Hi Leslie,

Almost every point you read here can be summed up into one word: communication.

You can use multiple media for that communication. Thank you cards (real, not those pre-printed fake signature postcards) are one. Email should be another. Done right, you should be able to automate some of this.

Do you have an Onboarding system? That's a great way to manage just what you are talking about.

People just want to know what is happening almost 90% of the time. Your system should explain what is happening when. With email followup. I've used this with several clients and their customers went nuts over it! "No one has ever done that before" is a typical comment.

An example:

If it takes 7 days for a proposal, there should be an email on day 2 (We are starting to work on the changes that will convert your house to a beautfil home your friends and neighbors will envy. If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at...) and Day 5 (Our proposal is just waiting for the last few confirmations to ensure we don't overprice anything and we hope to have it in your hand in just 2 days. If you have thought of something we might have missed, you can reply to this email or call me at...)

See how these could easily be part of an autoresponder sequence?

It's all about systems. Systems that save you time and generate more income.

Mark