Oh my goodness, I can’t believe this is going to air on New Year’s Eve! I’m already feeling the New Year energy, even though it’s not quite the new year yet. Anyway, I’m really excited about today’s episode about getting faster responses from your clients or team in the new year. As we’re all setting goals, I considered doing a goal-setting episode. But then I thought, you know what? Sometimes, what we need most are things that help us hit our goals in ways that go beyond the usual advice.
For me, one of the biggest things is communication. It’s definitely a skill I’ve been working on over the past year, and it’s something I want to continue improving. If I’m being honest, strong communication skills don’t come as naturally as you might think. At least for me!
If you’ve ever found your contractors dropping the ball, constantly asking for clarification, or delivering work that doesn’t meet expectations, or if you feel like clients are pushing boundaries, these issues often boil down to poor or unclear communication.
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Table of Contents
Let me just back up a second. So my experience—I have clients across a wide range of industries, from solopreneurs to seven-figure businesses. Most of them are selling services, but some are also selling courses, digital products, or e-commerce.
I would also say that I have more of a volume business. I work with a lot of clients. Some of my clients communicate exclusively through email, others use Voxer, and some rely on client management systems. Others are a mix of everything. When I talk about improving communication, I’m not here to sell you on a specific tool—though tools can certainly help. Instead, I want to focus on strategies that make communication more effective, no matter the platform you’re using.
There’s no “one platform” that makes you a better communicator or get faster responses
Like I said, I usually match my clients’ preferences for communication. Maybe it’s my Libra energy coming through—balance, whatever you want, I can accommodate. Honestly, I’ve found that my clients really appreciate this flexibility, that I can work with their systems, whatever they may be.
So, all that to say: this episode isn’t about aligning with a specific system. It’s more about sharing tips that will help people communicate better. I’ve started using these strategies not just to communicate better with my team, but I’ve also noticed that certain patterns stand out. The clients who get the best responses from me tend to be doing these things, and I’ve seen that I get the best responses from clients when I do them too.
I also want to add that I know some of my clients listen to this podcast. This is not a call-out directed at anyone. These are just patterns I’ve observed. Nothing I’m going to talk about here is about one client doing something that’s driving me crazy—you are not being talked about here.
1. Include the link, when you mention a link
So, number one: include links when you mention a link. This is one of the easiest things to do, and one of my clients actually pointed it out to me. They said, “I love when people include links when they mention stuff.” And I realized how much it helps.
For example, instead of saying, “Hey, I have that blog draft ready for your review,” you can say, “Here’s the link.” Or, “I wrote an email in your email management platform,” and include, “Here’s the link to review it.” Always link things, even if people know where to find them.
This is something I really want to stress—even if people know where to find it. Especially with clients who have multiple projects or systems, like WordPress, where I might have two months’ worth of scheduled blog posts. If I’m going to review something, I’d have to scroll through everything to find the latest draft.
Adding a link makes things so much easier. And again, even if people know where to find it—yes, I know I’m repeating this point to death—it’s still super helpful.
2. Send a TEXT message about what’s inside a voice note
The second tip is for all my Voice Note Queens—and there are so many of you! I’d say 90% of my clients like to send voice notes, and I’m totally fine with that. But here’s my advice: tell someone what’s in a voice note.
Voice notes, in my opinion, are best for communicating ideas, not to-do lists. That’s my second point about voice notes. If someone sends me a voice note asking me to do something, it’s really easy for that request to get lost. You send a voice note, I reply with another, and suddenly we’re in the middle of a back-and-forth conversation. Then I’m left wondering, “Wait, what did they ask me to do?” and I have to scroll back to find the voice note.
Voice notes are great for sharing ideas, but not necessarily for task requests. And, as I said, always tell someone what’s in the voice note. For example, I like to send a voice note and then follow it up with a comment like, “Not urgent—this is about XYZ.” That way, the person knows what it’s about and can decide when they’re ready to listen to it.
This is so helpful. Sometimes when a client sends me a message and I don’t know what it’s about, I feel like I need to save it until I have the mental space to focus. But if they’d said, “Urgent—this is about X,” I’d know right away if it’s something I need to prioritize.
I just think it’s really helpful to clarify urgency in your voice notes. If something is time-sensitive, say it: “I need an answer today, or I won’t be able to do X, Y, Z.”
One more thought about voice notes in general—these are just my opinions, but you might have your own. It’s important to communicate which channels are appropriate for which types of communication. For example, unless I know my clients love voice notes, I’ll usually email them when a blog is ready for review. Or, I’ll tag them in their project management system. I won’t typically send a Voxer message about a completed blog unless I know that’s their preference.
3. One idea = one email chain to get faster responses
There are a few reasons for this when it comes to being a better communicator and getting faster responses. First, things can easily get lost. For example, you might be looking for a specific blog post, only to realize it was mentioned in an email chain about an upcoming event. It’s so easy for details to get buried.
Second—and this is the biggest one—when people feel overwhelmed, they don’t take action. Overwhelm can show up in different ways. It’s not always about having a massive to-do list; sometimes it’s just the mental load of thinking, “Oh my gosh, I need to come back to this later.”
