How to onboard a new client (my complete automated process)
On-boarding….what the heck is that? When I first heard the term ‘onboarding’, I immediately thought of hopping on a boat to sail away to somewhere exotic. You know….get ‘on board’ something...?
I learnt very quickly that the term ‘onboard’ has absolutely nothing to do with boats, and has everything to do with the process of bringing on a new client.
Have you ever agreed to work with a company, hired out a creative contractor, or signed up for a new phone contract? If the answer is yes, then you have been exposed to an onboarding sequence. Try and think about the start to finish process that you went through. From the initial enquiry, to the complimentary consult call to signing the official documents, these are all integral parts of the onboarding process.
Now, try and think of how that process made you feel. Was the whole experience easy, straightforward and informative? Or was it frustrating, as you found yourself constantly chasing up the contractor or consultant to find out what your next steps were? It is important to remember how this process made you feel, as this will guide you on how to onboard your new clients and employees moving forward.
I’m all about automating and keeping everything as streamlined as possible in business, and having an onboarding sequence is a big part of that if you are working with clients frequently.
If you don’t have any sort of onboarding process, you might already know how messy it can get when you’re brining in new clients. There’s a lot to organise! So creating a process that you can copy + repeat every time is ideal!
In this post, I’m going to give you the full breakdown into a complete onboarding process, one I’ve tried and tested many times for many clients! Hopefully this will help you create your own onboarding process for your specific business and client needs.
Here’s a simple visual breakdown of the process, before we dive into it:
1. Email enquiry comes in
Like any sequence, there must be an initial touch point. Generally speaking, the first step that someone takes when they are considering working with you, or hiring you to assist them with their project or business is to reach out via an enquiry form. This is where having an enquiry form and clear CTA (call to action) on your website is super important. The easier it is for someone to reach out and make contact with you, the more likely they are to do so!
Always make sure you have a contact page, a contact form and a linked email address for users to get in touch with you. (It might be time to change that old ‘disneylover1992’ hotmail address and swap to a professional email address from a business server such as gmail or outlook).
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2. Auto responder
This one is also super useful. Enabling an auto responder on your emails means that your enquirer is being responded to somewhat instantly, and is being notified that their mail has been received and will be answered as soon as possible.
You could either set this up as:
An automatic email response (best method)
An automatic contact form post-submit message
A message above your contact form
Whatever way you do it, this is something that should be seen by your inquirer instantly and automatically. It is not something you should be sending manually.
It should cover these 4 points:
How long it will take to respond depending on the enquiry
How people can read your FAQ
How people can read more about your services
What you can and can’t respond to
This makes the enquirer feel acknowledged and attended to and is establishing a positive relationship from the very beginning.
Check out this example:
Hey there! Erica here.
I'm just popping in to let you know that your email has made it to our inbox!
We're pretty busy working on XYZ over here, so I thought it might be useful for me to give you some info on when to expect a reply:
In the meantime, why don’t you check out our services page {link} and read up on what’s involved or take a look at our FAQs {link} to see if we may have already answered your question.
Due to the high volume of emails we get, unfortunately we are not able to respond to requests about XYZ questions. If you do need some help with XYZ, check out our blog where I spill all of my best info!
Please note that our regular business email hours are Monday - Friday, 9-5pm (PST) and we don’t respond in the weekends.
Thanks so much for your email!
3. Enquiry document
The Enquiry Document is a basic document that gives your enquirers more information about the particular package they are enquiring about, and tells them how to move forward.
For example, if they email you asking about your Copywriting Services, you can respond to their enquiry with your Copywriting Enquiry Document which has tons of information in it about that particular service.
The goal of this document is to save you time going back and forth, and to answer your enquirer’s questions before they have a chance to ask them.
The document should include:
Intro: a thank you, an intro of you who are, and a reminder to read the whole document.
Package Breakdown: who is this for, how long will it take, how much does it cost, what does the general process look like, FAQs etc.
What to do next: Book a complimentary consultation - with a link to your calendar + how to prepare for the call.
Contact info: Provide an email contact if they have any extra questions.
When you send the document to enquirers, make sure to include a friendly message with it:
Hey there!
Thanks so much for your email.
I have attached a document with more information about the XYZ package, please read this thoroughly and if you would like to move forward, use the link in the document to book a complimentary consultation call so we can chat more about your project!
Thanks!
