When I first started my branding and website design business, I constantly wondered how the heck successful business owners kept everything organized and on track.

Ever feel like it takes forever to get your clients’ projects going and moving forward? Tired of continuously pestering them trying to collect all of the information and details you need to get the job done? Struggling to get your clients on the same page? 

Girl, I was right there with yah!

Throughout that entire first year, I found myself feeling incredibly stressed every single time I landed a new client. I dreaded getting the process started and was so afraid that I would forget something along the way. 

The answer to my freelancing woes? Creating a client onboarding process! (Pssst… Have no idea what that even is? Keep reading, chica!)

As soon as I created and streamlined a client onboarding process, my business completely and drastically transformed! I went from stressing and struggling to having a beautiful worry-free flow while seriously impressing my clients.

So today on the blog, we’re sharing how client onboarding can totally revolutionize your online freelancing business and why you need to implement a process now!

But First, What is Client Onboarding?

Client onboarding is the process of welcoming new clients into your online business. It’s the very first step of their journey with your business and service. 

During this process, you’ll address their questions and concerns, gather all of the information you need, and get on the same page. Essentially, client onboarding is how you set your client relationship and project up for success from the very get-go!  

A successful client onboarding process should:

• Welcome your new clients and introduce them to your business
• Address any questions and concerns that your clients have
• Gather information from your clients that you will need in order to complete the project
• Educate your clients so they feel confident in answering your questions and making decisions throughout the project
• Remind your client of your expectations and boundaries
• Share the next steps
• Be continuously refined to figure out what works and what doesn’t work for you and your online business

Why You Need a Client Onboarding Process:

Having a client onboarding process will completely revolutionize your online business! Here are five incredible results of having a process in place…

Projects Will Take Less Time

By implementing a client onboarding process, you’ll spend a lot less time actually setting up your projects and trying to figure out what step comes next. Because you already have a streamlined process in place, you’ll be able to spend so much more time taking on more projects, resulting in making more money… and who doesn’t like that?! 😉 

Clients Will Be Impressed by Your Organization

When you walk your clients through your super seamless process, they will without a doubt be incredibly impressed by how organized you are and how professional your online business is. From the get-go, you’ll be setting your client and project up for success while also creating a positive first impression!

Receive All the Information Up Front

Sometimes it can feel like you’re pulling teeth to get your clients to provide you with the information that you need to successfully work on their project. By establishing a process, your client will provide you with all of the necessary information in the very beginning of the project! Say goodbye to constant follow-ups and endless pestering.

Easier and Less Stressful

Because your client will have a very clear understanding of your process, the project will be so much easier to manage. Plus, the entire project will be significantly less stressful… for both you and your client! 😉

Receive More Referrals

Since your client onboarding process is so organized and professional, your clients are going to rave about you and your online business. This will then lead to more referrals, which means more clients, projects, and moola!

You’ve Landed a Client… Now What?!

Woot woot! You’ve landed a client, but you’re probably thinking, “What the heck do I do now?” Here are three major pieces to include in your client onboarding process:

1. Proposal, Contract, Invoice: 

During this stage, you should set expectations, communicate your boundaries, and explain your work style with your new client. In other words, do you do weekly check-in calls with your client? Do you only do work for them on certain days? How do you plan to communicate moving forward?

Ideally, you’ll automate this stage of your client onboarding process using a semi-automated system like Proposify or a more advanced platform like Dubsado!

2. Client Questionnaire: 

For this stage, think about what information you need from your client. This could be as simple as gathering login information for their social media sites if you’re a social media manager. If you’re a website designer, it could be as simple as gathering images and copy to build their website.

Essentially, your client questionnaire should gather all of the information you need to get started on your work!

3. Invite Clients Into Your Project Management System:

Thirdly, be sure to walk your client through your project management system and teach them how to use it. One goal of your client onboarding system is to educate your client!

Don’t have a project management system yet for your online business? No worries, chica! Check out the must-have project management tool we use!

Client onboarding can take some trial and error to get it down perfectly. However, if you continue to refine your process and figure out what works and doesn’t work, you’ll save so much time in the future! And since you’ll be spending less time integrating new clients, you can spend more time working on their projects and landing more clients! Woot woot!

Ready to build a client onboarding process for your online freelancing business? Join thousands of students launching successful online freelancing businesses inside our signature business course, the Work Online and Travel the World Course.

Inside the course, you’ll learn step-by-step everything you need to start your own thriving freelancing business online like… 

• Where to find clients online
• How to pitch to potential clients 
• How to create and implement a streamlined process once you land your clients
• The exact systems and tools we use for client onboarding
• Perfected and primed client onboarding templates
• Plus so much more!