4 signs you might need a CRM in your life

One of the biggest investments you can make as a photographer, besides your equipment and a kick-ass website, is a client relations manager.  There are tons of options and it is really important that you really look at the features each one offers to find the right one for you.  I personally use Dubsado (affiliate link), but what are the signs you might be ready to look at one for yourself.

You find yourself writing the same emails over and over again.  Canned emails are just ONE of the many features that most CRMs offer.  I personalize most of the emails I send out, but it is really great to have all the information I need at my fingertips and ready to load for any given client.  Example?  On my site when a client fills out my contact form, Dubsado sends them a confirmation email letting them know I have received their inquiry and will be sending along a personalized response soon.  This email contains some important information and blog posts (related to the inquiry) they may want to review in the meantime.

You are tired of keeping your invoicing in Paypal/Square separate from your other client data.  Most CRMs allow you to utilize the payment processors you are already using for your clients, but now you can manage all this data within one system.

You are struggling to make sure you are keeping up with the inquiries you receive.  You can develop workflows to make sure you are managing your inquiries well.  Trigger reminders/to-dos to make sure you are communicating well to get potential clients from the inquiry stage into the booked stage.

You wish you could automate your workflows to help you spend less time on the computer and more time doing the things you love.  Have you ever calculated how much time you take to follow-up and send things that could be automated? Wouldn’t it be great to send payment reminders, questionnaires, and other important information automatically while you are out with your kids at the park?

Bonus: You’ve spent more time scheduling a 15-minute discovery call than the call itself will take.

The back and forth. “Does Tuesday work?” “I can do Wednesday.” “Actually can we do Thursday?” A CRM with a built-in scheduler kills that entirely. You send one link, they pick a time, it shows up on your calendar — and confirmation and reminder emails go out automatically like magic. Done.

Bonus: You’re building every proposal in Canva from scratch and it’s taking hours.

You’re tweaking fonts, moving text boxes, re-uploading your logo — every single time. Inside a CRM, your proposal is a template. You customize it in 5 minutes and it goes out looking just as beautiful. Roxanne, a brand photographer in Raleigh, used to spend 1-2 hours creating a custom Canva proposal for every single client. Now she sends one while she’s still on the discovery call and clients can book within 10 minutes. Sounds like science fiction, but I promise it’s not.

I know there are ways you can track your clients and run your business without a CRM.  Let’s also be honest; it is not simple, fast, or super easy to migrate your business over to a CRM.  However, once you get it all set up it will be like Christmas every.single.day!  If your motto is “work smarter not harder” definitely consider investing in a CRM. 

P.S. I love chatting about all things CRM, so if you have questions drop me a line.

So, which CRM is right for you?

Most photographers and creative service providers do well with Dubsado or HoneyBook — but depending on how your business is structured, tools like Airtable or Notion can also function as a lightweight CRM, especially when you’re just starting out.

I have an episode coming soon that breaks down exactly when Airtable or Notion makes sense as a CRM alternative — I’ll link it here when it’s live.

In the meantime, if you want to see what it looks like to get your CRM set up before you’re drowning in clients, read Anthea’s story. She’s a pet photographer based in Melbourne who joined Systems in Session brand new to business — no clients yet — and had the whole thing built in 30 days. Her reasoning for starting early is honestly better than anything I could say: Do You Need a CRM When You’re Brand New to Business?.

Ready to choose? I broke down the best CRMs for photographers — including Dubsado, HoneyBook, and three other options — so you can make a confident decision. And if you’ve already narrowed it down to Dubsado vs HoneyBook specifically, this post is the one to read next.

If you’re ready to get a CRM and create a client experience that makes you look and feel like a professional, that’s exactly what we do inside Systems in Session. In just 60 days, we’ll turn your inconsistent workflows into seamless, high-touch client experience systems that support your offers so you can raise your rates, get more referrals, rebookings, and rave reviews.

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