What should a consulting firm automate first?
Consultants sell time. Automation pays off where admin takes time from billable or sales work.
- Where do I start?
- What saves the most time?
- What should stay manual?
Start with your CRM and follow-up, so no lead or proposal goes quiet. Next, proposals and e-signature with onboarding triggered on signing. Then project delivery: templates, reminders and status updates drafted from your tools. Keep diagnosis, recommendations and client relationships with you.
A typical order
| Order | Area | Measure |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | CRM and follow-up | Proposals followed up |
| 2 | Proposals and e-signature | Hours per proposal |
| 3 | Client onboarding | Days to kickoff |
| 4 | Project delivery and reporting | Hours on admin |
How we look at it at ShoutEx
We start with the CRM and follow-up, then connect proposals, onboarding and delivery. See CRM setup.
- Automating client advice.
- Tools before process.
- No measure.
- Client data in unapproved tools.
- CRM first.
- Proposals and onboarding.
- Measured hours.
- Approved tools.
What consultants say
Here is what consultants say.
Community summaries describe recurring themes in public threads, not individual posts. Vendor pages describe vendor claims, so test them on your own calls.
Read next
Go deeper in the ShoutEx guides, or check the sources behind this answer.
We'll map your admin and pick the first project.
Book a call →Follow-up questions
How long does setup take?
Weeks for the first piece.
Which tools?
Ones that connect to your CRM.
Can I automate invoicing?
Yes, from signing and milestones.