Recently one of my favorite clients reached out to me. My Word Publishing (MWP) came to me looking for a solution to manage their award-winning authors, editors, and designers early this year. Others had pitched them custom solutions with price tags upwards of ten thousand dollars. I knew right away there was a better way. So I immediately set to work creating a demo of Teamwork to show them a world of possibilities.
About My Word Publishing
My Word Publishing is an agency that helps authors navigate the world of self-publishing with integrity and honesty. As a result, they have a dedicated group of authors, many of whom return to publish with them multiple times.
I’ve worked with creatives and in Project Management for over 20 years. So, the opportunity to create a CRM and Project solution that supported an agency of creatives was music to my ears.
Challenge
MWP Owner Polly Letofsky, coincidentally the first woman to walk around the world, and I met to discuss MWP’s needs. MWP has a range of users at various skill levels. Teamwork offered a solution robust enough for experienced users but easily accessible to novices.
Polly was looking for a solution that could help her predict and track revenue. But, she also needed a way to track the hundreds of activities across projects. Teamwork Project and Teamwork CRM seemed to be the perfect pairing. So we set about trying to show just how we could pull it together.
Top MWP Needs
1) Manage Basic CRM Needs
2) Unique Project Management for Each Author/Book
3) Author Management (at low or no cost)
4) Manage a rotating group of editors and designers
5) 3rd Party Tool Integration
How Teamwork Met the Challenge
1) Manage Basic CRM Needs
The first thing MWP needed was a way to log new and returning authors. While more robust CRM’s are on the market, the price point and seamless integration with Teamwork Project made Teamwork CRM the obvious choice.
In a matter of minutes, we were able to design lead and opportunity workflows from the moment an author reached out until a new contract was signed. The ability to add custom fields and workflows was a huge bonus, and one MWP took full advantage. But there was another surprise waiting that I will discuss more later on. Hint, it has to do with 3rd party integration.
Once an Author signed a contract, MWP was ready to move them into the project management phase. Because of Teamwork’s seamless integration, a consultant needs only create a new project based on an existing template. So let’s take a closer look at that phase.
2) Unique Project Management for Each Author/Book
Each Author follows a specific path for their book, but the nuts and bolts are relatively consistent. Leveraging Teamwork’s Project and List Templates, we devised a series of unique one-click templates. Each is easily adjustable to meet MWP’s particular needs, from ala carte projects to genre-specific books with specific requirements.
Each New Book project has a dedicated team to help the Author through every phase of their book journey. Teamwork helps provide structure, guidance, and granular permissions to allow just the right amount of transparency. That power enables MWP to manage all facets of its business seamlessly.
The ability to manage all edits, changes, and resources was no problem using Teamworks file management. We took things one step further by integrating with DropBox to reduce bloat and keep file storage costs down.
3) Author Management (at low or no cost) / 4) Manage a rotating group of editors and designers
Another concern MWP had was the number of licenses required to manage their ever-changing number of authors. They were thrilled that they could leverage collaborators at no cost. Yet another significant aspect of Teamwork Project is its flexibility and awareness when it comes to shifting team members. Not tieing up user licenses is a big selling point with Road ASchooled Customers, and MWP was no exception.
Editors and designers often come and go on projects as well. Since they require minimal interaction with Teamwork, Project MWP was thrilled that they too could be Free collaborators.
5) 3rd Party Tool Integration
I mentioned a surprise back in part 1, and here it is. Zapier integrations. Zapier, for those unfamiliar, allows non-coders to create powerful integrations between seemingly disparate systems.
In MPW’s case, they use Acuity on their websites to manage meetings. It just so happens Teamwork Project and Teamwork CRM can leverage Zapier alongside Acuity. In a matter of minutes, we set up a fully automated solution. When a user fills out a selected time in Acuity, Zapier instantly creates a new lead, activity, and contact in Teamwork CRM.
My Word Publishing Teamwork Project & CRM
By using non-proprietary and established technology with a long life ahead of it, My Word Publishing was able to feel secure in its decision not to build a homegrown solution.
In the end, we were able to create an entire agency solution in under 30 days, including planning and training. That aggressive schedule would not have been possible without Teamwork. Additionally, edits and changes are a breeze. Self Publishing a single book contains nearly 200 individual tasks. Having every step accounted for through Teamwork brings MWP and its authors peace of mind.
Next Steps
If you’d like to try out Teamwork for yourself, you can get started FREE with a 30-day trial. After that, you can choose to continue with a paid license or use a limited but powerful feature set FREE FOREVER.
I highly recommend, at a minimum, the base version as it opens up many possibilities at a crazy low price point. We use the Pro Plan starting at only $10 per month to manage all Road Schooled Projects. If you need extra help getting started with Teamwork Project in your organization, drop us a message, we’d love to help you out.
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