Written by: Briana Ross, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
After starting my entrepreneurial journey just over six years ago, I have had my fair share of lessons, trials, and challenges. I didn’t come from a family of entrepreneurs, so when I started out much of what I learned was from research and courses. Through everything I learned, one of the areas I didn’t take the time to learn more about was how to make running my business easier.
The clients were flowing in, they were getting amazing results, and I was making more money; however, I was feeling more and more stressed out, overwhelmed, and ready to throw in the towel. I was celebrating my first five-figure month unhappy and overly critiquing myself and my business. Word to the wise, extend yourself grace! We can get so caught up in everything that is going wrong, that we don’t take the time to really celebrate how far we have come. As my business continued to grow, I realized that if I wanted different results then I had to do things differently. Thing is, I had no idea where to start, but I knew taking a pause was necessary. Through this intentional pause, I was able to test out new systems with clients, grow my team, and work on getting better processes in place. After conducting an audit, researching, and learning from other experts I realized that the systems and software in my business needed a major update. This was not an easy process. In fact, this process was much lengthier than I anticipated. What I thought would be about six months of work ended up taking two years. However, I do believe that when it comes to testing things out and really building a solid foundation, time is necessary. Once I figured out what worked for my business I was able to not only take my business to the next level but serve my clients on a deeper level and show them how to grow their businesses in a more sustainable way. Here’s the thing, none of us are in business because we want to work 24/7, but so many of us end up in that place. We struggle to find harmony between our personal and professional lives, and because of this our personal lives almost always take the back burner. This stops now. There is three software that has paved the way for better systems in my own business as well as my clients. Better systems have allowed me to scale back in my business to gain clarity without my revenue taking a hit. They have freed up time for me, so I can have more time to spend with my family. Better systems have also allowed me to gain immense clarity so I can scale up intentionally. The best part about all of this is, this same three software have allowed many of my clients to do the same! Ready to learn about the three software you need to have in place to maximize your business AND client experience? Let’s get to it!
1. CRM [Customer Relationship Management] Software
Having a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system in place for your business is important for a number of reasons. A CRM helps you to centralize and organize customer information in one place, automate and streamline your sales and marketing processes, and improves your customer relationships. Overall, a CRM can help you to improve efficiency, increase sales, and build stronger relationships with your customers.
Having a CRM in place for my business was a huge game changer for me and my team. Onboarding and off-boarding clients became more seamless and this translated to less time being spent on administrative tasks.
2. Project Management Software
Having a project management software in place can be useful for businesses because it helps them to plan, organize, and track the progress of projects. This allows you to gain a greater level of visibility and control over projects, which can help to deliver better results in a more efficient and organized way.
In addition, a project management software can help to improve communication and collaboration among team members and clients. This is because it provides a central location for all project-related information and allows team members to easily share and access this information. This will help reduce confusion and improve the overall efficiency of the team.
3. Communication Software
A Communication Software can help improve communication with your team members or clients. Slack is a great communication and collaboration platform that is designed to help businesses stay connected. Another communication software is Voxer. This is great if you prefer voice messages over text messages.
When it comes to implementing new software into your business. The key thing is to make sure that you have clearly outlined goals so that you can maximize the use of the software you choose. Be sure to conduct an audit, so you and your team have a clear understanding of what needs to be improved in your business. This will help will planning and implementation so that you can improve your overall experience for your clients and team.
Briana Ross helps business owners, like you, realign with their business after ditching the hamster wheel of hustle. She is a Business Coach specializing in Branding & Marketing, Speaker, Author, Wife, and Mom. You don't need all the techy funnels to grow your business. You also can start where you are, and see results sooner than you think. What you need are simple systems, structure, and support to see things through.
Briana Ross, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Briana Ross is a Business Coach specializing in branding and marketing. She teaches entrepreneurs how to grow their businesses online by sharing intentional content that converts, building systems that save time and creating a unique brand experience. As a wife, mom of two, full-time business owner, among many other roles, Briana has made it her mission to help women obtain the financial and time freedom they dream of regardless of the many roles they juggle. With almost ten years of experience in customer service, sales, and tech, Briana learned very early how important it is to create a unique experience for your customers and clients.
