Empower your business with the full sales cycle in Onboarding forms

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hey designer friends and welcome back to flux my name is rachel and today we're going to be talking about streamlining onboarding processes so that you feel more in control of your projects your clients are happier and at the end of the day you can charge more if this is something you're interested in stick around and let's get into it [Music] so why is a strong onboarding process really important to the success of your projects well it comes down to fostering trust between you and your client you are at the end of the day a service provider not just a designer and so you want to make sure that you're delivering an experience for them something that makes them feel safe and excited about the project and something that they can plan their lives around usually these design projects are rather large and they can take quite a long time and being able to plan their busy lives around this work is going to help them feel far more aligned and enrolled and is also going to help you control the deadlines and the outcomes in far better fashion so really what we want to focus on with an onboarding process is laying the groundwork for what's going to come in the upcoming weeks when working with you a strong onboarding process can also really help you communicate your boundaries and making sure that you're laying a good foundation for communication habits how your client can give you feedback and basically how the project is going to run from start to finish in summary a strong onboarding process is going to help you build that trust right from the beginning it's going to have your clients feeling happier throughout the project it's going to instill confidence in both you and your client and at the end of the day you're going to become a high value designer so that you can actually raise your prices so this is where it all begins let's get into some of the content first things first let's talk about the tools that you're gonna need in order to build your onboarding process in the best possible way the first thing you're gonna need is a project management tool now there are a lot of options out there for you and you can do some research as to which ones you prefer and the functionality that you need the flux brand has just released a notion template which is going to help you sort of manage your projects from start to finish but there are also other tools out there in case you find notion overwhelming or it's just not part of your workflow some of the tools that i really like and have explored in the past are trello asana and i have also looked at click up and other things like airtable spreadsheets you name it there are so many options out there for you today's video i'm gonna talk you through the tools that i use in my personal process to deal with my brand identity and web design clients and give you a bit of a behind the scenes on how i set these tools up and what they entail the next thing you're going to want to consider is a tool to help you manage your contracts and getting those signed by your clients my personal favorite is adobe sign and i use this with acrobat this is only because i have the full adobe suite and it's just part of my natural workflow but please feel free to obviously do your research and use a tool that you really like i also know that hello sign is really good and super easy to use so definitely have a look at that one you can explore their pricing plans and functionality and make a decision based on what's going to suit your budget and workflow the next thing you're going to want to think about is a tool to manage communications between you and the client i sometimes find that email chains are super confusing and often if somebody starts a new one we end up missing a thread from a couple of days ago i prefer discussing projects on the go either using my project management tools chat function or commenting function or using a dedicated platform for conversation something like slack google hangouts even something like good old skype from the old days could still serve a purpose in helping you communicate with your clients on a daily basis i personally am one of those designers that really likes to keep the communication channels open between my clients and i just manage when i reply and when i don't i always leave the door open because i like my clients to feel like they are getting that premium and bespoke experience of having full access to me as their designer it's up to me when i reply no i'm not going to reply at 12 o'clock at night although let's be honest sometimes i am definitely working at that time of the night but anyway so you can have a look at some of the tools that you prefer and sometimes i like to provide my clients with two or three options so that they can choose the one that suits them and i'm more than happy to slot in with what works for them sometimes depending on the project and number of team members that are going to be involved i prefer working on something like google hangouts or slack or even just creating a dedicated whatsapp group for the conversation so that we can keep a running track of who said what when and making sure that we're all on the same page and that there's an open flow of communication those are just some of the tools that you might need in an onboarding process of course it all comes down to how you use them so let's get into talking about how to set them up and how i use these systems in my business i know that in the beginning of my process when i was still learning all of these ins and outs of how to do this the onboarding part of the project was the most daunting all i wanted to do was get into the creative work and start sketching out logo concepts and planning out website pages but really you have to take the time to nurture that client relationship and to welcome them into working with you and your studio or just you as a designer and making them