Running a business comes with a lot of responsibility and at the top of every business owner’s list is their client experience. Not only is a positive client experience crucial to the efficiency of your business, it’s also crucial to the way your clients perceive you and your services, which is so important in maintaining repeat customers and strong referrals. HoneyBook is great for service providers who need to book calls with clients or potential clients, send customized or templated proposals, send contracts, and have invoices paid up front or on upcoming project dates/stages. Does that sound like you? Read on to learn why I love the platform so much, and why I think you will as well. Here are the top three reasons why you should use HoneyBook to streamline your client process and build a stronger, more sustainable business.
1. All-In-One Platform
HoneyBook is an all-in-one platform that allows business owners to manage everything in one place. This includes projects, clients, invoices, contracts, and communication. Rather than having to use multiple tools to manage these different aspects of a project, HoneyBook provides a single platform to streamline the entire process. This not only makes your life easier, but it makes the client’s life easier as well. AND it makes the onboarding and project process more streamline. My call scheduler lives in HoneyBook, and potential clients can easily schedule a discovery call with me before booking through a link and branded scheduler. Then comes their custom proposal. I’ve custom designed proposals to send to clients after our call, but HoneyBook has templates you can use if you’re not a designer. Within my proposals are custom deliverables, what the client can expect during our project, their contract with a space to virtually sign (again, making it super easy for the client — no having to print and scan contracts or fumble with Adobe Acrobat), and their invoice. The invoice feature may be my favorite part of the proposal, because it updates in real-time as the client makes selections within the proposal (you can actually have your contract update in real-time as well, if applicable). So, by the time my clients make their decisions on deliverables and get to payment, everything is spelled out for them based on what they’ve chosen. I also love that HoneyBook allows you to add coupon codes, tips, bank transfer only (vs bank transfer or CC), tax, divided payments, and more, to the invoice.
2. Automated Workflows
HoneyBook also offers automated workflows that can save business owners time and help ensure that nothing falls through the cracks. For example, when a new client is added to the platform, HoneyBook can automatically send them a welcome email. This can help ensure that everything is taken care of from the start of the project. I use this feature by sending clients an email upon their inquiry, to let them know I’ve received the inquiry, send out my client experience guide so that they get a better sense of what it looks like to be a Poised Avenue client, as well as a link to my call scheduler so that they’re able to choose a date to chat on the phone regarding their project right away. This helps keep the excitement of inquiring with me alive a bit longer, and gives them something to do/look forward to as they wait for my more personalized response. Keeping a potential client warm is crucial to the likelihood of them booking!
3. Revenue and Bookings Overview
HoneyBook provides an overview of your revenue, refunds, and outstanding payments allowing you to see how much money you’ve made year over year, or month over month. This feature can be incredibly helpful for business owners who want to track their income and plan for the future. It also allows you to easily see how much money you’ve made from each project, client, and lead acquisition (aka referral, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. — you can also set up custom lead acquisition tags), so you can identify areas where you might be able to increase your revenue. On top of that, it gives you a “success rate”, or the percentage of proposals that actually lead to bookings. I love this feature for better understanding how well my current inquiry process works in securing clients. Plus, because HoneyBook integrates with payment processors like Stripe and PayPal, you can easily track payments (even those made outside of HoneyBook) and make sure you’re getting paid on time. Overall, this feature can help you stay on top of your finances and make more informed business decisions.
If you’re a business owner looking to streamline your project management and client communication, HoneyBook is definitely worth considering. With its all-in-one platform, automated workflows, and revenue overview, it can help save time and ensure that everything runs smoothly. I highly recommend it to all service providers.
Do you use HoneyBook? Let us know in the comments below what your favorite feature is!
Want to read about more of my favorite resources as a business owner? Be sure to check out this post on why I went from MailChimp to Flodesk here.
*Snag 35% off HoneyBook using the code POISED or by clicking this link to sign up
