Congratulations! You’ve made the sale! Your genius was visible, your script was persuasive, and you promised to solve all of your client’s problems.
So, now what?
Client onboarding is essential to making your new customer feel welcomed, to support their buying decision and negate buyer’s remorse, and to set them up for success. Successful clients mean great referrals and testimonials, which translates into future enrolments & impact for you.
But what elements make onboarding effective?
#1 – Teach them how to ask for help
When someone works with you, where do they go if they have a question? What is the best way to contact someone? Should they post in a Facebook group?
Outlining how your client should ask for help is especially important if you are handing off a client to another person after a sale is made. Help them feel supported by giving them the information they need so that they always know who to turn to when they have concerns, questions, or challenges.
It could be via email to a specific person, a post in a client Facebook group, or via carrier pigeon. Whatever the best method is, share it with them, and let them know when they can expect a response once sent.
#2 – Explain how delivery works
It doesn’t matter if you’re selling a digital product, an event, or a coaching program, be sure that your client understands how delivery works; how will they get that which they have paid for?
If you’re an online course, think about doing a video tour of the online portal that explains how they progress through the course and shows them how to log in.
If you’re a coaching program, perhaps a checklist that they walk through to make sure they get added to the Facebook group, gets the coaching sessions on their calendar, and gets introduced into the community.
If you’re shipping them a physical product, maybe send them an unboxing video that explains what is coming and how to use it.
Whatever your method of delivery, your client should NEVER have to wonder “Now what?”
#3 – Give them a place to start
On the heels of ensuring your client never asks “Now What?”, an essential part of onboarding is to make your client successful as soon as possible.
Make sure the first steps of your client’s journey is explicitly spelled out so they understand immediately what is required of them.
Should they start with a specific online module? Do they need to book a call with a coach or admin to go over things? Is additional payment or registration required for anything?
Think about creating a specific roadmap for your client that they can take ownership of and get excited about, and you can make sure your client never feels left out in the metaphorical cold.
Put it into practice
There are many services that allow you to automate and ‘process-ize’ a client journey, and that will be coming in part 2 of this article, very soon!
Additional Resource:
I highly recommend “Never Lose a Customer Again” by Joey Coleman for even more information on how to build an amazing client journey in the first 100 days.
