Automation is vital to growing your coaching business. In fact, it's vital for any successful business.
By simply having some of your smaller day-to-day tasks automated, you have extra time to spend on the bigger tasks. This not only makes you more productive but also helps with data accuracy. Manually inputting data allows for human errors to occur. With automation this is no longer an issue, giving you peace of mind.
Below are 5 ways to automate your coaching business allowing you to focus on growth.
1. Automate Bookkeeping
Know your numbers. It's one of the first steps in creating a successful business. However, it can be a lot of work keeping track of everything.
Automating invoicing and bookkeeping can simplify your daily activities. Doing so allows you to easily keep track of outstanding invoices, debts and expenses.
The right programs will allow you to schedule reports and manage everything from a single dashboard without the use of spreadsheets. This allows you to spend less time managing your finances and more time growing your coaching business.
2. Calendar Management
A common problem that new coaches face is managing their calendar or not using a calendar management system. It’s all too common to see coaches and clients go back and forth via email to agree upon a suitable time for both parties to be free for a meeting. This is a waste of time for both the coach and the client or prospect.
Today, everyone can have some form of calendar management system. These systems enable the user to create a calendar of their availability and provide links to the person they want to schedule with. The client or prospect then only needs to go onto the coaches calendar to choose a time that works best for them. Everything is updated in real time so there's no double booking.
This saves time and helps with a cleaner inbox.
Pro Tip: Use a program like TimeTrade.com that integrates with your daily online calendar (such as Google or iCal) to automatically have appointments added to your own calendar.
3. Social Media & Blog Batching
Because social media and blogging are critical, this is an important way to automate your coaching business.
Save time writing blog posts or social media updates on a day-to-day or week-to-week basis by automating. Use a social media management software such as SmarterQueue, Buffer or Hoot Suite to schedule posts in advance. These services allow you to enter posts in advance and have them delivered to the appropriate social media platform at the right time.
You can also schedule blog posts with almost all CMS (Blogging platforms).
Pro Tip: Match your blog scheduling with social media scheduling for better content marketing.
4. Inbox Filters
Keeping a clean and clear inbox is crucial so you don’t miss any important emails. A simple way of managing inbox zero is to use filters to automatically send emails to specific folders.
Have emails from one-on-one clients automatically sent to their respective folders. Send newsletter subscriptions to another folder for later reading or review. The 15 minutes you spend setting up will save you a lot of time and remove the potential of missing an important one.
Bonus Tip: Use Unroll.me to streamline the unsubscribe process and batch emails into one delivery.
5. Mail List Automation
Everyone should be collecting email addresses and starting a mail list. A mail list is regarded as one of the most important marketing strategies to have and maintain.
Simply having a mail list isn’t enough, though. You have to engage your audience. A great way to automate the process is by spending a day to set up an ‘Automated Email Sequence’. Use one of the many popular tools such as ActiveCampaign, MailChimp or ConvertKit. Start with a simple 3 email sequence that will get sent out to those on your list once a week.
Pro Tip: Create email courses that provide value to those on your list. This will help them think of you when deciding on a coach to help them as you've already helped them before.
This is a great way to keep potential clients warm and turn them into coaching clients.
Above are 5 simple ways to automate your coaching business. All Leaving you with more time to focus on the important aspects of your business, such as time with your clients or generating leads. Happier clients and more clients will lead to a more successful coaching business.
If you are ready to start automating your coaching business but the thought of all that set up is overwhelming, Virtual A Team can help. Automation and technology probably aren't in your zone of genius but they are in ours! Focus on doing what no one but you can do and delegate the rest.
Did you find this useful? Please share.