Client Onboarding Checklist for Management Consulting

By creating a positive experience when a client relationship is initiated, factors such as retention, customer lifetime value and profitability can be influenced positively.

The importance of a solid client onboarding process for wealth management firms is well established. That initial period sets the tone for the remainder of the working relationship and, when done right, can help to bolster profitability for all parties involved.

However, many financial planning practices see the onboarding process as nothing more than a series of tedious tasks that serve no purpose than to meet basic compliance needs.

When the process for new client onboarding is mired in administrative data-entry with no focus on the strategic potential of setting a strong foundation upon which to build a working relationship, a huge potential of value is lost.

This checklist is designed to help you make the most of your client onboarding process.

Not only is this process designed to streamline your workflow with a series of best-practice tasks that will adapt to your needs with conditional logic, butmanual data-entry is also minimized with the use of auto-fill form fields and parameters.

You will be able to focus your energy on your client's needs and goals and gain real insight into how best to approach a solution for their situation. 

By making use of this checklist you are far more likely to get the most value out of your investment (of both time and money) and ensure you're are optimizing your client onboarding process.

Let's get started.

First up, let's record some basic details for this client using the form fields below.

Upload your GDPR statement to the form field below.

Send over a copy of your GDPR statement for the client to review. It's important that they understand your privacy and data policies.

All of the information is in the email template already; simply check the content reads okay and hit the send button when you're ready. The content has been automatically filled out using data collected in this checklist.

Upload the management consulting contract to the form field below.

Send the contract over to your client to be signed using this email widget. 

The work of writing the email has already been done for you; simply check the text and hit send when you're ready.

Once you receive back the signed management consulting contract, upload it to the form field below.

Get some relevant and useful content ready to send as part of an email to help your client feel welcomed into the working relationship.

Here is a list of elements that you might want to include as part of your welcome email:

If you already have content prepared for a situation like this, just proceed to the next tast, where you'll be asked to insert it into an email widget.

Otherwise, use the form fields below to record a selection of relevant and useful content for the welcome email:

Edit the body of the email below and then hit the send button when you're ready.

Set this up as an email integration to automatically send this welcome message whenever you run a new version of this checklist.

Before you proceed, take a moment to send your new client an orientation questionnaire to fast-track their onboarding.

You'll need to put a link to your own orientation questionnaire into the body of the email below; other than that, just make sure the information looks correct and send it off.

Once the client has completed the orientation questionnaire, record a link to it in this form field:

Check the contents of the email below, then hit the send button to send a link to your client for them to book a management consultation meeting with you.

The contents of the email has been prepared for you; simply send the email once you've made sure the information is accurate.

Confirm the date of the management consultation meeting in the form field below:

Prepare an agenda ahead of the consultation call, with all of the points that you'll want to bring up with your client during your discussion.

Record the agenda using the form field in this task.

During the call, discuss your client's business goals and record a summary in the form field below.

Ask your client about the biggest problems they're currently facing.

Your position as a management consultant depends on your understanding of your client's current situation, including the kinds of problems that are preventing them from achieving their goals.

As you discuss this with your client, record notes in the form field below.

Talk about their current financial situation.

How much are they currently making with their business, and how much is it costing them to get new customers? This kind of information is valuable insight into the inner-workings of their business.

Record information in the form fields of this task, making sure each of them are completed.

Consultation notes

Signed management consulting contract: {{form.Signed_management_consulting_contract}}
Orientation questionnaire (completed): {{form.Completed_orientation_questionnaire}}

Initial consultation date scheduled for: {{form.Management_consultation_date}}

Business goals: {{form.Business_goals}}
Biggest problems this client is facing: {{form.Client_problems}}

Current annual revenue ($USD): {{form.Current_annual_revenue_($USD)}}
Current annual overhead ($USD): {{form.Current_annual_overhead_($USD)}}
Current annual profit ($USD): {{form.Current_annual_profit_($USD)}}
Cost of one new customer ($USD): {{form.Cost_of_one_new_customer_($USD)}}
Projections for next quarter: {{form.Projections_for_next_quarter}}
Projections for next fiscal year: {{form.Projections_for_next_fiscal_year}}

After the call, add the notes you've gathered to the client's profile in your CRM. 

Use the data conveniently presented above to copy and paste the information directly.

You can automatically update your customer profile with one of our many CRM integrations.

Determine what financial documents you will need to receive from the client in order to better understand their situation and work with them in full capacity. 

Record the documents needed in the form field below.

Additional details

{{form.Other_(please_specify)}}

Check the contents of the email template below and hit send.

If you declared "other" in the previous task, simply copy the information above into the body of the email below.

You can automate this process with one of our email integrations.

Check out this great video for more information on how you can automate your client onboarding process using Process Street:

Once you've received the investment portfolio documents from the client, upload them to the form field in this task.

Once you've received the balance sheet documents from the client, upload them to the form field in this task.

Once you've received the cash flow statement documents from the client, upload them to the form field in this task.

Once you've received the bank statement documents from the client, upload them to the form field in this task.

Once you've received the tax records you requested from the client, upload them to the form field in this task.

Once you've received any other documents you requested from the client, upload them to the form field in this task.

Perform market research for your client to give them a perspective on the current competitor market.

Once prepared, upload a copy of the market research report to the form field below.

Prepare a relevant case study to send to your client that you think relates to their situation.

Record a link to the case study in the form field below.

Share the case study with your client. 

The email has been prepared for you; just check the contents and hit send once you think it looks good.

Based on everything you know so far, determine the best kind of management strategy for your client.

Use the drop-down menu below to select your choice.

Prepare a high-level overview of management solutions for your client.

This will help them understand your vision for solving their problems and achieving their goals, and provide them with a chance to offer feedback on your strategy.

Once prepared, upload a copy of the overview to the form field below.

Share your management solutions overview with your client using the email widget in this task.

The email is all ready to send off, so just check the contents looks okay and hit send.

With your new client fully onboard, it's time to send over a feedback questionnaire.

The link to your feedback questionnaire is already in the body of the email below; just make sure the information looks correct and send it off.

Once the client has completed the feedback questionnaire, insert a link to it in the form field below.

Use the information gathered from the feedback questionnaire to update your onboarding process.

Edit this template to reflect any changes to the structure.

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• Consulting - Five Ways to Turn Client Onboarding Process into a Competitive Advantage
• EaseCentral - Effective Insurance Agency Client Onboarding
• Hubspot - Customer Onboarding
• Smartsheet - Definitive Guide to Client Onboarding
• Laserfiche - New Client Onboarding for a Broker Dealer
• Carrier Management - Client Onboarding Process
• The Advisor Coach - 15 Step Client Onboarding Process for Financial Services

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