Ep 2 - The 3 systems my 7-figure clients are using

Welcome to Episode 2 of the Scale the F*ck Up Podcast. Today we’re chatting all about the systems you need to support your scale, and I dive into the 3 systems my 7-figure clients are using.
 
If you’re serious about scaling your business, you need to become besties with systems.

When they are used properly, efficient systems can help you improve your client experience, reduce costs, increase revenue, free up your time, increase productivity, and support you to grow your business literally while you sleep. Seriously systems are amazing!
 
We talk about:
↠ Why simpler is better when it comes to scaling
↠ How to easily organise projects, track deadlines, and support your team collaboration
↠ Managing client relationships in one place and harnessing the power of automation
↠ The best way to communicate with your team and clients
↠ How implementing even one of these systems can free up time and support your business and clients in so many ways
 
When you’re able to get these systems up-and-running and really utilize them to their max, you will have more time, your clients will have better experiences, your team will be more organised, you will free up other resources in the business, and you can actually start to scale. 🔥

Transcript

Hey hey hey everyone, happy Monday! 

Welcome to episode 2 of the Scale the Fuck Up Podcast. I am SO excited that you are here and I am so excited to dive in today. Today we’re going to be chatting all about systems to support you scale. We’ll specifically be going into the 3 systems my 7-figure clients are using.

I’m Rhiannon. I’m a business strategist for multi-6 and 7 figure entrepreneurs and I have been supporting women to grow and scale businesses that light them up - not burn them out - since 2014. Thank you so much for being here!

So let’s go ahead and dive on in. Systems. Ya’ll systems are your best friend. If you are serious about scaling your business, you need to become besties with systems. Efficient systems can help you improve your client experience, reduce costs, increase revenue, support you to grow your business literally while you sleep, free up your time, increase productivity, seriously systems are amazing - especially when they’re used properly.

So I’ve had a lot of questions over the years on what systems you actually need. Believe it or not, you don’t need a million different systems. And I believe in and support clients to streamline and simplify instead of adding more things onto their plates. 

I remember when I first started my business, I thought that the more systems I had, the more I had “made it” if you will. But in reality that was just a vanity metric - that no one actually saw - which makes it even more ironic. But here’s the thing - in order to scale your business, you don’t need to add in a million more things. Be that team members, offers, or systems. 

In reality, the simpler you make it, the easier it is to scale. Now this is not always the case, there are always going to be outliers, okay. So there are some incredibly successful businesses that have a million offers, a massive team, and systems for days. And in some cases, they’ve honed that and it works really, really well.

But, for the most part of what I’ve seen for my multi 6 and 7 figure clients, the more crap you add, the more muddled things get, the more confusing for your audience, and the more messy it is behind-the-scenes. Simple works. 

So. Without leaving you hanging. Let’s talk about the 3 systems my 7-figure clients are using.

Number 1. A project management system.

There are a plethora of project management system options out there. Personally, what I run my business on and what I work with clients on is Asana. But you’ve probably heard lots of names floating around like Airtable, Notion or Monday. 

But my point is there are numerous out there and they all do very similar things. Yes, some may have more bells and whistles (like ClickUp is great for automations for example), some have differing views, like Trello has board views, others have calendar views or list views. But they all do basically the same thing and each and every one can keep you organized, keep your projects together, help you remember when deadlines are, and support your team collaboration. 

Now one thing that my 7-figure clients are doing is they’re actually utilizing a project management system. As I mentioned earlier, I use Asana and I use Asana with my clients. Again, simplifying. We’re not reinventing the wheel and using a million different platforms for different clients. Where I have seen people struggle in the past is they would find one project management system and there were some things they didn’t really like about it. So they would jump to anther one. And then they would see an advertisement or something pop up for another one, so they would switch to that. And this can get really dangerous because instead of building on one system and making it work for you and your business, you’re bumping from thing to thing to thing. This takes time, energy, resources, and mental bandwidth to keep moving. Don’t do this. Pick one and stick with it. You can do a trial if you want, but decide to commit within 2-4 weeks because you don’t want to get in this cycle of constantly changing. 

Here’s the thing. Asana is not perfect. None of these systems are. But when you commit and stick with a system, you learn some of its quirks, of course, but you also start to learn some great ways to utilize its features, and you’re keeping everything in a centralized place. So my 7-figure clients. Their SOPs are in their project management system. Their content calendar is in there. Their projects are in there. Their quarterly sprints and goals for the year are mapped out in there. Oftentimes even their personal stuff is in there. Because again, the goal here is to keep things simple and not adding more stuff onto your plate. 

Okay so what’s next. Number 2 is a CRM. Or a client relationship manager program.

Okay so what’s a CRM. This is essentially a system that allows you to send contracts, issue invoices, manage projects and keep track of leads. Now there is some overlap between a project management system and a CRM. So they both will allow you to manage projects. But in a project management system, we are really concerned with hitting deadlines and keeping track of things (that can be internally and externally). Whereas with a CRM is primarily focused on clients - so onboarding, communicating with clients, having everything all in one place for them to schedule a meeting, pay an invoice, sign a contract.

In the online business industry, for the most part, my 7-figure clients are using Dubsado.

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And finally, number 3. A communication app, more specifically Slack.

Just like there are tons of systems out there that each have similar features and purposes, there are a ton of different communication platforms and messengers. Traditional email, WhatsApp, Voxer, and Slack just to name a few. 

Now depending on your business model, different communication platforms may suit your needs better. For example if you have a lot potential customer inquiries and you want them to be able to contact you quickly and get a fast response, you could use WhatsApp for Business. You can also continue to use this once clients convert. There are automation features so that you’re not having to manually answer every single question, but you can still keep things in one platform.

On this podcast episode, we are specifically talking about the systems that my 7-figure clients use. And even though many of them are in different industries, they all use Slack. So Slack is a great way to keep your communications all in one place internally with your team. And you can also add in your clients as well. So I have clients who run Masterminds, Accelerator Programs, do consulting with corporations, and have high ticket 1:1s. They all use Slack.

Now this is different from using a CRM to onboard a client. This is more for a bigger project or a longer-term relationship where you’re going to have more communication than just a one-off email. And speaking of email, we want to really get away from just utilizing email. Inboxes can be a huge time suck and unless you’re already incredibly organized, sifting through client communications can become a nightmare.

So even if these specific systems aren’t 100% the best fit for you, that’s okay. Even implementing ONE of these can free up so much time and support your business and your clients in so many ways.

But one thing I really would urge you to consider and remember, as you’re trying to scale your business, you need to get more efficient. That means not adding more stuff onto your plate and instead streamlining and simplifying.

Some of these can be a super quick setup, like Slack is literally signing up for an account and then inviting your team or your clients. Whereas a CRM can take literal weeks or months. Now that can feel really counterintuitive when you’re already struggling to find enough time in the day. But when you are able to get these up-and-running and really utilize them to their max, you will have more time, your clients will have better experiences, your team will be more organized, you will free up other resources in the business, and you can actually start to scale.

If this is something you need help with, pop me a message. If this is something you’ve already dealt with, which systems did you end up using and which ones are best supporting your business? I’d love to know and would love to hear from.

Thank you once again for tuning in, I so appreciate you being here, and I will see you next week!