If you’re a freelancer or entrepreneur, you’ve probably run into a situation where you need more hands, right? We’ve all been there! You may not be in a place where you can afford to hire that extra pair of hands, though. So what can you do? A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system may be your answer! A few entrepreneurs have taken a moment to give their feedback and perspective on how Dubsado*, a family-run CRM system, has changed and their business. It’s incredible what one little program can do for your business!
How can a Customer Relationship Management System Change Your Business?
When I signed up for Dubsado, I was happy to take advantage of the free trial. I wasn’t 100% sure if I should sign up permanently and money was a little tight. After setting up my account with EASE, I decided to bite the bullet and just go for it, trusting the money would show up. Since then I’ve booked 4 clients! I know this was due in large part to the ease with which my clients were able to see their proposal and move on to the next stages swiftly and efficiently! Thanks, Dubsado team!
– Michelle Perez, michelleperezevents.com
If you’re on the fence about using a CRM, then you NEED to give Dubsado a try! Michelle mentioned the free trial, and that’s where the Dubsado* magic begins. Instead of giving you an arbitrary timeframe to test out the system (I’m looking at you, 30-day trials!), Dubsado doesn’t put a time limit on their trial. Instead, you can use the full-featured (and I mean FULL featured) trial phase until you have three clients. This is perfect for someone who’s just starting freelancing or entrepreneurship!
Even if your business is already established, you can still take advantage of the trial by taking the time to test out all of the systems, send out some fake (or real!) clients and jobs, and make sure that Dubsado is the right fit for you. If you’re ready to give the free trial a whirl, click this link* and if you decide to upgrade to a paid subscription in the future, you’ll save 20% on your first month or year!
CRM Automation Changes Your Business
We have automated our whole business from lead to close and I truly believe it’s going to save us HOURS and lots of money!
– Janey Beene, www.beenesnapspb.com
This is where Dubsado* really shines for a lot of entrepreneurs: automated workflows. Yes, it’s true! You can take someone from initial inquiry all the way through paid deposit and signed contract without having to do ANYTHING. Now, I don’t necessarily recommend that for everyone – Unit 25, for example, has a Discovery Meeting before we send the official proposal – but even the scheduling of a consultation can be built into your workflow (coming summer 2017). There are a lot of Dubsado users who have been able to automate EVERYTHING on the administrative side and created more time for the work they love.
Client Satisfaction Changes Your Business
One of my favorite things about Dubsado is the simplicity and streamlining for clients. Electronic signatures (legal by the way) was originally why I signed on, though. I was one of the first 50 Dubsado users and that was less than one year ago that I signed up! Another favorite is the ability to link the portal sign in page in one’s website – that the portal exists for all the paperwork. Creating forms to help clients organize and communicate timings (wedding photographer) is amazing. I’ve trialed ALL of the CRM platforms and Dubsado is the only program with a design that I would want to look at on a daily basis. The fact I can use my own logo, colors, and email SMTP to create a consistent experience for clients is a huge selling point. On top of all that it offers is, of course, the beautiful family that is behind it. They value a sense of integrity and quality. They believe in happiness and relationships and I love this!
– Aimee Helen, www.aimeek-photography.com
Aimee hits the nail on the head: Dubsado* makes it easy not only on entrepreneurs but on customers too! Being able to provide a client-specific (but universally accessible) client portal can be a game changer. Your clients can go into their client portal (which can be embedded directly into your own website!) and view all of their paperwork. Everything from proposals and contracts to invoices and payments can be found in the client portal. On top of that, all emails sent through Dubsado are found in the portal as well, so your clients no longer have to sift through their inbox for all of their emails from you!
Another bonus from the entrepreneur’s side is that you can see when your client views emails sent from Dubsado*. This has saved many a small business owner when a client goes self-righteous and tries to insist that they never received an email. You can just go into their information in your Dubsado account and see EXACTLY when (and how many times) they viewed that email they supposedly never received. And all of those emails come straight from your own email address – Dubsado* doesn’t try to push themselves anywhere! It’s all yours and when your clients rave about how much they love your client portal and systems, you can take all the credit.
A Centralized System Changes Your Business
Before I was using Dubsado, I was manually creating invoices and proposals/quotes. I was handling messages through Facebook and email. When I only had 1 client, it was fine. When I had multiple clients and projects – it was crazy. I actually missed an e-mail from someone and lost out on a logo job because it took me over a month to get back to the potential-client. After that mistake, I vowed to figure out how to automate as much as possible and keep it all organized.
I found Dubsado after trying out a few different CRM’s. What finally pushed me over the edge with Dubsado was a webinar I attended where a graphic designer (that is what I do) did a walk-through of their processes and how they set it all up and kept track of it all. I fell in love in that moment.
Immediately after implementing Dubsado in my business, I started receiving better quality responses from clients. I was feeling much more confident because I had a real system and workflow that I could explain to clients, and it made me look like the professional I am. It’s crazy but it really did make me feel more confident in my business and in myself. Dubsado has allowed me to think beyond project to project and focus on my long-game strategy.
I’m always fine-tuning it, but I think that’s expected as your business changes, your services change, etc. I’m always finding new ways to use Dubsado. I find it versatile and gives me exactly what I need. The customer support is fantastic and I rave about them in every group I am involved in.
– Megan Vaughan, www.prolificbanana.com
The situation that Megan ran into is something that most of us have run into at least once in our business. Having our systems scattered over several platforms leaves us open to losing out on opportunities. When you use Dubsado*, everything is streamlined and centralized – and what a lifesaver that is!
Using the forms and questionnaires that Dubsado offers opens up a world of possibilities. Designers and photographers use them for proofs; many Dubsado users have created feedback forms for post-project evaluation; the list goes on. And the time that you save by using these forms in cooperation with automated workflows frees up even more of your time! The Dubsado* community is constantly coming up with new ways to use the system that even Jake and Becca, the amazing couple behind Dubsado, never imagined.
