🌅 One of my favourite underrated systems

There are hundreds of systems that can, and should, be implemented in your business. Some are more important than others, and some are unsung heroes.

I’d like to highlight one of my favourite “unsung hero” systems: Offboarding.

As I have mentioned before, you should fire your bad clients. The same goes for bad employees. Both cause more trouble than they are worth and they are an anchor weighing you down and preventing you from rising, from succeeding.

Just because you fire a client or an employee, that doesn’t mean everything is over with them. They will still talk about you and your business and you want that talk to be favourable. They can actually still drive revenue for your business. They can cost you money, too.

I learned this a few years back: I had a terrible client that I hated working with, they were rude and never took the actions we agreed on together, so I fired them.

However, I remained professional throughout - I explained why I made the decision, offered tips for improvement, suggested alternatives to me and my services that could work for them, and explained in detail “what happens next” for things between them and I.

Despite the fact I fired them, they went on to leave me a glowing review and referred two clients to me (both of which became model clients).

Nobody, prospects or potential employees, wants to work with a business that they have heard bad things about. But, they do want to work with businesses that people speak favourably about. People speak favourably about businesses that made them feel good. Despite “breaking up” you can still make somebody feel valued, useful, thanked, helped, and generally good about the time they had with you.

ACTION: Outline an offboarding system for your clients (15 minutes)

Use the exercise above, what would a 5-star offboarding system look like for your business?

Focus on outlining the system for clients OR employees, whichever leaves your business more often. The two systems are significantly different.

Good client offboarding systems answer questions like: What triggers the beginning of the offboarding process? How are the changes communicated? When does work end? What are the final deliverables and when can I expect them? What did we achieve while working together? When does payment stop? How much is the final payment? Are there any other services you offer that I might be better suited for? What happens to work already completed? Who will complete the work now? Who is responsible for finding, training, and/or ‘handover’ to that new person that will now complete the work? How do I leave a review or feedback? How do I address any outstanding issues? How do I get in touch with any questions? How do I refer people to you? What will I retain access to? Are there any legal or contractual obligations I need to be aware of (e.g. return of resources, NDAs, non-competes, etc)? What do I need to do or send to you? When will you follow up with me? Etc.

💡 Quote I'm pondering

"You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems” - James Clear

Entrepreneurs often set lofty goals for themselves. However, merely setting ambitious goals is not enough to ensure success. It's the systems and processes put in place to support those goals that truly determine the outcome.

In my experience, I've observed that entrepreneurs who rely solely on their ambition and willpower to achieve their goals often find themselves struggling to maintain consistency and progress over the long term. This is where effective systems come into play.

Instead of being at the mercy of unpredictable external factors or relying solely on motivation, entrepreneurs can rely on their systems to guide them towards their objectives, even in the face of challenges or setbacks. Your systems are the engine driving you and your business for

I shared this in my Work Smart Wednesday newsletter. Want the full set of related insights? You can read them here: https://worksmartwednesday.substack.com/p/work-smart-wednesday-march-13-2024

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