So you want to clean up your client onboarding process because it’s sooo unorganized right now. You feel like you’re in a total mess, and you KNOW that if you’re feeling confused by your process, so are your clients.
You’re in luck, because by the end of this post you will know my ultimate 5 step client onboarding process and you can implement it in your own design business, so that you can stop stressing about every new client you take on and start wowing them instead.
When I first started out as a freelance graphic designer, I sent Paypal invoices or I tried to create my own invoices in InDesign so they’d look pretty. The problem was, the first option looked unprofessional and the second option took way too long.
I didn’t do Skype or phone consultations with potential clients because I was super introverted. I just talked to them through email.
I created my own contract from bits and pieces of other contracts I found online. Then, I would send the contract to my client and ask them to print it, sign it, scan it and send it back to me.
It sounds chaotic, right?
That’s because it was.
It was not a professional process to take my potential clients through.
Now, if you read all of and thought, “That’s what I do! I don’t think it’s that bad”, then we need to talk about WHY it is bad. In fact, ‘bad’ doesn’t even begin to describe how much your onboarding process is hindering your business.
Think about it. Your client onboarding process is the second impression potential clients get of you. (The first impression is your website.)
If your website and services are drop dead gorgeous but your onboarding process is messy and unprofessional, it puts potential clients off from hiring you. It causes potential clients to stop emailing you back.
Why?
Because their first impression of you and their second impression didn’t add up. It wasn’t consistent. And when your brand isn’t consistent, clients stop viewing you as a professional.
No one wants to work with someone who isn’t organized. Your clients have to spend weeks communicating with you about their project. If you can’t show them right from the beginning that the process is going to be smooth and simple, they’ll find someone else who will.
Now, a messy onboarding process is a problem for anyone. But it’s especially a problem for designers who charge premium prices.
The higher your prices are, the better your client experience should be.
Let’s look at an example.
Imagine if you’re a bride shopping for a wedding dress. If you go to a high-end designer wedding dress shop, you expect more than beautiful dresses, right? You expect a beautiful shop. Attentive staff. Glasses of champagne. You expect the experience of buying the dress to be just as premium as the dress itself.
The same principle applies to your onboarding process. If you want to charge premium prices or you already do, you need to get your onboarding process on the same level.
Watch the video above to learn how or scroll down to keep reading!
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The Ultimate 5-Step Client
Onboarding Process
1. The client gets in touch and receives your autoresponder
Last year I added a new lesson to my course, Organize & Automate, all about autoresponders and my students LOVED it. In fact, hundreds of them implemented it straight away and they’ve told me how much this has helped their potential clients to overcome fears and hesitations about hiring them.
One person even hired my student because of their autoresponder!
Let me explain.
An autoresponder is an automatic email that goes out to everyone who emails you. This is a standard feature of all email providers, like Gmail for instance, so make good use of it.
Use your autoresponder to tell inquirers when they can expect to hear back from you, how long it will take, where to view your price list, and where to view your FAQ page.
The main goal of your autoresponder is to keep your clients informed and cut down on the number of questions you could potentially email back and forth about.
By the time you personally email them back, they should have all the information they need to book your services! They may just to finalize a few things on a consultation and then boom, they’re ready to work with you.
2. Send your first reply
In your first reply, send a quote, ask them to schedule a free consultation call, and send them to your onboarding page.
First, lets look at sending a quote.
There are lots of tools you can use to send a quote, like Pancake App, Wave Apps, Dubsado or Freshbooks! I’ve used my fair few over the years.
Here are the pros and cons of each:
Wave: Wave is free. I love Wave for bookkeeping but not so much for invoicing because you can only invoice in your own currency as far as I’m aware. However, if you’re on a budget then this is a good option!
Pancake App*: Pay once and never again. You have to install this software on your own server, but don’t worry. When I last checked, the Pancake team do this part for you if you want them to. I love Pancake because it comes with all the features you need, like invoices, estimates, proposals and a time tracker. Your invoices are fully customizable so you can brand them to your heart’s content. You can also send invoices in any currency!
Dubsado*: Dubsado is becoming really popular. It’s an all-in-one solution where you can send invoices and contracts, manage your projects, create forms, send emails, manage your bookkeeping and more. However, it starts at $35 a month, so it’s not suitable for you if you have a small budget.
Freshbooks*: Freshbooks is probably the most popular accounting software for small businesses. Their support team is amazing and with the new Freshbooks update, it’s everything you need. Again though, it’s not free, so it may not be suitable for beginners who have a tiny budget.
Second, let’s look at offering a consultation…
You can schedule the consultation by using an online scheduler like Calendly. (If you use Dubsado* it has a built-in appointment scheduling feature.)
When you use an appointment scheduler like Calendly, it allows you to send your potential client a link to schedule an appointment. The client can then see all the times you’re available for the call. The best part? Calendly can automatically detect which timezone they’re in and display the appointment times in their timezone!
When the client schedules a consultation, the appointment is added to both of your calendars and you’re both sent a reminder just before the call.
Third, let’s talk Onboarding Pages…
This is a page on your website that should include all the information your client needs to know before hiring you, like:
Your work hours
How long they will have to wait to receive replies to their emails
FAQ’s
Your design process
Your availability
Your pricing
You basically reiterate the information that was inside your autoresponder but go into more detail.
Sending your clients to an onboarding page will cut down on the amount of questions they ask you before booking your service. Plus, it’s shows your clients how pro you are!
3. Have a free consultation
When I started doing client consultations, I booked SO many more clients. My conversion rate doubled.
Clients want to see who they will be working with. A consultation helps them see if they like you, vibe with you and trust you.
Consultations also help you understand if the client is a good fit for you. You can spot red flags more easily on a video call than you would in an email.
4. Send a contract
After the consultation, you need to get your client booked in your schedule. To do this, send them a contract and invoice within 24 hours of the call ending.
You shouldn’t start any work until your client signs your contract. Contracts protect you from late payments, disappearing clients, scope creep and lots more nightmares.
Let me tell you a story.
When I first started out, I had a client that owed me $800 for her web design but she decided not to pay me because she didn’t need the website anymore.
If I didn’t have a contract in place, I would have had no grounds to ask her to give me that $800. In fact, I KEPT asking her for it. I KEPT reminding her she had signed a contract. And finally, I threatened legal action.
Bingo.
She paid.
I would not have retrieved the money she owed me if I didn’t have a contract.
(Need a legit contract template? A template made specifically for web, graphic or print designers? I recommend The Contract Shop!*)
5. Send your client to your welcome page
The client signed your contract and paid a nonrefundable deposit to book their spot on your calendar!
Now send them to your welcome page. A welcome page lists everything your clients needs to know about working with you effectively, and outlines your processes, policies and boundaries.
Include:
A video tutorial on how to use your project management tool
What you’ll need from your client before the project can start
Feedback guidelines
Payment policies
Communication boundaries
What happens next
If you want to see an example of an onboarding page and welcome page and learn exactly how to create yours, join my course, Organize & Automate.
Learn the tools you should use to organize your client onboarding process with this FREE roadmap!