feel really welcome and giving them that red carpet welcome the first thing i like to do is go and set up my project board inside asana now i personally use asana for my projects because this is the tool that has worked the best for me and i've been using it for so long now that i have all sorts of templates set up and everything so really setting up my project boards takes me a matter of minutes and then all i have to do is spend another five or ten minutes customizing it to suit my client invite my client to the board and we are good to go so let's have a look at my asana board over here this is just a really basic template of what a typical website board would look like barring a couple of ins and outs and details obviously i go in and customize this board depending on the customer or the client should i say project that i'm working on the deliverables might change and the process might shift ever so slightly but this is pretty much what we have going on here i always like to start with a general to-do tab and this usually involves all of the paperwork and admin i give them their payment plan outline about when payments are due um and where they can find their invoices and the details for that often what i will also have is a little welcome tab over here which is then going to provide them with a welcome pdf to walk them through the project in more detail and i'll get into that in a second but basically while i'm setting up and getting ready for this project and usually while i'm waiting for them to pay their deposit this is when i come in and set up this board the next board that i like to set up or the next card that i like to set up as they're called in asana is the strategy and planning phase this is where i outline all of the different things that we're going to be doing in this phase and that usually involves the kick-off strategy call laying down the foundation of the website goals the market research working out who the client's audience is and then obviously planning out the layout and wireframe now if i click into one of these you can go and have a look that there are some you know additional elements that you can add in here you can assign these tasks to certain people you can bring a due date in you can add some dependencies this is a custom feature so if you don't pay for asana then you won't be able to use this but quite honestly i don't use this myself anyway so it doesn't really matter the next thing i like to do is have status symbols or basically give an idea of where the project is currently at so you'll see throughout my boards that i have examples of statuses over here like coming up in progress to be reviewed complete all this needs to be looked at really urgently and basically you can see inside each one of these cards here's all the subtasks now each one of these can have their own comments section and you can pretty much go into quite the level of detail inside the sauna which is what i really enjoy about the program to revert back to what i was saying about the comments earlier you can see that inside each of these topics there is a dedicated comment section which is going to allow you to organize your communications really well depending on the phase of the project that you're currently in with your customer you want to be able to go back and look at communication that was said a little bit earlier on in projects sometimes when it comes to the design you've got to go and revert back to the strategy and your goal planning to make sure that you stay aligned when talking about how to approach the design sometimes the client will forget what they've said and a program like this is really going to help you keep those communications in line so the next thing that i will do is go and lay out each of the phases of the project after the strategy so this usually includes content whether i'm going to be writing and developing that content myself or whether i'm going to be outsourcing it it becomes part of the planning phase of the project then there is of course the design phase and now you can apply this theory to a brand identity project and the like basically what you want to do is set out a different column or section for each phase of the project so that you can date them with due dates and deadlines so that everybody can understand what's going on and when what is due i will then lay out all of the different tasks that need to be done in one of these sections and then assign them with due dates or date ranges to basically help my client understand when i'll be working on what part of the project and then what i'll go and do is i will add subda subtasks to basically state when i'm going to be delivering the item and when i'm going to expect feedback i'll then post all of the review links inside the description over here and just tag my client when they when it's their turn to review this is a really great way to manage timelines and to give your client a quick snapshot of where they're at in the project of course it gets more and more exciting the more green complete tags we see as the project progresses and this can be a really subtle way to motivate your clients to stay engaged it sounds a bit funny but color coding things and keeping it all organized really helps your client feel like you as the professional in control that you're keeping the project moving even if you've disappeared down your creative hall and you've spent the last two weeks designing something your client can jump into your board and just check in and make sure that you are actually working on what you're supposed to be working on and they can see whether or not they're expected to do anything this is also a really great way to assign tasks to your clients especially for that onboarding process to help them understand what is expected of them in the first couple of days once you kick off a project the next thing i will do after i've set up my project board is prepare a welcome email for my client i'll write them a really short email to