What to Know When Onboarding a New Client

Rapid-fire question: exactly how much time do you spend onboarding a new client? If you’re struggling to come up with the answer, then you probably don’t have a solid onboarding strategy in place. And if you don’t have a solid onboarding strategy in place, then you’re probably making the process a lot more complicated than it has to be.  

We’ve helped agencies onboard hundreds of clients—not to mention the many we’ve onboarded ourselves. The results from being involved in all this onboarding? We’ve learned a lot about how to create (and follow) a sustainable new client onboarding process.

Creating A Client Onboarding Workflow: What You Need To Know

When you run a digital marketing agency, you’re always on the lookout for new clients. And if you’re always on the lookout for new clients, then you also need to know what to do, step by step, once you land them. 

Remember that rapid fire question we asked? Chances are, you’re spending at least a few hours each time you onboard a new client. And that’s only if you’ve got some good client onboarding SOPs in place. If you don’t, then it’s quite likely you’re spending the better part of your day mired in new client account management. 

To simplify this process, be sure to download our free onboarding checklist. Onboarding will also be much easier when you know the answer to the following questions. 

What are your expectations? 

We see it all the time with young agencies. Signing your first few clients is so exciting, you don’t even think about what your end goal is, or what you want your long term relationship to be. Sign up a few clients without some ground rules established up front, and suddenly you’re working late, spending time on legacy clients and busy work that isn’t moving your company forward.

Presumably, you’ve been using client onboarding to learn all about your client’s expectations—and of course, this is important. But think about what your goals and boundaries are here, too. 

That means you need to be up front (both with your client and with yourself) about what you can deliver, and at what price. 

And be equally up front about what you won’t deliver, and when you won’t be available. We’re really big about work-life balance around here, so it’s important that all our team members are able to work super efficiently, but then also log off at the end of the day and on weekends. So our clients need to know that we’re just not going to be available at 2am on a Tuesday night! 

Finally, you’ll also need to ensure your team also knows what to expect from any new client. Specifically, they’ll need to know who is handling client and/or project management, as well as what their personal relationship to the client will be going forward. 

What are the client's expectations?

Of course, just as important to establish at this early stage is your client’s expectations, too. The first stage in onboarding needs to include contracts and invoicing , so that you can be sure everyone is on the same page from day one. 

What will your reporting schedule be?

Client reporting is a key element in nurturing any client relationship—-so best to set sound ground rules here, too. Make sure everyone agrees on a schedule, including what KPIs you’ll be including and why. 

Do you* have the resources you need? 

Making plans and setting schedules is great. But the goal of onboarding is to be able to start working … and you can’t start working without access to the right resources. This might include access to communication channels and any project management tools your client is using. You’ll likely also need access to things like ads and social media accounts. 

Note that one of your most critical resources will be your point of contact with your client. So make sure your client is clear about who they expect to work with. 

*And note, too, that gathering access is something you could very easily pass over to someone on your team—-more on how below!

Does your client have the resources they need?

Of course, your clients have come to you because they want to hand over the reins of some element of their digital marketing. But depending on their desired level of involvement, some clients may want more detailed reporting, or they may be participating in some way. In this case, you’ll also want to ensure that your clients have what they need to get started, too. 

It also often makes sense to give your client some training and/or education around reports. 

Pro-tip: we find it can be really helpful to create Loom videos to help clients understand what you’re doing and why. 

How can you make the onboarding process better—for everyone?

A few simple things can make onboarding soooo much easier. 

First, like we’ve covered, you simply need to have systems in place that can automate this process as much as possible. 

Regularly surveying clients can also help you see where things are working in your onboarding process, and where you might have room for improvement (snag our Client Happiness Survey Template here!)

And last but most definitely not least, passing over client onboarding to a highly skilled Client Account Manager can free up so much time if you’re an agency owner—all while ensuring your clients are on boarded just the way you want, each and every time. 

Remember that getting onboarding right is one of the best things you can do for your business. It’s your opportunity to get things right from day one, building those long term relationships that keep generating business and glowing referrals. 

That’s why it’s not surprising that Brandon Smits, partner and CMO of Solar Cheat Code, says that “when my agency started working with Dot & Company, we utilized their onboarding systems and immediately were able to begin scaling, bringing in 3, 5, and up to 7 clients at one time with ease.”

Ultimately, the best client onboarding process is one that is scalable and that works for your agency. It might look a little different than ours, and that’s ok—as long as you’re finding and developing processes that work for your agency. 
Still struggling to find your unicorn-status CAM, who can help you develop a system for onboarding clients that’s in line with your unique agency and objectives? Reach out!