As you can see, the message is polite, informative and provides an immediate action for the enquirer. Creating an enquiry document to send out is a simple task that will save you so much time in the future - especially when the number of daily enquiries increase!
4. Consult Call
Typically the next step to follow on from an enquiry form is a consult call.
Consultation calls are essentially just calls with your potential clients so you can discuss their needs and expectations for the project, and it’s also your chance to explain to them how exactly the package works and what they will get.
It is common practice (although not completely necessary— just a nice touch) that most businesses and employers will offer a complimentary 15-30 minute consult call. This is your chance to chat to the enquirer and to find out in more detail what exactly it is that they are after, and what their expectations are. Establishing expectations from the start is important as it allows both parties to proceed with the process with confidence knowing that they are on the same page.
To host consult calls, I prefer to use Google Hangouts or Zoom. Both platforms are completely free, and are very easy to use. You are also able to record your calls, meaning that you have records of everything that has been discussed. This is a super handy feature when creating your proposal as there is nothing worse than forgetting what was discussed, or what prices and time frames were mentioned!
To book the consult call in easily (without much back and both) set up a booking calendar with Calendly, which you can link to in the above Enquiry Document!
5. Proposal, contract + invoice
Woohoo! If you have reached this point, then that means that thus far you have had a very positive exchange with your enquirer and are contemplating working together! This is one of the most exciting stages of the onboarding process, as it is your last chance to really knock their socks off and impress them with a killer proposal!
I recommend following up within the hour after your consult call has commenced with your proposal document, contract and invoice.
Don’t leave it too long, sending the proposal fast is professional and you’ll still be on the front of their mind.
If you are sitting there wondering what on earth to include in your proposal document… don’t panic! I’ve got you covered! Below is an example of everything that I like to include:
Proposal document:
A proposal document should include a short personalized message about the project and a detailed breakdown of the package with every single deliverable that will be included— including any additional items or changes they requested on the call. This document should also include:
A proposed timeline
An estimated commencement date
A quote for the project/job
A legal contract
Your contract:
You MUST have a contract in place for each of your packages. A contract is a legally binding document that has the capacity to save your ass if you ever find yourself in a sticky situation (which, hopefully you don’t!) I recommend purchasing a contract template and customizing it for each of your packages. This is the most streamlined process, and it means that you will come to know the ins and outs of the contract. I recommend the following for contract templates:
yourlegalbff.com (use code DBA15 for 15% off!)
6. Deposit paid + contract signed
When sending out the above documents, I usually require everything to be returned and signed within 48 hours. This allows the (now client!) plenty of time to pay the deposit, and to sign the documents. You can adjust this time depending on your business, but I always recommend giving them a time frame to work with.
I also recommend telling them that if they don’t get the documents back within this time frame, then they will lose their starting date. Otherwise, they could sit on it 6 months before they sign!
Once they have everything returned with signatures, and paid the deposit, I then send them a welcome package!
7. Welcome Package
The welcome package is basically just a document that welcomes the client into working with you, sets expectations for the project and tells the client exactly what they need to do next.
I always send this right after the client has signed the contract, paid their deposit and secured their booking with you.
A welcome package should include the following:
A short congrats and thanks to your client for booking with you!
A quick explanation of what the Welcome Package is and that they need to read through it thoroughly and complete the steps laid out.
A detailed outline of any homework you need them to do before you start their project.
I also like to give an overview of the actual package process from start to finish.
Include a list and explanation of any software that they need to be familiar with for the project.
Set clear expectations: Working + Contact hours, Revisions policy, Schedule policy and anything else you think is important to cover!
And that’s it! Your onboarding is complete. Take this outline and adapt it any way you need to for your business + packages.
The next step would be to create an amazing workflow process for each package you have (I love Asana for this) so you can easily rinse + repeat it each time!
How to Onboard template clients
If this whole process is sounding a little overwhelming to you and you’d rather minimise (or avoid altogether 🙊) dealing with 1:1 clients, then we can’t recommend selling templates enough!
Not only will selling templates allow you to have more freedom and make more money (passively!), it’s a great way to showcase your style and expertise, but also reach a wider audience and serve more clients, without spending more time, especially on a complex onboarding process like the above!
While you should still have a rudimentary onboarding for your customers that purchase a template as well, a simple automated welcome email including instructions on how to access and use their new template is more than enough to keep everyone satisfied!
👉 Want to learn what it takes to set up a successful template shop? Check out our free training!
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