tell them about what's happening next and how it's all going to work i'll say welcome to the studio or whatever it is basically say that i'm really excited to work with them and that here's what's happening next the first thing i'm going to ask my client for are the invoicing details some clients and brands can be really specific about the details that they want on their invoices and so i find it's always really polite and useful to ask them for those details it's also a subtle way to inform your client that they will be receiving a deposit invoice before any work kicks off the next thing that i will say in that email is give them a little bit of a really short overview of the project outline and what's going to happen next not the whole thing just the natural two next steps and that is usually that i'm gonna send them an invitation to the project board and that they can find a video walkthrough at the link attached so this is an additional element that i like to add for my customers even though a project management software can be really useful it can feel really overwhelming for clients and so i like to record a really quick loom video just walking them through how the board works and explaining where they can find all of the details about how it all works and i find this really helps them feel settled and educated and informed and they don't have any of that oh i feel stupid syndrome which is the worst feeling to have when you're starting something new so this just again establishes trust gives them that sense of confidence in the project and makes them feel ready to get started also in that email what i will add is my personal favorite it is just a really simple welcome pdf and this is where i'm going to summarize everything that's going to be on this board in pdf format why the repetition well sometimes what i find is that clients don't respond that well to the project management and they just want to see the snapshot but then they forget what the scope of the project was and they forget what the hours are to call you and all of that stuff and so what i do with that pdf is essentially give them an overview of how the project is going to work and some of the key information that they're going to need to know throughout the project so let me take you in to my template over here and this is now a super simplified version of my welcome template and basically what you'll see is it's just a welcome to the project i'll then give them a quick contents guide i'll then say basically i'm excited to have you on board and this pdf is where it all starts basically it's i'm going to tell you what to expect i'm going to give you all the details you might need and we're going to have a wonderfully smooth experience together there's something to be said about putting it into words that you're going to have a smooth experience with your client it gives them that sense that you've done this before that you know what you're doing and that you're going to do everything in your power to make sure that you deliver a great experience to them so i usually say something along the lines of dear joe thank you so much for the opportunity to work with you on developing your new identity and website i'm excited to walk this road with you and discover the story you want to tell help you connect with those ideal clients and position you as the go-to in your industry so depending on some of the goals that we laid out in that initial discovery call i'll usually reference a little bit of that in the workshop i mean in the welcome pdf over here to give it a little bit more of context i'll introduce myself again even though we already have a pretty much established relationship right now i just want to remind them a little bit more about who i am and what i care about so that they can feel a little bit more connected to me in a bit more detail so some of the things i'll talk about here and i'll be a little bit more personal in this welcome pdf because we've already established a relationship so i'll give them a bit about my story and talk a little bit about what i'm really passionate about the next thing i'm going to offer them is an overview of the package that they chose or the scope of work sometimes i don't present packages sometimes it's just a full scope i'll give them that and then i will also walk them through a really over like an overhead shot of what the process is going to look like so what's going to happen first what's going to happen next these are the kind of key phases in the project and these are the phases that i'm going to reflect on my boards in asana so there's synergy between these things the next thing i'm going to give them is a timeline this is really going to help them manage expectations in terms of how long the project is going to take bear in mind this is something that should have been discussed in your discovery session and proposal as well so this should not be a surprise but it's basically just a really nice summary of all the deliverables and the timeline that is to be expected the next thing i really like to provide them is a couple of faqs and short details now there's a lot of information on this welcome pdf that's usually custom to the client or the industry that i'm working with and so i've taken that page out but what i like to do is after a couple of years you'll get used to the types of questions your clients ask you and so you can include those in a welcome pdf like this and answer them right up front if they haven't been answered already the next thing i like to do is give my office hours and communication time and also provide to them the necessary channels that we'll be using for communications and also tell them how long their feedback cycles are going to be so two to three business days it's laying that foundation right away reminding them hey i'm gonna send you something i expect feedback within three business days please keep that in the back of your mind every time i submit something for feedback i remind them