How to manage a lot of inquiries and suggestions for scaling

[rickhardypro]

Hello, I wanted to start a topic for discussion which is in fact two topics. 

First I am wondering how you guys manage a lot of inquiries. At some point there can be some many people approaching that I cannot focus and manage both doing the work and answering and communicating with future clients.

Secondly, I would be glad to hear out tips, tricks, suggestions for scaling. Do you use quick responses or maybe have a pre-set template which the potential clients can fill and you can filter out faster the potential projects or something else which can help you with landing more projects in a more efficient way.

I would love to here what you think and I am hoping for a productive discussion.

Cheers

[smashradio]

2 hours ago, rickhardypro said:

Hello, I wanted to start a topic for discussion which is in fact two topics. 

First I am wondering how you guys manage a lot of inquiries. At some point there can be some many people approaching that I cannot focus and manage both doing the work and answering and communicating with future clients.

If you have too much on your plate, increasing your rates is a useful way of getting less inquiries while maintaining your earnings. If that's not an option for you, here's my work method throughout the day: 

• Messages (10 minutes - 1 hour depending on need)
• Work on projects (1 - 2 hours)
• Messages
• Work on projects

I try not to let Fiverr distract me while working on a project. That means I close the website, put my phone on silent and turn on Focus assist in Windows to stop notifications from bothering me. 

Allowing time for messages and client communication every hour or so maintains my glittering response time with a 1-hour average. I do messages right before break time, meaning I'll come back refreshed and undistracted when it's time to get back to a project. 

2 hours ago, rickhardypro said:

Secondly, I would be glad to hear out tips, tricks, suggestions for scaling. Do you use quick responses or maybe have a pre-set template which the potential clients can fill and you can filter out faster the potential projects or something else which can help you with landing more projects in a more efficient way.

I use QRs to speed up response time. But I don't want more projects. I want bigger projects. I always prefer to have a single 4000-dollar client to four 1000-dollar clients. That way, you can spend time getting to know them, the project, their quirks, and you don't have to spend as much time communicating with different people. Naturally, that's my utopia, and reality isn't always that rosy. But trying to get the more extensive projects while skipping the smaller ones has allowed me to work more efficiently with better clients and create long-term partnerships, rather than speeding through a bunch of orders using QRs for everything. 

[breals]

10 minutes ago, smashradio said:

I try not to let Fiverr distract me while working on a project. That means I close the website, put my phone on silent and turn on Focus assist in Windows to stop notifications from bothering me. 

This is a great tip.  I am hugely embarrassed to say that I was unaware of the focus assist option on Windows.    It sounds a great idea, and it will definitely allow me to finish gigs a lot quicker. 

I will immediately throw myself to the wolves and never call myself a digital expert again! 

[vickieito]

8 minutes ago, smashradio said:

I try not to let Fiverr distract me while working on a project. That means I close the website, put my phone on silent and turn on Focus assist in Windows to stop notifications from bothering me. 

This is a great idea!

You can easily waste a day chatting with one potential buyer if you're not careful. Let them know that your time is precious and find ways to minimize your inbox times. Utilize the QRs, FAQs on your gigs, and don't be afraid to use the spam button if you run into personalities who don't respect your time.

10 minutes ago, smashradio said:

If you have too much on your plate, increasing your rates is a useful way of getting less inquiries while maintaining your earnings.

This has greatly reduced my inbox inquiries, while giving me more money per project.

11 minutes ago, smashradio said:

trying to get the more extensive projects while skipping the smaller ones has allowed me to work more efficiently with better clients and create long-term partnerships, rather than speeding through a bunch of orders using QRs for everything. 

I also like to use the "More" tab and "Contacts" to see if I am spending too much time with clients who are bringing in too little money (and who may be really demanding). I want to spend time and take care of the clients who spend more per order, and who are easy to work with. I love nurturing relationships with clients who appreciate my work and who want to use my services for the long term.

Other tips include:

Extending delivery dates and charging more for expediting orders.

Utilizing all the gig extras and upselling during the order. Usually I'll ask in the order requirements for the buyer to list everything that they want out of the order (using checkboxes), with a statement that if they requested something they haven't paid for, the seller will request that they purchase that service right after the order requirements are filled out.

[smashradio]

8 minutes ago, breals said:

I will immediately throw myself to the wolves and never call myself a digital expert again! 

Are you sure you're not a digital marketer expart? It's almost just as good! 😄 

I love focus assist because I have my phone connected to Windows, so I get all these notifications that are (usually) important. But they won't allow me to work, damn it! 🤣

5 minutes ago, vickieito said:

This is a great idea!

You can easily waste a day chatting with one potential buyer if you're not careful. Let them know that your time is precious and find ways to minimize your inbox times. Utilize the QRs, FAQs on your gigs, and don't be afraid to use the spam button if you run into personalities who don't respect your time.

I usually inform them if I'm in the middle of a conversation, so they know I haven't disappeared on them. 

I love how you went from having blockophobia to being so blunt about it. I'm gonna give myself a pat on the back for that one, if it's all right with you? 😂

7 minutes ago, vickieito said:

I also like to use the "More" tab and "Contacts" to see if I am spending too much time with clients who are bringing in too little money (and who may be really demanding). I want to spend time and take care of the clients who spend more per order, and who are easy to work with. I love nurturing relationships with clients who appreciate my work and who want to use my services for the long term.

After you mentioned the Contacts tab the first time, I haven't been to that page, to be honest. But I think I'm going to start using it more. This is a great usage case for that feature, and identifying where the revenue actually comes from, and who you're wasting time on, can be very useful. Thanks for remining me! 

[vickieito]

1 minute ago, smashradio said:

I love how you went from having blockophobia to being so blunt about it. I'm gonna give myself a pat on the back for that one, if it's all right with you? 😂

This is all you @smashradio! It took me 8 months to finally start blocking annoying buyers, but after the three ridiculous Fiverr Business Buyers that wasted my whole day and put me in a bad mood (which is really hard to do), I'm now an avid disciple of your teachings! 😂 The truth shall set you free!

[breals]

2 minutes ago, vickieito said:

I'm now an avid disciple of your teachings! 😂 The truth shall set you free!

Amen 🙂

[vickieito]

@rickhardypro, this is a great topic of discussion!

Before I forget, I did notice that you posted in the wrong category - "Tips for Sellers" is a place where experienced sellers post their tips for others. If you want tips, you can post in "Fiverr FAQs," "Fiverr Questions," or "Improve My Gig." Links are allowed in "Improve My Gig."

I've asked for your topic to be moved into the right category so that more people can respond to your question and add to this thread. 😊

[rickhardypro]

Thank you all for your answers and insightful suggestions!
 

On 8/23/2022 at 12:09 AM, smashradio said:

But I don't want more projects. I want bigger projects. I always prefer to have a single 4000-dollar client to four 1000-dollar clients.

Well that's true, however if you are able to scan through more inquiries in a more efficient way, the probability to land bigger and more expensive projects rises. That's what I am aiming for and seeking ways to achieve it.

 

On 8/23/2022 at 12:47 AM, vickieito said:

Before I forget, I did notice that you posted in the wrong category - "Tips for Sellers" is a place where experienced sellers post their tips for others. If you want tips, you can post in "Fiverr FAQs," "Fiverr Questions," or "Improve My Gig." Links are allowed in "Improve My Gig."

@vickieito Thank you!
I am a newbie and still figuring out how things are going on here 🙂

 

What do you guys think about hiring a virtual assistant to help you with managing the communication. Do you think this is viable solution?