Let me guess. You found yourself here because you’re still using excel spreadsheets, your personal iPhone calendar and sticky notes, to manage your creative business, yes? This was me a few years ago! I am frugal when it comes to spending money on my business so I didn’t see the point in paying for a system when it was possible to manage things myself. I stayed in my organized chaos for awhile before my client base started building up, my calendar was full, and my entire office was full of sticky note reminders for important tasks. I knew I needed a change before I dropped the ball for something really important.
I still wasn’t sure where to start until a friend introduced me to HoneyBook. If you’re a creative, the idea of a CRM might scare you. Or you might not even know what a CRM is. HoneyBook is a client relationship management software, a fancy term for organizing your clients, workflows, and calendar. Basically, it’s there to streamline your business and remove the need for sticky notes and creating Excel formulas. This idea STILL overwhelmed me. I didn’t want to give up control. But I soon realized setting up this system was not only giving me MORE control over my business, but it was freeing up my time to focus on what matters most in my business and personal life. As as entrepreneur, this was invaluable!
If you walk through a few of the benefits of implementing HoneyBook into your own business with me, I’ll have a link for 50% off HoneyBook for your first year! Not only that, but I’ll also be sharing the wedding questionnaire I send to my couples for FREE when you sign up before the end of September! That’s over 40 questions to help you be more prepared to serve your couples well! So grab another cup of coffee and let’s chat about a few ways HoneyBook can benefit your own business!
Reason 1: Clean, Professional Design
There’s a lot of options when it comes to CRMs, but HoneyBook is by FAR the cleanest and most professionally designed platform. To be honest, one of my biggest hesitations with implementing a management system was having something clunky, off brand, and unintuitive for my clients as well as potential clients. The HoneyBook platform is so clean and minimal and has such a positive impact on my client’s overall experience! You can also completely customize branding so everything that goes out is 100% tailored to your brand and feel.
Reason 2: Pipeline
Consider the Pipeline to be your home base and an at-a-glance look at where all your projects are at in the process. From here, you can customize different steps so you always know where your clients are from initial inquiry, to project completion! As a wedding photographer, I love seeing an overview of which couples I need to send follow up with, which sessions I have to edit, and every step in between.
Reason 3: Workflow & Tasks
To be honest, I was putting off this feature for awhile but I’m kicking myself for not implementing it sooner! While your pipeline gives you a basic overview of your projects, workflows go far more in depth for each project. You can set up four “actions” for workflows: 1. Create a Task 2. Send Email 3. Send Questionnaire or 4. Send Brochure. As a wedding photographer, this is a lifesaver. You can set it up to automatically complete each step OR you can approve it before going out (I’m too much of a control freak to let it send things without approving!). As soon as a new couple books, I assign the Wedding Workflow to their project. From there, I always know when I need to send a questionnaire, order a gift, or finish editing!
Tasks are another part of the workflow. They’re incredibly helpful and always show up on your home screen in HoneyBook so you know what you need to complete for that day or week! You can also add them separately from workflows if you have anything you need due. Some of the ones I add are paying employees, submitting estimated tax payments, and other things I want to accomplish during the day so I never miss anything!
Reason 4: Email Templates
If I had the time back I spent over the past few years writing the same email over and over again.. I honestly can’t even add it all up! Email templates have been life giving in HoneyBook. For example: while the majority of the content in my booking email is already set in an email template, all I have to do is add a few customizations and I’m good to go! You can create dozens of templates and drop them directly into your workflow. All you have to do is approve and you’re all set!
Reason 5: Questionnaires & Timelines
I LOVE the questionnaire and timeline template options in HoneyBook. I can easily send out pre-wedding questionnaires and create custom wedding timelines (or use a template) directly from HoneyBook! When I’m creating a timeline for a wedding, all I have to do is apply the wedding template and do a few quick customizations based on their specific day and I’m done! (Psssst: I’m giving away this full pre-wedding questionnaire if you sign up with the link below!)
Reason 6: Easy Contracts & Invoicing
Have I mentioned having everything in one place is a lifesaver? I absolutely love being able to use one system for EVERYTHING I need when it comes to client management. Sending booking proposals that include contracts and invoices are a breeze with honeyBook. You can also create templates for your proposals that automatically populate your new client’s information saving you even more time! I love being able to offer payment plan options for my clients and even automatic payments to make things that much easier for them. Another benefit of having your invoicing system within HoneyBook is access to financial reporting and information. It also links directly to Quickbooks making tax time (almost) a breeze!
Reason 7: Contact Form Integration
HoneyBook has contact form integration for your website which means every inquiry is automatically created and stored in your pipeline without you doing a thing! You can create beautiful contact form options that works seamlessly with your website so you never have to worry about double-booking again.
Reason 8: Mobile App
We travel for 90% of our weddings so we’re constantly on the go. I don’t always have the option of breaking out my laptop while we’re traveling so having access to client information on my phone is vital! The app is so easy to use and pretty beautiful actually! I’m able to check a couple’s timeline, send an invoice, create a new project, or manage my pipeline all from the app.
Reason 9: Interactive Calendar
I’m lowkey obsessed with HoneyBook’s calendar! Replacing my sticky notes with a streamlined interactive calendar has honestly saved my business. Not only can you see an overview of all your projects, payments, and meetings, but each calendar entry is directly linked to each project! I can easily browse through and click directly into a project. With the contact form integration, you can also see what events you already have scheduled for the day someone inquiries about!
Reason 10: Customer Service and Constant Improvements
HoneyBook’s Concierge service is one of the reasons they won me over. They have incredible customer service (you always talk to a real, caring human) and are always listening to their clients for ways to improve our experience. I’ve never been involved with a company who takes feedback from their clients and implements changes so quickly. Usually, it takes months for these changes to happen (if they do at all) but HoneyBook is so dedicated to making things better for their clients. When you sign up, you’ll also have someone as a guide to help you set up your contracts, pricing, and questionnaires!
Ready To Do This Thing?
I am so excited to offer you 50% off your first year with the HoneyBook team! Click the link below to get started. You can can start off with a free trial, but you must commit before BEFORE OCTOBER 1st using the link below in order to receive 50% off and your free wedding questionnaire template! Only the link below will get you the discount and template!
If you sign up for HoneyBook and notice a change in your business for the better, I’d love to hear about it! Cheers to more a more productive workflow and happier clients!