Four for Friday: All Onboard!
Oh, the joy and freedom of having a client onboarding system!
On Fridays I give you the four best workflow tips from inside my brain and around the web. And we call it Four for Friday. Welcome!
Onboarding is for closers
You got the gig, and now the real work begins - getting you and your client on the same page. Here are the four keys of successful onboarding and how to swing them:
Set expectations
Start with your own: this is something that you’re going to have to do several times with them in the beginning, so it sticks. As far as setting your client’s onboarding expectations…
Your contract - define the scope of your services, include what happens if they ask for more than what they’re paying for. Follow the money: Highlight your cancellation and refund clauses. Travel and additional costs they are responsible for. These are things you need to have mentioned before, so there are no surprises.
Welcome letter - Your welcome letter is the first look at what it is going to be like to work with you. Thank them for hiring you, first of all! Let them know what your “office hours” are, and when and how (phone, email, text) they can easily reach you. Tell them what the next step in your process is - are you scheduling a follow up call? Sending a questionnaire? And, finish with a brief outline of what your process will be to complete their event or project. Include deadlines.
Build Trust
NO SURPRISES - An important part of onboarding is making sure that you’ve discussed the “sticky” parts of your process - the non-refundables, the additional costs, the payment plans - before they get your contract.
Do what you say you’re going to do - Don’t leave your client hanging! Send the questionnaire the next day, schedule the first call right away. And, don’t leave more than 24 hours between when they sign the contract and the next time they hear from you. Remind them after every communication what’s coming up next. Consistency is a crucial part of onboarding.
Hype your availability - Put your phone number and office hours in your email. Ask them if they have any questions in every communication. Email and phone number on everything, including your website. Let them know you are right here if they need you.
Prevent friction
Don’t put yourself on defense - get ahead of whatever might slow your onboarding process down. Friction is caused by confusion and time creep. Automating as much as possible will cut away most of that. Using a CRM (client relationship manager) like Honeybook or Dubsado is the best way to do this - you can schedule a workflow that will take your client straight from their contract to your welcome letter to any documents or questionnaires you need to send them along the way.
If you don’t have a CRM (and you should), you can create document and email templates in your email, so they’re easily set up and clickable. You can schedule gmail 49 years in advance. Take advantage of it!
Creating a solid onboarding process is often overlooked because you want to move on to the actual good stuff - doing the the thing. But taking the time to streamline how you introduce your clients to your business will save you both a ton of stress and time.
If this sounds like a great idea, but you’re not sure how to get started, let’s talk. Click the button below to contact me and schedule a free consultation. See in the next few minutes, first hand, what your inquiry and onboarding process could look like.
I’ll talk to you soon,
Elizabeth