again but again it's all about laying the foundation subtly reminding them of how this is going to work i'm going to guide you and i'm going to keep you safe throughout this process but you need to come to the party too and this is how we're going to do that the next thing i really like to do in these welcome pdfs is also provide a a link to asana and then another link to that loom walkthrough of the asana board itself so i'm basically creating a closed loop for me onboarding a client is all about giving them all the information they could possibly need while still trying to keep it really simple and not overwhelming so i'm always going to do the hard work for them if they need to sign up to a piece of software i'm going to give them the link and i'm going to send them the instructions so that they can feel secure in doing that activity i'll finish off the welcome pdf with a thank you and i'm looking forward to it and then i'll just remind them of my email address in case they have any questions sometimes i'll provide my cell phone number as well again it just depends on the client and the relationship that i have with them personally speaking i usually foster really good and solid relationships with my clients it's something i really value and so most of my clients have me on whatsapp and because i've been very clear about my boundaries to them none of them are bothering me at three o'clock in the morning we have an understanding with each other and so i don't mind them having my whatsapp number if a client messages me at 12 o'clock at night it's up to me to decide when i want to reply so that's basically all that i do in that welcome pdf it's just a three or four page pdf welcoming the client to working with you and making them feel really special of course i'll customize the pdf with their name and sometimes i'll add in a couple of extra pages or one or two here and there or a couple of sentences here and there to really make sure that it feels personalized to them after all of that has been done the next thing that is really important for me is the contract and so i'll have that all set up i'll have their details put in and the project details amended i have two templates that i use for my business one is a brand identity agreement and the other is a website agreement they're just two pages which have been looked over by a lawyer which i highly recommend and they just call for a signature from both myself and the representative in from my client's side of things sometimes i'll work with a team and there'll be more than one person i only require one signature from the key decision maker and so i will send over the contract if i'm working with co-owners i'll send the contract twice and i'll send it to both of them to sign in agreement with that they pretty much don't get the project started unless that contract has been signed here's a delicate balance in my onboarding process i always make sure that i send over this welcome pdf as well as the invoice in that initial email assuming that in good faith we're gonna move forward together the reason why i don't send the contract right up front is because sometimes it can be way too much for the client to deal with it doesn't take me long to customize the asana board and the welcome email and so i'm more than comfortable to do that stuff up front and saying the contract is almost the last step before we get started it feels like they've got a massive thing over and done with and they can sign on the dotted line and we can get started it's not going to work for everybody but basically take this process use it turn it into your own and take what you want and leave the rest the next thing i'm going to do after sending that all over to my client is hop back into asana and make sure that i've laid out those tasks properly in the admin section and assign them to my client after you have shared the link with your clients they will be added to the asana board whether they have signed up for it or not so you'll be able to actually assign tasks to them and then as soon as they join your board they'll receive all of those task notifications so what i like to do is go into this admin and to do section and basically assign signing of the contract paying of the deposit invoice and then booking any strategy or kickoff calls that need to happen for the project to get going i basically like to go in here and you click on the little person and you can assign this task to anyone ideally sign it to your client and they'll get those notifications and know that that's what needs to take place as soon as it's done you can take it off and it also gives the client a massive sense of satisfaction to be able to take things off the lists and if you're anything like me you also enjoy taking things off lists so this is a really great way to stay on top of all the admin tasks that need to be done and making sure that you've got everything sorted for your project to run smoothly the final thing that i will do in my onboarding process is a kickoff call with my client it's a quick 20 to 30 minute call where we jump online and we chat about the board we answer any last questions that the client may have and i basically just explain what's going to happen next this call doesn't always take place sometimes it's not necessary sometimes a client needs a little bit more guidance at which point i'm more than happy to jump on a quick call and walk them through the process and what's going to happen next it's just the little cherry on the cake to make them feel like they've really got that red carpet welcome to working with me okay guys and then a good bonus that i wanted to leave you off with today was a couple of tips for off-boarding your clients properly i think a lot of the times we can forget that when we end off a project we're exhausted we've spent the last three months investing in this client and sometimes all we want to do is wrap it up in a neat little bow and send it off into the world but really what you've got to do