imprint of the password, but it's not the actual letters and numbers. It's. It's, I'm not gonna speak too techy. Okay. It's, it's a thing. Think about hash browns. They, they're giving you the breakfast part of their, the thing.

They're not giving you the secret recipe. They'll have spices and things. Okay, they're not doing that. So I use something called NordPass and I love it. I used to use something else, but it doesn't work very well. So just use NordPass. Just use NordPass. I used to use LastPass. They got hacked. Don't use them.

NordPass. Okay, three. Non revenue making, non money making, repeatable tasks. Okay, there's some things in my business that I, I like to know every single month. Um, one of them's called my superfan number. Budgeting, I need to know how much money is here. I do different things in my business, on the inside of my business.

That I have a system for and I automate part of the process and I have a VA that does part of the process, right? So it's, it's kind of a mixture of both, but it's not me. I'm not in that, that automatic system. She's in it. The spreadsheet automatically calculates all the numbers for her. So she just puts in these key tasks that you can't automate.

I mean, you probably could, but it's just easier for her to just go in there, find the numbers, plug them in. And then I get the information I need to make healthy decisions for my business. That's one of the systems that I use. Um, and I love automating things. And I was automating a post in my Facebook group that was, I do gratitudes every single day.

And so I was like, what are you grateful for? And It would automatically post that in my Facebook group every single day. And sometimes people would answer, sometimes they wouldn't, but I felt like it seemed a little too, it didn't seem humanistic enough. So I took that one out, but it was a repeatable task that I automated and I thought that it would be good, but that's what you do in automations.

You test them, you evaluate them, you make them better or you take them out. That's what automations are for. It's a testing system also. Okay. So when you are. Trying to assess and proof your business. And you're doing these non revenue making repeatable tasks and you automate them. It saves you room to do the thing that matters most, which is connect with people, understand who they are, and then offer them, invite them into doing something with you deeper.

This is not like a sleazy sales, something it's. I have a gift. God has given me a gift that I'm really good at because that's how he made me. And I see that you need this thing. So can I help you do this thing because I'm really good at it and that's how I was made. That's what sales is. It's not like you need this because I told you you need this and if you don't do this you're blah blah blah blah.

That's not, that's not what this is. It's going into those things to help people even deeper. So in that process of connecting with people and getting to know them and finding out who they are, you need a CRM, a customer relationship management system. Okay. That's a lot of words to basically say you need to keep track of who you're talking to, the things that they're doing in their business, maybe.

and all the things that you need to know about them in order to serve them correctly. I personally have had a traumatic brain injury. So and I've got this weird brain thing. Anyways, I don't remember sometimes all the details around when the last time I talked to that person was, did I follow up with them correctly?

what are they doing in their business? It's even deeper than what I can remember. So I write little notes. I have to, in order to spark the memories, right? And this is not saying like, I've got so many people I can't keep track of who I'm talking to. But no, this is like, I don't want to get things mixed up.

And typically I have a pretty good memory for who people are, what they do, how they do things. But I sometimes lack in the followup. So this system, the CRM, this client relationship management system helps me remember that. And there's several tools you can use, like you can use an air table, just as simple as a spreadsheet that basically says who they are, when the last time we talked to them was and any details.

In fact, I'm making one. So if you want the air table, let me know because I'm in the process of refining all the details on it. But you can also use something like my website is hosted on a place called go high level. Go high level is a comprehensive tool, which means it's got a lot of different things you can do in it.

Right? So you can do like your courses in there, your website, your funnels, your CRM is in there. And I also kind of use that too. Because it has something in there so I can see when the last time I talked to them was if they were interested in this, you can tag them, all these things, right? And I don't have to manually put things in there.

It automatically does it for me, which is great because I want to be doing the things that matter most in my business, which is delivering for my clients, showing up for them. Being there, being, being present with them, being available for them when they have questions, when they need things, when they just want to reach out and talk about whatever.

I want to be able to be there for them. So I don't want to remember all these extra things that I have to do. For the inside of the business, I want to be the true visionary of my business. And you need to be that too. You need to show up in a way that is authentic to you, showing up, having fun, doing all the things you know to do in your business without feeling like You're falling behind.

You've got all these things. You're juggling too much. Plus we've got lives outside of our business. Our business is just one part of who we are. I've got kids that are homeschool, you know what I'm saying? But I need these automations because I have a business that I want to Thrive with my, my goal of excellence.

I don't want things to be left behind the last thought of somebody. I don't want any of that to be, to happen in my business because I want excellence. I desire excellence for myself. I've got really high standards for myself. So I also have high standards for my business when I'm delivering the clients that I have, I have high standards for them.

I don't want to do all this extra stuff. I don't want to like, like if I think about how somebody is going through my client retention system, I only want to think about it once and then tag them appropriately because I know that they. Bought the chocolate chip cookies and then I asked them if they want fifteen hundred other types of cookies or whatever the thing is Right.

I want their onboarding to be the most luscious Life giving experience so they know that I'm paying attention I want all the non income producing activities that have to happen to run a business Not to be done by me and I want to be able to connect with my people in a deep way Then also remembering to go back to them and reaching out to them and remembering things about them in a way that is Literally who I am because I like doing that but also not forgetting like some of the minute details and being like, oh Where did she say she was from again?

I think she's from here I don't remember and then I look like I don't care And I do care. I just have a brain injury. Okay. But some people just, their brains don't work like that and they want to show up in that way. So you've got to create these systems. Okay. So this will help recession proof your business because people will see that you are a higher tier.

It will show that you have a sense of excellence. It will show that you have everything that people want when they They enter a brand. They want to be seen, heard, and understood. And you will do that when you automate these four things in your business. So if you need help automating any of these things, holler at your girl.