Inside our client onboarding process

Want a sneak peak inside our client onboarding process—from the first time someone contacts us until the project starts?? Well, keep scrollin’ babe ?

One of the mistakes we see designers make when working with clients is not paying enough attention to this part of the process. 

Not only does the onboarding process help someone determine whether they want to work with you, but it sets the tone for the entire project.

Is it going to be easy & fun?
OR
Is it going to be chaotic & heavy?

When we designed our client onboarding process, we prioritized two things:

? CLIENT EASE! It’s so important that nothing about this process feels heavy for the client. We go out of our way to make sure every step involves minimal back & forth, and we use services like Calendly and QuickBooks to simplify things down to a single click.

? SURPRISE & DELIGHT! Whether it’s popping in their inbox with a video to show our excitement, or using a program like Typeform to add personality to our contact form, we infuse little moments of fun throughout the process.

And here’s how we do it, step by step…

Step 1: A warm, friendly contact form

We want our fun, approachable style to come through right away (this is one of the things that makes us unique!), so we use Typeform to make our forms feel more like conversations.

Step 2: Book a call without the back and forth

Next, we send an email with a Calendly link so our new potential client can see our availability & easily book their call. We’re ALL about client ease & simplicity.

PS. We pay for these services because we like the fancy features, but both have free versions!

Step 3: A quick video of our excitement

We feel so honored when someone decides to give us their time and we want them to know! Once they book a call, we record a quick video to say “YAY! We’re so excited to talk to you!”

Step 4: A casual Zoom meet & greet

This kind of thing is sometimes called a “Sales Call,” but eww—who wants to be part of that? No one.
So, instead, we have a Meet & Greet!

This is ALL about the client. We prepare questions, lead the convo, and learn all about their needs.

We don’t make a recommendation for services on this call. We follow-up with a custom proposal based on what we learn!

Step 5: A custom proposal

We customize a proposal for each client that includes:

• Their situation, vision, and needs
• Recommended packages & what’s included in each
• Prices, payment plan, & proposed start/end dates

We send it as a PDF, but also record a Loom walking them through it. We love using Loom to personalize the experience without having to set up a lot of calls (CLIENT EASE!).

**Important note for designers**

When sending proposals, always include a DATE when the price & timeframe expire. We typically use one week.

Here’s why:

⭐️ Part of providing a five-star client experience is keeping control of your schedule (and sanity!) so you can create the best work possible for the people who are paying you.

⭐️ You have to know how many projects + open spots you have at all times. You don’t want a potential client coming back after several months expecting the same price & turnaround time, when your capacity may look very different. That’s a bad experience for everyone.

⭐️ Clarity & boundaries are great for the entire client experience!

Ok, now here’s the last step…

Step 6: Logistics, streamlined

Once a client is ready to move forward, we send everything they need to do in one email, and use services to streamline the process. (CLIENT EASE! Do you see a theme?)

• DocuSign for Contracts
• QuickBooks for Invoices
• Calendly for booking a Discovery Call
• Typeform for the Discovery Exercise
• Google Sheets for the Project Calendar

andddd…ONBOARDING COMPLETE ✔️

Helpful? We hope so!
Please share this with all your designer friends ?‍♀️
…and good luck on your next client project!

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