Your Step By Step Guide On How To Work With Me
Over the last 5 years I have been supporting the most amazing clients. They are all working so hard to build their businesses up - and they have all managed to thrive despite what the last few years have thrown at them!
I believe having me by their side has meant that they are able to concentrate on growing their business, building their customer base and focus on the things they love. I’m able to support them virtually; helping with their workflow. I am that extra pair of hands, that sounding board, sympathetic ear and voice of reason.
So how does it work? How do I connect with all these small, but mighty, businesses? Well…I have to be honest and say that it’s often Word Of Mouth - which is great! It means people are saying lovely, positive things about me! Hahaha…
Let me talk you through it!
Step One
We kick off with a discovery call. I ask them what jobs they hate doing, what jobs take the longest and which ones never get off the to-do list. Sometimes there is a particular project they need help with, sometimes it’s a case of building a series of SOPs, or maybe a list of regular jobs that I have autonomy over each week.
Often we discuss what their goals are and where they want to be in 6-12 months time. We look at where there are gaps in their systems. If there is a digital tool that can help - which of these tools are worth paying for and which ones we can get away with using the free versions! We look at what needs to take priority and what jobs can wait.
We chat about what capacity I have and their budget. We decide on a block plan or a retainer contract. I’ll explain how I serve my clients - what comms we will use (I love Slack - the last thing I want is to fill up a busy, overwhelmed client’s inbox with more emails!), how I keep track of my time, how I report on what gets done and what my payment terms are.
Step Two
I’ll share a task list with examples of different jobs I can help with. I ask my clients to spend a week using the list, jotting down any job they do (or put off) which they can hand over to me. I ask them to prioritise the jobs so that we have a base to work from. We start with a Zoom call, discuss how to share access to accounts - you know...website, schedulers, CRMs, Canva, project management tools (like Trello), that kind of thing. And then we get going! I put aside a day a week where I focus on a client - and I often have two clients on any one day - so there is plenty of flex from both sides.
I give feedback, updates and ask any quick questions throughout the day using Slack. Once I’ve wrapped up for the week, I’ll send over an email with an update of what I’ve got done, any questions that need answering/actioning before the next week, and a couple of things I plan to do next time I’m working on their business.
Step Three
There are so many things I can help you with. They can be one off jobs or a regular occurrence. Usually we start off with the foundations of your business. I like a tidy and ordered inbox. I want you to be able to find things you’ve filed in your Drive really easily. I focus on the SOPs of your onboarding, contracting, sales, etc.
[Side Note]
SOPs are your Standard Operating Procedures. The way you do things. What’s great about SOPs is that once you are happy with the formula, then everything is streamlined and easy to follow. This means you're more efficient with your time. Your productivity increases, everything is uniformed and can be found easily. And your stress levels are reduced! Also, as you grow and need to outsource you’ll be able to hand over your SOPs to anyone you collaborate with.
Then I might move onto creating templates for your proposals, contracts, social media creatives, newsletters etc - streamlining it all with your branding. Other work that I enjoy taking on includes:
Blog outlining, writing or proofreading. Uploading it onto your website ready to publish
Email list builder set up
Lead Magnet set up
Course launch
Newsletter writing, formatting and sending out to your email list
Competitor research
Inbox organisation and strategy
Email templates
Newsletter or Social Media strategy
Lead generation
Chasers (not the shots!)
Feedback Questionnaires
Case Studies
I’ll even gather receipts and invoices for your accountant!
Step 4
And that’s how we carry on. I hang out with you (‘virtually’) each week with a list of jobs to help you organise your business, stay on top of your clients and customers, move your business forward and reduce your stress levels and overwhelm. A lot of my clients use me as a sounding board; they ask me questions or we solve challenges together. I love the relationship I have with my customers - they are business owners who I am rooting for. I love seeing them thrive and I feel proud to play a small part in their success.
If you want to have a chat about how I can help you move forward, work through a challenge or tackle a project then drop me an email at sarah@sarahforde.co.uk and we can have a coffee together (via Zoom) with a 20 minute discovery call. Speak soon.
Sarah 😊
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