4 Easy Steps To Onboarding
You know that feeling when you sign a new client or gain a new membership? It’s great, isn’t it? The endorphins are flowing because you’ve “done it again!”. This is what you got into business for, and each new client/membership is further confirmation that it’s working!
…So, what happens next?
I was talking to a prospective client this week and he was asking for advice on how he could make his business run more efficiently. Most of the time, when business owners book discovery calls with me, they’re generally looking for ways to free up their time and reduce the pressures of running a business, so he was talking to the right person.
After a couple of questions about his business, he talked me through his operations. I realised that he didn’t have an onboarding process in place – an official set of steps that are followed after every new signing/membership gained.
Now, he’s been in business for some years without one, so it’s clearly not a life-or-death situation. But you may be surprised to learn that having one in place can make a huge difference to the experience your new clients/members have with you and your company. After all, we want them to stay around for a long time, and first impressions count!
This is what I do as part of my onboarding process:
- I send a welcome email. In this email, I thank them for trusting me with their business, provide them with any relevant links and resources for working together, etc. I also let them know the best way to contact me, my working hours, show them how they can book client time with me, and much more.
- I add their details to my CRM (customer relationship management) system. I make sure that I have up to date information for them on file and tag them as a client, so that I can easily identify them in my system when needed.
- I add them into my working processes. I create folders for them in my Google Drive, Evernote and local systems, so that I have their information organised from the get-go.
- I connect with them. If I’m not already, I connect with them on LinkedIn so we can be kept in the loop with one another. Also, as part of our working relationship, they’re added to my newsletter list so that they can receive useful business tips and tricks to compliment the work that we do together and the goals we work towards.
4 simple, yet effective steps (so I’ve found) for my onboarding process. It works for me and my business. Yours might look a little different for your business. But, whatever you decide on, write them down and standardise them as steps to follow for each and every new sign up. Check out my last newsletter, Automate and Elevate, for tips on how you can automate most of these steps so that they’re done automatically for you.
