If you run an agency like I do or you own a service-based, client-based business, you know how important it is to onboard clients effectively… and how tricky it can be, too. See, the onboarding stage is arguably one of the most important parts of the puzzle in the client relationship, because it sets the stage for either a really incredible experience or a lackluster one.

And we’re allllll about the really incredible ones over here, huh?! (Heck yeah!)

Over the years, I’ve onboarded a lot of clients into my agency, and I’ve gotten the entire process down to quite the science. The keys? Overcommunicating, making all the checklists, and documenting each and every step.

Ready to dive in? I’ve got you covered.

Why onboarding is so important

Have you ever started working with someone, only to realize that you felt super unsure of what the correct next steps were — or, even worse, to realize that the person/business you’re working with feels really unorganized?!

Same. And there is nothing worse — which is why onboarding is so, so important.

While onboarding is what kickstarts your client relationship, it’s also what kickstarts the internal workflows in your own business that keep that client relationship moving forward. When you onboard clients properly, you set the stage for an organized, positive experience for everyone involved — including your team, yourself, your clients, and their teams. When you don’t onboard clients properly, you set the stage for a messy, confusing experience for everyone involved.

My Secrets for Onboarding Clients into My Agency

While our onboarding process over here at System Envy is definitely made up of a lot more than just a few secrets, there are 3 go-to’s that form the foundation of each step in our onboarding process: overcommunication, lists, and documentation.

Here are the 3 secrets we swear by when it comes to onboarding clients over here:

• Over-communication is key: Being under-communicated to is the #1 driver of confusion, excessive questions, and unclear expectations — which is why we over-communicate in the onboarding process (and then after). We never want clients and their team to feel out of the loop in their onboarding status, and we also want to make every detail apparent and clear for everyone. At System Envy, we rely on Slack for quick communication and updates, but anything can work.

• Checklists make everything easier: We love a checklist over here, and rely on them heavily when onboarding new clients. There are a ton of different checklists we use here (and have built into Asana), starting with researching the account and setting up iOS update tasks for their ads all the way to getting client assets and necessary logins. Those checklists keep us on track and prepped for client launches, and they’re also how we don’t miss out on important steps.

• Document everything: No amount of communication or checklists can account for keeping track of where everything goes, which is why documentation is KEY. We document everything, from client communication to contract signatures to deposits, in our backend area of Asana to round out our onboarding process as much as humanly possible, and it’s come in handy over and over again.

—

There ya have it — the 3 major secrets we rely on over here at System Envy to streamline and kill it with our onboarding process in our agency! Have any additional ones you love to use? Send ‘em our way!