The Art of Taming Your Inbox

Running a successful business means email communication runs rampant. From answering simple questions to sending reminders, the flow of lead and client emails can leave you exhausted and feeling rather unproductive in your day. It’s no surprise that small business owners dread their inbox the most.

But, what if there was another way? A way to run your business so that it doesn’t require your inbox to constantly be overflowing with to-dos? Would you do it? I would hope so!

Amanda Rae, from 17hats, is here to share their two-part secret: Proactive Communication and Automated Workflows!

When you combine the two, you have a powerful recipe to tame the wild beast known as your inbox. We’ll equip you with the tools you need to take control of your email overload and transform it into a streamlined and productive asset for your business. 

Unraveling the Email Conundrum with Proactive Communication

In the fast-paced world of entrepreneurship where every minute counts, proactive communication is a must. Proactive communication will guide your leads and clients through your experience; informing them of the 5 Ws (who, what, when, where, and why) and let’s not forget ‘the how’.

Using proactive communication allows you to eliminate the problem before there is even a problem. Which, in terms of email communication, means providing the answers to questions before clients and leads even ask.

Putting proactive communication into practice means you'll hit them with exactly the information they need when they need to know it. This ensures that your inbox isn't cluttered with unnecessary questions.

5 Characteristics of Proactive Communication: 

• Initiative: Take the lead in initiating conversations, sharing updates, or addressing concerns without waiting for others to do so. Proactive communicators don't react to messages or issues, they actively seek to prevent them.
• Anticipation: Anticipate the needs, questions, or concerns of your audience and address them before they become problems. While this involves foresight and planning, it is worth the time to keep your business streamlined.
• Transparency: By being open and transparent in your communication, you will share relevant information and insights willingly. This will build trust and foster better understanding.
  
• Problem Solving: By offering solutions to challenges or potential issues, you stay ahead of the conversation and you keep your clients seamlessly moving forward.
  
• Relationship Building: Proactive communication is essential for building and maintaining positive relationships. It demonstrates care and commitment to your leads and clients which overall reflects well on your business and reviews. 

Work Smarter, Not Just Harder

While proactive communication is one half of the recipe, the second half is the vehicle that gets the job done. 

Working hard is something every small business owner is attuned to. Many of us grew up with statements that wedded the words “hard work” and “success” in our mind; therefore making it natural to think success = hard work. You’ve likely heard the following phrases … 

• “The early bird gets the worm.”
• “Work hard, play hard.”
• “The harder you work, the greater you'll feel.”

Working hard is a must when you own your own business. However, it is equally important to discover ways of working smarter as well. 

The Elimination of Dependency

The more your business relies on 'you' in the day-to-day operations, the narrower your scope for productivity becomes. When every email is composed, proofread, and sent by your hands alone, there's little room for addressing the more critical tasks that demand attention.

With only so many hours in the day, they must be used very wisely. And if each piece of proactive communication is dependent upon YOU, well, let’s face it, it probably will not get done. 

Which is why you must find a way to eliminate the need for you to be involved in the small, day-to-day activities of your business. 

Automation for an Auto-magical Experience

When 17hats, a visionary small business management platform, was brought into existence a little less than a decade ago, our mission was clear: to assist and empower small business owners by harnessing automation and technology. However, little did we know then just how profoundly automation would revolutionize the path of small businesses.

Over the years, we've witnessed a transformation like no other. Automation has become the cornerstone of efficiency and productivity for entrepreneurs. What was once a seemingly futuristic concept has now become an essential tool for every successful business owner.

Automation can be found in many different forms inside 17hats:

• Email Templates - templates for repetitive emails can easily be formed inside of 17hats. And, with the use of tokens, the client’s name, meeting date, time and other contact and project details can automatically be filled in.
  
• Document Confirmation Emails -  Quotes, contracts, invoices, and questionnaires can all be completed online with 17hats. And, when completed your client auto-magically receives a link to the completed document and it appears in their client portal. No more, “I lost my contract, can you please resend?” emails.
  
• Upcoming and Past Due Invoices and Documents - Clients filling your inbox with questions about their invoices? “When do I pay?” “How do I pay?”  Your 17hats solution is Past Due Document Reminders that clients receive via email when due dates are approaching and when items are past due. And with a handy link to the document, they aren’t cluttering your inbox with unnecessary questions.  

You can even turn on automatic billing and recurring payments if you really want to up your automation game. 

• Online Scheduling - Here at 17hats we build our Online Scheduling in-house so we can ensure its outstanding performance and automations. You can trigger Workflows, cross-check calendars, and so much more to remove the back and forth emails of scheduling meetings.
• Workflows - With the best on the market Workflows, you can step out of your process to ensure your clients receive Emails, Quotes, Contracts, Invoices, and Questionnaires in a timely manner. By allowing the Workflow automations to do it for you, you are relieved of manual tasks ensuring great communication.

By utilizing these time-saving automations, you can stay ahead of the questions and deliver information to your leads and clients when they need it. 

It’s the combination of proactive communication and the automation which becomes the key weapon against email overwhelm.

With 17hats you can automatically deliver: 

• Confirmation and Reminder emails which outline meeting dates, time, location, who needs to be there, what they need to bring, and the expectation during the meeting.
• Welcome emails to new leads about your business and how you will serve them.
• Onboarding Emails with questionnaires to gather important information from new clients.
• Thank you email with a link to the completed document after the client completes your Quote, Contract, Invoice, and/or Questionnaire.
• Post experience email that contains a link to leave a Google Review.
• And so much more!

In the world of small business management, time is a precious commodity and success often hinges on effective communication and efficiency. By leveling up your business with proactive communication and workflow automation you are destined to transform your day from “busy. busy. busy.”  to a more productive and efficient business.

We would love for you to join our ever-growing community of solo entrepreneurs.

Try 17hats free for 7 days and use code: TEACHME23 upon signup to receive 50% off your first year of membership.