When someone receives an email with eight quick questions plus one long, nuanced one, the big question can hold up the entire response. If you want faster responses, keeping one idea per email chain makes it more actionable.
A bonus tip for this: Use keyword-rich subject lines. Think about what someone would search for later when they need to find this email. A clear subject line makes things so much easier to locate.
4. Tell someone how long a Loom video is
First, I’m a huge fan of Loom videos over meetings. I’ll admit, I often forget what we cover in meetings. Yes, there are tools like Fathom that generate detailed meeting notes, but I’ll sometimes forget to check those notes until the next meeting. A loom reduces the chance your work will get procrastinated and in turn get you faster responses.
That’s why I love Loom videos—they let me reference things at my own pace. However, it’s super helpful to let someone know how long the Loom is before they start watching. For example, there’s a big difference between a two-minute Loom and a 20-minute Loom.
If it’s a two-minute Loom, I might watch it right away, even on my phone. But if it’s a 20-minute Loom, I might wait until I’m sitting down to work on that project. Giving someone a heads-up about the length helps them plan their time. You don’t want someone starting your 20-minute Loom, getting interrupted, and then forgetting to come back to it later.
A simple comment like, “Hey, I recorded a 12-minute Loom for you,” makes a huge difference.
For my team, I use Loom videos a lot—especially for training. For example, if I’m showing someone how to do a task or sharing my process for something, I’ll create a longer Loom. If it’s more than five minutes and involves multiple steps, I’ll also generate a transcript. Then, I’ll use ChatGPT to turn that transcript into a step-by-step list.
This way, people can watch the video if they want to see the process in action, but they don’t need to rewatch it a hundred times to remember all the steps.
5. Stop Saying There’s No Real Deadline Or Trying to be Chill. It’s OK to Have Deadlines!
Okay, number five: Stop saying there’s no real deadline or trying so hard to seem chill. Let’s be honest—none of us as business owners are that chill. Sure, sometimes I feel like I’m laid-back, but there are definitely moments when I’m not.
Here’s the thing: it’s your job—our job—to lead. Whether it’s your team, your clients, or your relationships with vendors, you need to take the lead. This applies to networking too. Be strategic and put effort into those relationships. This isn’t directly about deadlines, but it ties in.
One of my favorite insights came from Ellie Brown Branding’s episode (Episode 14), where she referenced a Brené Brown quote: “Clear is kind, unclear is unkind.”
This doesn’t mean you have to be rigid about deadlines, like “I need this by this exact date.” But you can say something like, “I’m hoping to have this done this quarter,” or “Within the next couple of weeks.” It’s simple and makes communication clearer for everyone involved. Expectations are set, and they’re much easier to meet (and get faster responses).
As a contractor, I can say this: we want to meet your deadlines. But when you tell us there’s no rush, and we have a million things on our to-do list, we’ll take your word for it. Sometimes that “no rush” turns into months. It happens, and it’s the worst.
So, I’m just being honest—it’s totally okay to give a rough deadline. This allows the other person to confirm if they can meet it or let you know otherwise. Instead of saying, “Oh, whenever,” when it’s really not “whenever,” just give a clear timeline.
I’m going to do a whole episode on this at some point because I made a lot of communication mistakes with my Love at First Travel business, especially when I was first growing a team. Honestly, those mistakes didn’t stop after the initial growth phase; they carried into bigger issues later on. But that’s a story for another time—it deserves its own episode.
For now, I just want to say: we need to stop being afraid to take the lead in communication. That’s really the key here.
If you want faster responses and better communication, now you know what to do!
So, just to recap: if you’re a bad communicator, here are five simple shifts to help you become a better communicator and get faster responses in the new year:
- Include links whenever you’re referencing something. If there’s a link, include it—no exceptions.
- Tell someone what’s in a voice note and let them know if it’s urgent or not.
- Keep your email chains clean: one idea, one email chain, ideally with a keyword-rich subject line.
- Tell someone how long a Loom video is. If it’s a task-oriented video, consider running the transcription through an AI tool to turn it into a clear to-do list they can follow.
- Take ownership of the conversation. Set deadlines and clear expectations. Don’t be afraid to take the lead—being clear doesn’t mean you’re not chill!
These tweaks will help people respond faster, stop leaving you hanging because they’re unsure what’s expected, and avoid long back-and-forth communication, like 10-minute voice messages, if that’s not your preference.
These are really simple shifts, but honestly, I’ve been implementing them for almost a year now, and they’ve made a huge difference. I’m noticing more and more how impactful they are, and I’ve been paying close attention because communication is one of those skills that isn’t as intuitive as we might think. I mean, we all talk all day every day, right? But there’s always room to improve.
So that’s all I have for you! Happy New Year—and Happy New Year’s Eve if you’re listening to this on the day it goes live. I’m so grateful you’re spending part of your new year with me. I hope you plan to spend 2025 with me too! I’ll chat with you next week with that fresh New Year energy. Goodbye!
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