Behind The Scenes of Our Onboarding Process
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Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
You can be the best designer in the world, but if you don’t have a solid process and client experience to back it up, you can only go so far. Your design portfolio may attract new clients, but a seamless client experience is what will keep them coming back and spreading the word. Here I’ll outline the steps we take with new clients - from enquiry to off-boarding.
01 / Client Enquiry
The first step to starting any project is for someone to fill out our client application form - this preliminary information helps me to gain an initial understanding of the potential client, their needs and how best we may be able to work together. I personally review all applications and if I feel like we’d be a good fit and would be able to assist, then I send a personalized reply with a link to book an initial (free) Discovery call with me - I use Calendly for this. I do make use of some canned email responses (pre-written email templates) but I always end up editing these for each enquiry because I prefer a more personal approach and like to create connection with each potential client.
02 / Client Discovery Call
We have an initial 30 minute discovery call on Zoom where I ask the potential client to share a bit more about them, their business journey and what their goals are. This call is also importantly an opportunity for them to get to know me — my story, my approach and a chance to ask any questions. We usually discuss the different project types that might suit them — looking at what the things are that will really move the needle for them in their business (and life). We generally discuss a bit about project options, potential costs and timings just to have an overview of things and I then highlight what the the next steps are should they wish to move forward.
03 / Proposal Gets Sent Out
Once we’ve had our initial discovery call, I create a custom proposal and send that out for the potential client to review. It generally covers a lot that we’ve already discussed on the call, but it’s a lot of information to process so I like to ensure they have the time to read it and digest it all. The proposal outlines their unique goals, some package options for them to review and choose from, along with project timings, projected costs, outline of the process as well as some FAQs. I like to give the client one week to review and decide on their package and confirm timings — this way I am not indefinitely holding onto their ‘booking’ but they have enough time to process the info and make a decision.
04 / Contract & Invoice
Once the client has accepted the proposal and confirmed their chosen package, I send over their contract to sign (I use Dropbox Sign) and their invoice (I use Wave, Paypal or Wise) to pay their 50% deposit. I don’t start any projects without having both a signed contract and a paid deposit and I make this clear to clients so they know that their project slot is only officially booked once these onboarding admin tasks are complete. I have a canned email template that I use when sending out all contracts and invoices to streamline the process.
05 / Client Portal Setup
Once the client has paid their deposit and signed the contract, I create their custom client portal where we will manage all comms, files and timelines for the project. For all full-service projects, I use Notion and have pre-designed project portals created for branding and branding + web design projects. The groundwork is all setup, so all I have to do is customize the portal for this specific client by adding custom dates, deliverables and recording a short tutorial video to show them how we will be using the portal (I use Loom). If the project is a design intensive, we don’t use a custom Notion portal, but I do set up a Google Drive folder where their questionnaire and files will be uploaded. An email gets sent out to the client to share the link to the portal, the tutorial video and to highlight any important info such as upcoming due dates for questionnaires.
At the beginning of each project, we set up a custom project portal to communicate all due dates for both us and our clients to get presentations, content uploads and feedback submitted so there are no surprises along the way.
06 / Client Gift & Acknowledgement
For all full-service projects, we like to acknowledge the trust and investment that a client has made with us by sending over a small congratulatory gift. We are going to be collaborating on this project for a number of weeks, so building trust and excitement is an important part of the process. Depending on where in the world this client is, we use different service providers and choose something small and thoughtful to send over along with a card telling them how excited we are to be working with them.
And that pretty much covers the steps we take in on-boarding new clients — if you have any questions, feel free to reach out. The most important things to remember would be these:
Always follow things up with email (over-communicate rather than assuming a client knows something)
Streamline your process as much as possible but always ensure you keep the personal touch (nobody wants to feel like a robot is emailing them)
Don’t hide behind emails — if you or a client is confused about something, it’s always better to get on a call to clarify