Onboarding new agency clients so they stay and refer

Step 1: What do you send a new client first?

Send a new client what they need to get started, the moment they say yes.

• A welcome note that says who they'll work with and what happens next.
• A list of the logins, files and brand assets you'll need from them.
• The written scope, price and due dates you agreed on.

Step 2: How do you gather their details?

Gather their details with an onboarding form before the first call, so the call isn't spent on basics.

• Ask for their goals, their customers, their brand and the accounts you'll work in.
• Keep it to the details you'll use.
• The questions to put on that form are in the onboarding questionnaire.

Step 3: What happens on the onboarding call?

The onboarding call covers what the form couldn't, and sets how you'll work together.

• Walk through their answers, and fill in the gaps.
• Agree how they'll send requests and how they'll hear back from you.
• Confirm the first piece of work and its due date.

Step 4: How do you deliver work they'll talk about?

Deliver the first piece of work well and on the date you set, because that first result shapes how the client sees you.

• Check the work against the scope before the client sees it.
• Tell the client what's done and what's next, without being asked.

Step 5: How do you ask for reviews and referrals?

Ask every client for a review and a referral once the first work lands well.

• A federal rule bans a business from paying for, or rewarding, reviews that have to say something good or something bad.
• The same rule bans a business from writing or creating a fake review or testimonial.
• So ask every client the same way, and never pay for a good review.

We don't give legal or tax advice, so check your own case with a lawyer or an accountant.

Step 6: When do you offer more?

Offer more once the client has seen results, starting with work that fits what they already buy.

• Added services that earn without taking your own hours are covered on the revenue engine page.
• When more work comes in than you can do, the four ways to add help are on the team building page.