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Critical Productivity Tips for the Freelancers: Don’t let your business process be your biggest obstacle.

Missing appointments and not returning calls on time? Taking far too long to collect from

your clients? And then there’s that client you need to talk to the insurance company

about…where’s his file?

Your current processes might work for you, but if your scheduling, payment and client

information practices leave your clients with a bad taste, are they really working? You

could be missing the mark on some of your clients’ basic requirements and not even

know it.

Switch up a few things, and in addition to making your clients happier, you’ll be more

productive and less stressed. You might even see fewer of the income blips that come

with being a freelancer, once your clients start spending more and passing on referrals.

Scheduling

If you’re good with a day planner and don’t mind fielding all the calls, texts and emails,

fantastic. But how do your clients feel about getting in touch with you to schedule? Are

you easy to reach?

Doing business with you should be simple. Make it hard, and no matter how good you

are, your clients will find someone else. Your goal may be to be 100% booked, but if

you’re already meeting with clients 80% of the time, when do you schedule?

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Maybe your clients don’t need to talk to you. According to the management consulting

company Accenture, it takes around 8.1 minutes to schedule a medical appointment

over the phone, but under a minute to schedule one online.

Also called self-scheduling, online scheduling lets your new and existing clients see

when you’re available, request an appointment, change the appointment they have and

copy their appointment to their Outlook or Google calendar. Clients schedule at their

convenience and get appointment reminders. You’ll get to 100% booked and stay busy

making money instead of answering the phone.

Getting Paid

You accept cash and checks, but what about plastic? This is a no brainer. In addition to

getting paid quickly – no waiting for the check, depositing it and waiting a few more days

for it to clear – credit and debit cards are just too convenient to ignore.

Yes, card companies take a piece of your action, somewhere between 1.75% and 4%.

But, the small cut is worth it, if you consider the larger loss you take from payment by

cash and checks; the average loss from uncollected balances, bounced checks and

simple accounting mistakes can typically be near 5%. Spend 3% to process credit

cards, you eliminate that loss, and you’re two percent ahead (5%-3% = 2%).

Say you charge clients $60/hour for your services, and you receive a $1000 payment. It

costs you around $30 to take a credit payment, but $60 or more for payment by check

or cash, when you consider the time to go to the bank, make the deposit and reconcile it

on paper.

Taking credit cards can dramatically improve your total revenue and cash flow, not to

mention your customer experience, as customers find it’s much easier to do business

with you. You don’t want to be the only one who doesn’t take cards, do you?

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Tracking Client Details

As your business grows, it gets harder to keep your clients organized. Are your notes,

balance information and contact details handwritten and kept in manila folders?

What about upgrading to a digital Customer Relationship Management platform? You

can, even as a freelancer. Don’t be put off by what you may have heard. Freelancers

don’t need the complex programs big companies use. You need simple and

straightforward, with instant access to client contact info, progress notes, sales,

attendance, and transaction history.

Zapier has a great overview of customer relationship management, starting with an

explanation of just what it is. Their questions can even help you choose the one that

best meets your needs, even if you want one that’s free.

You’ll be prepared for appointments and calls and will no longer need to say “let me get

back to you.” Going digital will improve your customer relationships, while showing you

trends and opportunities to be more efficient, increase your productivity and reduce your

costs.

Food for Thought These three areas are closely tied to how your clients and prospects feel about you.

Their reaction to your level of service affects so much, including how likely you are to:

● Get referrals,

● Be seen as an expert,

● Justify billing increases, and

● Get more sleep at night.

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What solutions do you have in place to help you focus more on your clients and less on

the detail of running your business? Tell us about them below.

Justin Shelby is the Co-Founder and CEO of Artichoke Client Management, a web application that enables freelancers to stabilize their incomes through better business process, financial literacy tools, and data driven tools to find new work. It’s the best way to get organized, get booked, and get paid ever developed for the freelancer. 1-888-907-1439 | justin@getartichoke.com | www.getartichoke.com | @getartichoke