Have you ever found yourself staying up late, replying to emails or scrambling between documents trying to find the info you need for a client? (Don’t worry, it’s a VERY relatable struggle for service providers, freelancers, and agency owners.)

No matter what stage you’re at in your business, it can be hard to set boundaries for your work. That’s why it’s so important to find tools that help you to be more efficient with your time!

HoneyBook is a business management tool that allows independent business owners to manage projects from start to finish in one place. You’re able to utilize templates to keep yourself from writing those emails and creating proposals in bed at midnight, and it gives your clients one place to access everything they need to work with you.

Before we dive in… I have an affiliate relationship with HoneyBook, which means that not only do YOU get a discount for signing up with my code — I also get a small commission. That being said, I only promote tools I fully believe in and I’ve personally been using this one since I started my agency!

I started using HoneyBook as soon as I started working as a Marketing Strategist, because I knew I struggled with organization and I wanted to be able to automate some of my emails and clients communication! When I started researching CRMs (Client Relationship Managers) I knew I wanted something simple, easy-to-setup, and suited for a creative business… plus is had to be affordable! Brand new businesses don’t have the budget for a pricy software.

The think I love the MOST is that everything is organized in one place, so I’m not jumping back and forth between tools

I send branded proposals (using templates) so clients can e-sign and pay in one place
Automations help me get important info to clients at the right time
I set up tasks for myself so nothing slips through the cracks
Did I mention they have an app?!

I’m honestly SO grateful for HoneyBook. It has been worth every penny!

I wanted to share how I got started with HoneyBook so you can get organized, get some time back and ultimately grow your business without working those crazy hours!

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Step 1: Organize your leads in one place

The first place to start is managing all new inquiries in HoneyBook. I get inquiries from so many different places, and I was spending way too much time asking the same questions over and over, and looking back to find their info later.

Plus, there are three easy ways to automatically add new inquiries into HoneyBook.

First, I recommend adding the HoneyBook contact form to your website. You can customize the questions so you get all the information you need upfront, and new submissions are automatically added to HoneyBook for you.

You can also add your direct link to your bio on social media! This allows you to share your form without any embedding necessary and is a great way to get the info you need from folks who slide into your DMs.

For those inquiries coming through email (hey directory leads!), check out HoneyBook’s Chrome Extension. With this installed, you can automatically add new inquiries to HoneyBook without leaving your Gmail inbox!

Once new inquiries have been added, the project pipeline is your best friend! This is a dashboard that gives you a bird's eye view of where all your projects currently stand - from first inquiry to project completion. I live on this dashboard so I am always up to date on where all my projects are in my process.

Step 2: Follow up quickly!

First, you need to answer this question: “How do I like to follow up with my new inquiries today?” Do you like to send an email to introduce yourself, or do you prefer to schedule a call? Do you like to send them a pricing document to review your services or do you prefer to ask them some questions and get more details?

It’s super important to me that new inquiries get followed up with quickly, but I always want my replies to feel personal. That’s why having templates set up in HoneyBook comes in handy!

Send an email: The faster you respond, the more likely you are to book that client. What’s great is it’s super easy to add your personalized email templates into HoneyBook, so you don’t have to write the same intro over and over. This is a great way to make sure all new inquiries get the info they need quickly.

Schedule a call: Meeting face-to-face on google hangouts with a new potential client is a great opportunity to build a relationship and establish if there’s a mutual fit. HoneyBook’s scheduling tool saves me so much back and forth! All I do is pre-set my availability and pop in my custom meeting link to my email template. My potential clients select a time that works for them and get confirmation and reminders automatically.

Send a smart file questionnaire: Need to get some more details before moving forward? You can add question blocks to your smart files to make sure your clients answer all the important questions that you need answers to. That way you can make sure they’re a good fit quickly.

Send a smart file with your services: Smart files are a wonderful way to present yourself and your services to potential clients. When a potential client receives your file, they'll be able to select a package or list of services that they're interested in. This allows you to showcase your services and makes it so easy for your potential clients to work with you!

Bonus (that will save you hours!):

With all the things you have on your to-do list for every client and project, every bit of automation can help. HoneyBook automations have allowed me to automate the steps I want while still giving me complete control where I need it.

Automations allow me to automate my first replies to inquiries, automatically send next steps when a client makes a payment, and send a questionnaire asking for feedback when a project is complete.

Automating these steps in my process gives me so much peace of mind and has freed up an incredible amount of mental space so I can focus on moving my projects forward.

Step 3: Book your client

So you’ve added your client into HoneyBook and you’ve followed up with them appropriately. You’ll probably find (as I did), that this speedy yet personalized and professional communication sets you apart, and it doesn’t stop there!

When it’s time to book, sending a contract and invoice can be a lengthy process for you and your clients. I used to send a contract and invoice separately, and sometimes I would receive a signed contract but no payment, or vice versa. HoneyBook smart files changed that.

Using a HoneyBook smart file, I can combine these two (or any other) steps by combining the contract and invoice into one file! I just insert my template, review the payment schedule and contract, make adjustments where needed, and send.

When a client receives my file, they can review the services, sign their contract and submit their payment - all in one place! This has saved me so much time and makes booking so easy for my clients. It used to take me hours to put together a contract and invoice, but it only takes me a few minutes now that I useHoneyBook!

There you have it! With a little better understanding of the HoneyBook tools and how they work together, you are ready to get booked quickly and efficiently. It might take some time and effort to get all settled in at first, but I promise it’s worth it! With my help and the help of the world class HoneyBook team you’ll be there in no time!