How to Create a Better Workflow for Onboarding New Clients
We want to make our clients’ lives easier, and that starts with a really great onboarding process. Whether you are a coach or a service provider, having a great workflow for onboarding new clients is beneficial by saving you tons of time and providing your client with a great first impression.
In this post, I’m sharing some ways you can improve your onboarding process to wow your clients and streamline your processes.
Set the scene before they sign on
The way you sell your service has a lot to do with how well you and your client will get on working together. While, yes, you want to focus on making the sale you also want to use this time to lay out your processes, establish some boundaries, and start using clear communication with your soon-to-be client.
A wonderful way to start off on the right foot is when you send over your proposal with some options for how you could work together. This could be before your sales call or afterward, but it’s important to share a polished written document outlining your offers so they can see exactly what’s on offer (and what’s not included) upfront.
What happens after they say yes?
Once you’ve done your little happy dance, it’s time to start this new relationship off on the right foot! Promptly sending over your contract and invoice is standard, but an extra touch that goes a long way is including a Welcome Guide as well in that first communication post-sale.
A Welcome Guide is a relatively simple document that lays out the package that your client has selected, your project scope, timeline and any other important details including any next steps your client will need to take. It’s also a great opportunity to spell out in plain English some of the terms from your contract, such as your late fees, rush fees, cancellation & delay policies as well as communication methods, proof & draft processes and anything else that will ease the process of working together.
Having those key pieces of information laid out clearly in a beautiful document received once the stress of deciding who to work with has died down is a much better way to start communicating your terms & boundaries than relying on a complicated contract or potentially uncomfortable conversations down the line!
How will you manage your project?
For smaller projects, simple email communication can be enough to gather everything you need to do your part and deliver everything to your client. But for more complex projects, such as website designs, brand identity designs, large copywriting projects or longer-term assistant roles, having a shared project base can be a lifesaver.
Sharing a Client Project Hub with your client not only makes you look like a truly polished professional, but it makes gathering information & assets from clients much easier, keeps timelines front of mind, and facilitates easier communication throughout the process.
Personally, I love using Notion for my Client Project Hubs and have a bundle with my best client experience systems available for sale in the shop if you want a quick & easy way to add this to your client process!
Confident Client Communication
Clear, polite, and consistent communication is key to a successful client process. And while I’m sure you’re the consummate professional on your client calls, figuring out what to write in your emails can be tricker. From reminding clients about deadlines for feedback, chasing up late payments or even asking for extensions on your side - keeping the lines of communication open and professional is what really sets you apart from other service providers.
That’s why I love having a set of client email templates on hand so I don’t have to hum and hah about what to say when a difficult situation arrises. They also help cut out a lot of time in the less stressful parts of client management too, such as sending over files, invoices and even your offboarding documents.
Final Thoughts
Selling your service is one thing, but building a polished, professional client workflow will help you feel confident in the (hopefully higher!) prices you’re asking, avoid sticky client situations and save you valuable time as you grow your business.
If you’d like to up-level your client experience, I highly recommend checking out my Seamless Client Experience Bundle which includes the Proposal & Welcome Guide Template in Canva, Client Project Hub in Notion and the Client Communication Email Swipe Bank.
