What is Onboarding? Why You Need a Solid Client Onboarding Process in Your Business
What does client onboarding mean? If you offer 1-on-1 online services to your clients, then don’t skip this week’s post. We talk all about the importance of onboarding and the purpose of an onboarding process in your business.
Note: This post may contain links to products, services, or tools on which we may earn a commission if you make a purchase through that link. This would never come as any extra charge to you and we want you to know that we never recommend any products we haven’t used before and that we don’t absolutely love.
In the beginning…
When we started Brighten Bookkeeping Co., one of the very first things we started planning almost immediately was our process for onboarding new clients.
We both knew, through previous experience, the importance of onboarding the right way from the get-go.
See, when you onboard new clients, having a well-thought-out and documented intake and onboarding system and process in place ensures that you, your clients, and your business are all set up for success in at least two ways:
You have the peace of mind that no detail will ever slip through the cracks; and
The tone for the entire working relationship with your client is set. They know from the outset that they’re going to be taken care of and that they can depend on you 100% for delivering whatever your phenomenal service. And that trust, that knowledge, is key for building and growing your business.
So what is onboarding? What does client onboarding mean?
First, let’s take it one step back before onboarding because if I’m going to define onboarding I first need to explain intake.
Client Intake
When I talk about intake, I’m really talking about what happens when a lead comes to you to see how you can help them. This lead could come via a referral, through your website, through one of your social media channels – anywhere.
And intake, in the context of 1-on-1 virtual services (whether it’s web design, copywriting, virtual assistance…really, anything), essentially refers to everything leading up to and including that discovery call/consultation/virtual coffee – whatever your term you use for what is essentially your sales call.
Client Onboarding
So, if intake is everything leading up to and including that sales call, then in this context onboarding is everything that happens after you land the client. If you’ve ever had a call with a potential client and then went, “Yes! Uh….now what?”, the answer to that question is onboarding.
Make sense? Good. Stick with me.
The Tools
Now before I start getting into any more details, I want you to know that the tools, the systems, and the processes around both intake and onboarding in your business is going to 100% depend on how you work, how your clients like to work, and what services you offer. What I’m providing you with from this point on is essentially a guideline from which you can work.
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When it comes to both intake and onboarding, there are really 3 essential tools you need:
1. A Scheduling App
(Tool of choice: Dubsado)
An online scheduler is really critical when you work online for several reasons.
First, it saves you from all the back-and-forthing trying to find a mutually suitable time. The app syncs with your calendar and pulls your availability from it.
Plus you can get more specific than that. For example, let’s say you only want to hold discovery calls on Tuesdays, you can tell the scheduling app that and when someone goes to schedule it they only see your availability on Tuesdays.
It also removes those pesky time-zone problems. Oftentimes, you could be meeting with folks who could literally be anywhere in the world.
Your scheduling app should be able to show the person scheduling available times in THEIR time zone.
And on your end, the booking comes through in your time zone.
It also sends auto-reminders (which you can totally customize) and it makes it easy for people to reschedule.
2. A CRM & Invoicing System
(like Dubsado – did you notice I also included this one in the scheduler category? Yeah, this tool is fantastic)
A CRM, or customer relationship management system, allows you to store all of your client information in one place and should tell you where a lead or client is in your pipeline.
A system like Dubsado can do even more than that – you can send your contracts, emails, forms, and invoices all from that system. And you can automate a lot.
3. A Meeting Tool
(like Zoom)
These days, I don’t think I need to tell you the value of having some sort of online meeting tool. It’s so much easier, cost-effective, and efficient when you don’t have to have calls over the phone! And most tools, Zoom included, have a free plan you can take advantage of until you’re ready to upgrade – if you ever need to.
Intake Process
The 2 main elements, or tools, to your intake process are your scheduling app (see number 1 above) and your intake form.
Link to Scheduler
Now on your website, you should have at least one place where someone can easily click to book their appointment (for example, on our website, we make it really easy and have a place on our home page, about page, and work with us page) . They click the button and it takes them to your consultation appointment page.Link Intake Form
Then when they book the appointment, you want to make sure they complete an intake form. So the link to this form should be in the appointment confirmation email and then in the first reminder (24 hours) email as well, just in case.
So what is an intake form, you might be asking? It allows you to gather the critical info you need to conduct your call so that you know exactly what you’ll be addressing going into the call.
This form should ideally come directly from your CRM (Dubsado does a great job of this) or be set up to transfer the info from the form into your system – in other words, you don’t want to have to re-enter the answers into your system. This piece really should be automated.
Intake Form Questions
As for the actual questions that go on the form, that’s really something you will need to consider for your own specific business. Apart from name, email and perhaps website, the rest is really dependent on what you do and how you serve your clients. But whatever you include, make sure you’re taking the time to really think about the information you want to gather ahead of time.
Now you could also have folks fill out the intake form PRIOR to booking the call with you – this could potentially weed out people who need something different than what you can offer them. This is actually the way we operate here at Brighten Bookkeeping Co., and it serves us, and our potential clients, really well because it gives us a way to ensure we’re the right fit for each other before spending (or wasting) time on a call.
So that part is really up to you, but if you do decide to do the intake form first just keep in mind that you’ll need to have a process for sending the booking link to those you do want to meet with.
Once the lead has booked the meeting and filled out the form, now all that’s left at this point is to actually hold the call!
And that’s the intake process…but now what?
Onboarding Process
Let’s say you’ve done the call and the lead is now ready to buy! Hooray! But what comes next?
Now it’s time to onboard them. And as I said before, like the intake process, this is something that you’ll definitely want to personalize and make your own, as each step depends on what you do and how you work.
Onboarding Step One
So the first thing you want to do is send your contract and that first invoice. Ideally, if you’re using a system like Dubsado, you can set up a workflow to automate this whole piece for you.
A workflow, by the way, is essentially another word for a process. So you’ve got step one – in this case, sending the contract and invoice.
Onboarding Step Two
Step two is sending the welcome package. This package exists to basically lay out what your new client can expect from you. This would be things like your working/operating hours, your communication turnaround time, your method(s) of communication, when and how often you invoice, when payment is due and your payment terms, your meeting link, your contact information, and any other crucial info. This way, your client has something to refer back to at any given time.
Onboarding Step Three
Once you send that, then you have your client schedule (using your scheduler) a kick-off meeting. The purpose of this meeting is to go over any particular questions your client may have to this point and to start the work.
After that, off you go!
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