In last week's post, I discussed the five steps necessary in the implementation of processes and procedures. This week I'd like to elaborate on step one: creating a comprehensive list of each process.
To begin, I segmented the business into three areas: Marketing, Service and Business Operations. Each area includes several items, and each item has several steps. You should create a comprehensive list before moving on to the next step. I should mention that this is my approach and that there are a number of other good ways to proceed. With that disclaimer, let's move on.
Marketing
Marketing is the process of gaining the attention of qualified prospects with the goal of getting them in the door. There are several methods for this, including newsletters, websites, e-mail and direct mail marketing campaigns, radio, local and national publications, brochures, etc. While this is the first area of focus here, it's important to note that before you implement your marketing strategies, you should have the infrastructure in place to handle any extra capacity that those strategies might produce in terms of prospects and clients. With this in mind, let's move on to category number two, service.
Service
Service is anything having to do with clients. In addition, I have included the initial prospect meeting in this category. The goal of this step is to convert and retain clients. There are several items in this category, including the prospect meeting, pre-meeting qualifying questionnaires, post meeting communication, new client welcome aboard packets, portfolio creation process and account reviews, financial plan creation and updates, client surveys, client communication, etc. The last category on the list, business operations, may be the best place to start so let's discuss it now.
Business Operations
The reason I suggest starting here is that you need to assure that your business is functioning in an orderly and efficient manner before your marketing campaign goes into full speed. Doing this can help assure you are getting the most benefit from your marketing dollars. There are many items under this category including CMS, website integration, client segmentation, client summary, the budgeting process, business analysis, compliance, and all other back-office type procedures.
In the coming months, I will go into more details on each.
Summary
Once the entire process is complete, your business should function like a professional organization with definitive processes. Clients need to see a consistent deliverable which is another reason we are undertaking this important task. Moreover, when this is complete, you should see a noticeable rise in productivity.
Thanks for reading and stay tuned in the coming months!
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