You might be puzzled by the title of this article. Probably you are thinking of automation as something that is only of importance to the manufacturing sector. In this article I will share with you how:
Automation can be a valuable addition to your business as a service professional.
What is automation?
When you automate services for your client, you are adding value to your client relationship. Automated services can be accessed by your client at a time and place convenient to them.
Automate you services to any degree from being hardly automated and mostly delivered live to being 100% automated. Consider offering your programs anywhere on this continuum.
Adding value with automation
Your business can hugely benefit from adding this service offering. I wrote about this in my previous article in this series. In this article I want to focus on the benefits for your clients.
By providing information and guidance through pre-recorded videos or audios and downloadable documents your client has access to your wisdom and experience without necessarily interacting with you directly.
You might think: “How can that add value?” And I agree, your client will value the direct relationship and interaction with you probably even more.
There are many instances, where your clients will value access to your recordings and documents from the comfort of their home at a time convenient to them.
I was working with a client who is an extreme introvert. My client Julie said:
[testimonial company=”Julie Hamilton and Associates”]“As an extreme introvert I love the access to pre-recorded sessions. I can do them from the comfort of my home, without having to engage in a group.”[/testimonial]
Not only extreme introverts value the ability to access information from home. Just consider how busy everyone is these days. Making time for in-person appointments or live group calls can be a challenge for those working in a less flexible job or those with a long list of family commitments.
I recommend you automate especially those services that are applicable to most or all of your clients and you still provide personal one-on-one services to clients where the situation is unique.
Combining those automated services and your one-on-one services is a powerful way to offer Online Programs.
To what extent should you automate?
The decision to what extent you will automate is dependant an your overall Business Strategy or your Business Model. The more you automate, the more clients you can serve and the greater the impact you can make.
If your practice is already busy, you can leverage your time and scale up your business, reaching more clients and ultimately increasing your revenue.
And, you still have time to work with clients on a VIP level in your one-on-one relationships.
Access to your personal time becomes more valuable and you can offer a price structure that reflects this.
Typical Automation Tools:
Often, a perfect way to present your knowledge in an automated way is through video content. There are multiple options for your videos:
- Video of yourself presenting material
- Use an interview or demonstration of an activity by another individual as video content
- Base your video on PowerPoint with voice-over
- Animated video (such as a cartoon or on-screen animation)
Depending on your topic and your audience as well as your own personal preferences you might also offer audio content, downloads such as worksheets, checklists, blueprints and interactive online tools such as questionnaires and assessments.
Personal touch
Providing automated services does not mean that you no longer engage directly with your customer. While it is an option to provide programs that are 100% pre-recorded, I always recommend including interactive elements into your programs.
These elements could be:
- Group Training Call
- Q&A Call
- Business Hour
- Personal Mentor Call
- VIP Day (group or individual)
- Workshop or Seminar (in-person or online)
The real value lies in the combination!
When you combine these automated components and interactive elements you have a powerful combination of services that you can package and offer as Online Courses and Programs.
In my work with my clients I help them to define their Business Model in a Strategy Review on which basis we then design their perfect program(s) that support this strategy. These are the first two steps needed before actually creating the program, finding the ideal hosting platform and launching the program to the market.
This five step process is what everyone offering Online Courses and Group Programs needs to go through, however, not everyone does this consciously, leaving out important steps on the way.
In my next article in this series I will talk about the top 5 mistakes, entrepreneurs make that keep them from launching successful Online Programs.
You don’t want to wait that long before taking the next step?
Every month I offer a limited number of no-fee Consultations to help define the best path to get from Big Idea to Big Leap. If you are ready to consider how automation fits into your business, apply now for your Online Breakthrough Session.
