What Can Dubsado Do For Brand Designers?
Dubsado and brand designers are as good together as me and my velcro dog (if you follow me on socials, you know), and while I can’t promise your CRM will join you for long hikes in the mountains and cuddles on the sofa, you will wonder how you ever lived without it. Your world is finding exciting colour palettes, playing with new ways to hand illustrate, and innovating logos - there’s not much joy to be found in having to exercise that creative muscle to design proposals afresh for every client, and even less in typing out long, repetitive emails and wondering if they noticed you’re late on that update…so, specifically, what can Dubsado do for brand designers?
Why is Dubsado a good choice for brand designers?
I’m a firm believer that every creative service provider needs to be backed by solid, reliable systems and processes. Creative brains need to recharge between sessions of flow, not be stuck in admin mode when they should be soaking up inspiration. Dubsado is the faithful friend that won’t forget, won’t miss anything, and won’t hesitate to send that invoice reminder out of fear of seeming rude. In other words, it helps you set and maintain your business boundaries and spend more time in the work you love, not to mention all the opportunities you’ll suddenly have to grab a leisurely mid morning coffee, take a midweek hike or finally design your own sales page. Let’s cover 5 things Dubsado can do for you as a brand designer:
1. Sending Proposals Just Got Smoother
Now, let me know if my crystal ball is working properly…every time you get off a call with a potential client, the excitement about working with them is laced with just a tiny bit of dread about how long their proposal is going to take to put together - especially with that other delivery deadline looming. You’re a brand designer, so the pressure for your proposal to look amazing is real. This is where Dubsado steps in to remove the doubt, the decision fatigue and the endless tweaking.
We can set up a standard proposal template ready to go for each of your services, which can easily be customised or adjusted if you need to add moodboards or ideas, or refer to specific portfolio pieces. You shouldn’t mistake the word ‘standard’ for ‘boring’, however - Dubsado proposals can look absolutely beautiful; just take a look at some of these examples I’ve created for past clients!
2. Click, Click, Booked
Making it as easy as possible for clients to work with you is one of the keys to making sales feel more effortless. Every time you exchange back-and-forth emails, you risk your almost-client getting distracted, busy or forgetful, and it can take a lot of effort to actually get them over the line. Dubsado makes it slick. After you’ve tweaked your proposal, get Dubsado to send it off along with a canned email that feels lovely and personal - then, you just wait. Your client can select their package from the proposal, choose any add-ons, sign their contract and pay their deposit all in one go, without you lifting another finger…chef’s kiss.
That means those discovery calls can stay exciting, and you can be confident that while you’re working on your current client’s brand guidelines document Dubsado is working its magic. One of my clients got a ping letting her know a contact had been signed and deposit paid on a dog walk recently - just think of all the things you could be doing while your CRM sets you up for success.
3. Onboard Like A Pro
Of all the things Dubsado can do for brand designers, this is perhaps one of the most time-saving perks. Your proposal has been accepted (and adored, btw), contract signed and deposit paid - now, you need to create and send their onboarding form, let them know about their new Google Drive and outline their project timeline via email, right? Not with Dubsado on the case.
You can simply send a branded onboarding form, which is all linked up to Google Drive - your clients can share their Pinterest board inspo, upload assets and information, and view their project start date and timeline all in one place. This is all set up ahead of time, which can literally save you hours! One of my favourite parts, though, is that your clients can save the form as they go, just in case they need to come back to it later. You’ll get an update when they’ve submitted the form, or Dubsado will send an automated reminder if they’re slow to act.
Read my blog here to see how I use Dubsado Custom Fields to link Google Docs & Forms.
4. Automated Updates
I know there’s tonnes of back and forth in design projects. You send updates that need approval regularly, and all-told you probably spend hours typing out each email - not to mention remembering when they need sending, or who hasn’t got back to you yet. How’s that spreadsheet looking?
With Dubsado you can automate your project update process with a service delivery workflow, containing all your project emails already planned out. One of my recent brand design clients had a whopping 11 project emails that needed to be sent (as standard, without ad hoc extras!) to keep the project moving forward. We’ll input typical send dates to help keep you on track, which can be tweaked as you go but will act as reminders that something needs to be done. Just tweak, add links, and send - when you multiply this by 11, the effect is significant. Long lunch break, anyone?
5. No More Lost Docs
Finally, let’s talk about what Dubsado can do for brand designers in the portal feature. If you’re currently using something like Notion or Google Drive to store and share files, you’ve probably got lots of bits and bobs everywhere that only you can access - if your client wants to look a specific document over, you’ll have to wade through it all to send it over (I see you, V.2.2newTHISONE).
The Dubsado client portal allows you to store everything in one place that your client can also access, without having to ask you for it every time. Past versions or revisions, for example, or just to check a line in the contract. I will caveat by saying I usually don’t recommend to my clients that they share documents directly through the portal (it’s a few unnecessary steps), and when we work together I’ll show you exactly what I mean for the easiest process possible.
As a brand designer, Dubsado can completely transform your work life balance in a matter of weeks. Imagine cutting hours from your process with every client, starting with the very next one. Imagine finally getting to have some play time to dream up new designs and let your imagination run wild, and knowing that, even if you take the afternoon off for a stroll in the park, reminders and important updates and emails will still get sent. Sounds dreamy, right?
To chat to me about Dubsado Setup and my other systems services, get in touch.