Client Onboarding

Client onboarding is a vital part of nurturing your studio/client relationship and ensuring you’re both on the same page. The truth is, the client isn’t often certain what’s going on, and they get nervous about hanging their project over and never knowing exactly where it’s at. A kickoff process helps them get an inside glimpse of how you work and leaves them feeling confident they’ve made the right decision.

<== Click on "Collect Client Info" to get started. 

First, you will need to create a customer account in the accounting system. Watch the short video below for instructions on how to properly setup an account profile.

The information here is being passed systematically from our CRM system. The sales and marketing team or studio director will have additional details about the client if needed to create the on-boarding profile. 

Remember to also add a follow-up task for 2 weeks!

Next, select the required client phases in scope for this project. Choose the requested services from the sub-checklist below.

This should be done in Base CRM and passed to this process automatically via an integration, but you can also enter the data manually. In both cases, use the data to fill in the form fields below.

Next, send a welcome email and a cover letter. Store a copy of your cover letter using the form field below.

If you do not already have a cover letter set out, see below for a sample you can work from.

‘If you hold a customer’s hand for 90 days, they’ll be loyal for life’. – John Jantsch

For a full breakdown of this cover letter, please see this article on About.com

Send the client a welcome package (digital) or prepare a welcome package for the initial kickoff meeting (hard copy).

There is no "one-size fits all" for your welcome kit, as every business has different objectives and budgets. However, there are some common features to new client welcome kits, so use this checklist as a jumping off point.

Introduction letter tips

Start by expressing appreciation for their business. Congratulate them on taking steps toward what they need. Provide a brief overview of your business and services and an outline of what is included in their welcome kit. This helps solidify to them that they made the right choice by hiring you. If they had any buyer’s remorse after signing up with you, this will help calm that emotion.

From there, consider highlighting anything in the kit you’d like them to pay special attention to. For example, you may want them to understand your office hours, holiday closures, how to handle appointment rescheduling, common turn-around times, who to contact on your team for certain things, best times to reach you, VIP/client-only ways to contact you and so forth.

If you have a referral program, consider including information about it, as clients will likely want to refer others to you. If there is an incentive for them to do so, all the better.

Now you should outline the agenda of the initial meeting, utilizing the form fields below.

Send them the full address with a link to Google Maps and any additional information they may need such as parking or public transport access.

Attach the contract so they can read and review it before the meeting. Use the form field below to record a copy of their individual contract.

This will help them sign the contract quickly when they come to the meeting and will allow them to prepare questions of anything they are unsure of.

Although ideally this should happen automatically with your calendar tool, you should alert the receptionist that a new client is coming in for their kickoff meeting (and that they should be extra nice).

Next up, you must clean the reception area and meeting room, ensuring that it is a client-friendly environment. This is a no-brainer and should be general business practice.

If your client has access to a portal or project tracking system, ensure they have proper access and are trained on how to log in and look at the appropriate activity.

You can either go over this in the kickoff meeting or schedule an additional training session online. Try using a webinar as an alternative to email communication to get this done remotely. 

Answer any questions and have the client submit the signed contract during the kickoff meeting. Once again, record a copy of the signed contract in the form field below.

Ask if they know anyone else you should talk to who is now or in the near future in need of our services.  Record any referred leads in the form field below.

The kickoff meeting is a great place to get some new business leads, and probably the second best place to the final successful project delivery meeting. Ideally, you should do both. 

Add notes to the agenda with the client's feedback and input. If recorded in the form field below, any notes can also then be pushed directly into your CRM - otherwise, copy them over manually.

Email to the client if appropriate.

This is a great touch that many companies have found success with; you need to send a handwritten thank-you note to each client. Once again, scan and record a copy of the note with the form field below.

If you don't believe us when we say how useful this step is, check out the posts below to change your mind.

• How 13,000 Handwritten Thank-You Notes Built A Thriving Business
• The Power of the Handwritten Note: When to Dust Off the Pen and Paper

Now you need to write up internal notes and to-dos for the rest of the team. Save a copy of the final meeting notes with the form field below, to ensure easy access and full records.

Include the agenda but put specific action points for team members to start working on. Also, add this to the CRM as things tend to get lost in email (again, this can be set up to happen automatically with the form field).

Don't forget to add everything to your CRM! While this can be done manually, if you have utilized the form fields in the previous steps, this may have automatically occurred already.

Nonetheless, even if you have automated the process, you must check that the forms are there.

A credit decision must be made based on the value of the total contract, and the clients ability to pay. This is a delicate situation, especially when dealing with high net worth clients.

Contracts that exceed $10,000, must be evaluated and potential exposure aligned with phase/fee deficiency during the term of the contract. A review of the PM's budget schedule will reveal potential deficiencies, and exposure mitigation measures should be taken to secure the studios position throughout the contract. Credit enhancement requests to client can include:

New Clients:

• Escrow account twice the amount of defined exposure
• Cash deposits held in retainer twice the amount of defined exposure
• Verification of funds via bank statements or available funds in lines of credit
• Verified construction loans, with proper allocation to soft costs
• A secured position in subject property

Return Clients:

• Analyze prior payment history
• Apply above measures based on performance

View our credit policy here

Perform a “How’s it going?” call to touch base, and report on the progress of account consolidations. Record the date of this call below.

If you have not received the requested information from the client after 1 week, make sure to send a follow-up email chasing them down for the information. Utilize the email widget below whilst customizing it to your needs to do this easily.

Send a follow-up survey to see how your client's first month has gone. Record both the original follow-up survey and a link to the client's completed response with the form fields below.

You can use the same tools but make sure you ask questions related to how their first month was and how you could improve your service to them.

Go over the client's account and make sure that their project is on schedule and that all money has been collected. Record both with the dropdown form fields below.

Ask the client via email if it's convenient to send over the project status update. Once you get client approval (recorded below), send over a link to the details (also recorded below).

For added security, use a Dropbox link that you can delete afterwards.