in order to deliver again a super premium experience to your clients is to actually send them off in a really premium way so some of the things that i really like to do in my off-boarding process is a final call note the pattern there's a lot of calls happening in my process and this is because we are humans and conversation and contact are how we build trust and foster relationships and so if that means an extra call that means an extra call and me personally i love doing those with my clients i love talking to them and hearing them and i really like finishing off a project with that final call where i can walk them through everything that we've done and show them any specifics that they might need to know for website projects i will do a training call where i walk them through the back of their website and how it works and where they can find everything and for my brand identity clients i like to do a little walk through of where their logo files are how they work where they can find everything in their brand folder and basically what to do with each element it's just a nice way of saying here's what i've made for you i really appreciate what you've invested in me and here's how to use everything going for it because at the end of the day you're trying to provide them with something that's going to serve their business after that call i'll be sure to send over that final balancing invoice and thank them for their time again i'll then wait for that invoice to be paid and as soon as it's paid in my account i will send over all of the necessary files and again i'll thank them for their time what i really like to do is finishing finish things off again with another short pdf what i like to include in that short pdf is a quick thank you and an overview of everything we did together and basically gave them links to their folders and links to a tutorial video if necessary sometimes with my branding clients their logo files can be really overwhelming and even though i like to provide a logo guide to explain what each of the files are sometimes i'll record a really quick three-minute video just explaining it again so that they have that to reference and they're not going to need to send me endless emails so it's another way for me to control that communication channel but also giving my clients that extra value to know that they're feeling empowered by the work that we've done together another thing i'll include in that pdf is a link to a testimonial form this is key because how else are you going to get feedback and i like to ask for feedback right after a project is finished when it's the freshest in the client's mind sometimes quite honestly i forget to do this i forget to add in that link but i'm getting better at it with time and so will you so i like to provide basically a really short like three or four question form where i just ask them about their experience with me and ask them to submit it i used to use jotform for this but i now use typeform and i just use the free version of typeform and i've just got four questions which i asked them to fill out for me which helps me facilitate how i write my testimonials and basically instead of just asking them for a random testimonial i'll be i'll guide them with a couple of key questions which really helps them get the words out in a better way and it helps me learn as well i ask them for feedback on the process and work out if there's anything i could have done better as a service provider i like to provide a price list that's got a bit of a discount applied to it so if they want to come back in the near future and work with me they get an automatic five or six percent discount depending on depending on the urine and how things are going but i like to provide a little bit of a loyalty discount to those clients so that i'm encouraging them to come back and work with me and offering them some sort of value personally 95 of my business is based off of referral and so how i've chosen to regenerate that is by offering certain clients the option to get a bonus or a discount or some sort of value add if they refer me to somebody else and that person ends up booking with me both of those people win in that sense and the last and final tip for a successful off-boarding process check in with your clients in about two weeks after the project is finished just pop them an email say hi ask them how things are going and find out if there's anything else you can do to help them do their jobs better through your design work are their files easy to use have they run into any issues do they have any questions and basically just check in this industry is all about building relationships and fostering those connections and by checking in with your clients it shows that you really do care and that you haven't just finished a project and run a mile of course if you have a negative experience with a client by all means don't feel like you need to follow up via email but if you had a good experience and you really value your clients feedback and want to check in with them an email two weeks after the project wraps is a really really great idea charging premium rates and delivering a premium service is all about offering a good experience to your clients like i said in the beginning you want to make sure that you're laying that foundation right from the start to manage expectations make your clients feel safe and confident working with you and also make you feel like you're in a little bit more control of your projects on a day-to-day basis that's about it from me guys i really appreciate you sticking around to listen to my onboarding process if you have any questions pop them in the comments below we'll be doing more videos like this to do with branding design and business so if that's something you're interested in do stick around subscribe and let us know in the comments what you want to see more of good luck up leveling your onboarding systems let me know if you have any questions and chat soon [Music] you