168 | Automation That Brings in the Revenue with Sonaya Williams
Are you feeling overwhelmed and stressed in your business? Could it be maybe because you are doing everything yourself? The creating, sales and all the administrative tasks on the back end? What will it take to surrender some of the control and build a team for your business? And if you already have a team, what would it take to create a smooth and consistent system that works for everyone? Lean in to this episode where Revenue Specialist – Sonaya Williams gives us some top insight on creating an Automation System that’s simple for all members of the team.
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Target Audience: Sonaya works with all different types of business owners. Her ideal clients are those already making around 6 figures and are at a point seeking to grow their business but are struggling to figure out how.
Sonaya has a background working in the corporate world for 10 years where she learned a great deal about automation. She would design systems around how to pay bills online, transferring money between accounts and trained her teams on how to deliver adequate customer experience. She eventually left the corporate world placed the skills she acquired into her own business.
What is the mindset trap you have to face when working with a business owner and their relationship with automation?
Many business owners think it is best to do things on their own and that’s really not the right answer. You either hire a team and learn to delegate or find effective software. What she advises those who are struggling with automation is to:
- make a list of all the tasks/elements of your business.
- determine what can be delegated off…
- identify how long it takes you
- decide if this is something you can delegate to a VA or an assistant for $10-20 an hour
While administrative tasks are essential and make one feel productive, they aren’t exactly what brings revenue in. For example, as a Life Coach business owner, you’d probably prefer to focus on the “3 C’s” = Coaching, Creating and Converting (sales). The administrative tasks behind all this would be the tasks you would delegate to your team.
CREATING: What is one Super Tip about creating more in a faster way for your business?
Let’s take Blogging for example. Sonaya recommends using google docs and a folder for all the blogs. Sonaya determine what the topic is and then writes her notes and a brief outline of the article. Then she delegates it out to one of her team members to complete.
Sonaya also recommends utilizing a marketing calendar to lay out all articles for each week. Google docs works great because it’s all in real time and content doesn’t get “lost” through back and forth emailing. It’s the best way to streamline.
How can a business owner delegate effectively?
Sonaya recommends using a CRM called Teamworkpm (or feel free to explore different manager tools that will build your delegation muscle). CRM’s are great because when you place a task in there, you are also delegating the task to different people on the team and the due dates. Without a CRM, people aren’t always very clear about what needs to get done, by whom and by when. Getting into a habit of putting it into a system will give everyone a clear idea of what is happening. As a business owner, this will also help you gage when there is an overload of tasks too. And just as importantly, tasks don’t get lost in a black hole.
The project manager allows for everything to be in one spot. Tasks get lost when you use too many tools and you end up wasting more time. It also leads business owners to take on the tasks themselves in the end!
So, what’s a great tool to utilize for Sales?
There is a CRM tool called Contactually which allows you to keep track of your follow ups and general contacts. Sonaya often sees that people often give up on following up after the second attempt. This is scary because you really do miss out on clients. Sonaya has found that connection sometimes is finally achieved after the 10th or even 12th time! Thus, streamlining this area of your business is extremely crucial.
Sonaya even has a way of streamlining (with her team) to conduct research on the leads’ pain points. Based on their pain points they are added to a specific area in Infusionsoft.
A story on making more money whilst creating more time…
Sonaya tells us about a client of hers who is a bookkeeper and had a goal to find a way to make a good living while creating more time so she could spend it with her kids. Sonaya and her team started out by restructuring her team of 12 by placing them in “triads.” So now, the client simply just deals with the managers (rather than everyone). Sonaya and her team also helped this client to restructure her step by step processes. Managers now have a playbook on how to do their job every day. In the end, these modifications saved them 9 hours a day! This translates payroll of course (more for your money)! And the client has more of a lifestyle in place.
People resist this process because it’s not “fun” until they see the results it could bring them.
The biggest benefit from automation is having things streamlined and consistent. Then as a business owner, you are freed up to grow your business and create more content and have higher conversions. think of what it could be like to have it all streamlined and consistent?
In this episode we’ll cover:
- Why as a business owner, you must delegate
- How to delegate in a way that makes sense
- Specific CRM’s to use to streamline
- Why Follow-Ups are so important and how to be consistent
- How to save time and money through automation
- Getting yourself and your entire team on the same page
Practical and Actionable:
Start documenting what you do in your business each day and all day. Then you will be able to know who and what skills you need to help you carry out those processes. Document how you do: newsletters; sales calls; develop programs.
Resources and Links
- Sonaya’s Website
- Sonaya on Twitter
- Teamworkpm (Tool for Team Management)
- Contactually (Tool for sales)
- Free tools on being a Market Leader
- Schedule a complimentary call and talk about your biz challenges
Do you have questions about today’s episode!?
Did you know that you can apply to chat with me by phone? This is a limited time offer to help anyone that is serious about refining their business as well as developing a clear & compelling strategy that will drive them forward. Complete the questions and our team will follow up with you to schedule time for your “Business Breakthrough Session”. These are limited to 30 minutes, completely free and oh, so valuable. Apply Now!
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