Key Takeaways
- Client onboarding starts in sales, not after the contract is signed. Misaligned expectations set during the sales process are one of the most common causes of early churn.
- Consistency requires a single source of truth. Onboarding documentation fragmented across email, spreadsheets, and project tools is where processes break down at scale.
- Onboarding isn't finished at kickoff — ongoing support, feedback loops, and clean handoffs to long-term account owners determine whether a client stays or churns in year one.
Surveys show that 86% of clients will remain loyal to companies that provide onboarding and education services. That makes onboarding worth prioritizing — especially since acquiring a new client can cost five times more than retaining an existing one.
Client onboarding is the process of introducing new clients to your business and helping them understand how to best get value from your products or services. Such a process allows you to set expectations and build trust early on, as well as improve client satisfaction and long-term retention by removing friction from day one.
Here’s a seven-step checklist your company can follow to optimize its new client onboarding process.
1. Start Client Onboarding in Sales
Onboarding starts earlier than many companies begin addressing it — often during the sales process. For instance, consider the final project proposal your sales team sends to an incoming client. That proposal needs to clearly delineate the scope of the work and deliverables. The key is to make sure your company and the new client are on the same page from the moment an agreement gets signed.
This early phase of the onboarding process can include:
- Using easy digital tools like PandaDoc to secure digital signatures
- Clarifying deliverables and setting expectations to avoid scope creep
- Proposing software or client management platforms to streamline future onboarding tasks
- Preparing clear, easily accessible contractual terms (with critical clauses like NDAs and service-level agreements included)
2. Nailing the Client Intake Process
After your sales department finishes its job, the client moves to your intake process. This is the step you should personalize to address the unique concerns of each B2B customer.
For instance, your process can start each time with an onboarding questionnaire. This should assess the client’s needs, preferences, and any other factors that could be relevant to their onboarding.
Onboarding software makes this much easier to do. Such a tool allows you to choose which questions to ask and sends out the questionnaires automatically when the client joins the intake process. Automatic data collection simplifies the process and saves time and effort.
There are a few additional steps you’ll want to take internally at this point, including:
- Gathering necessary documentation, such as brand guidelines and previous project reports
- Setting up a secure file-sharing method for future use
By the end of this step, you should have all the information you need to create an ideal onboarding experience for the client. The next step is preparing to deliver that experience.
3. Prepare to Onboard Internally
Now, you’re ready to begin using the information you’ve gathered throughout the previous two steps. One of the first things you should do is assign tasks to different customer service team members. For instance:
- Who will act as the chief point of contact?
- Who will answer questions from workers?
- Who will provide proactive support and lead continuing education services?
- What other roles do you need to fill?
Next, make sure you have a playbook set up for internal handoffs. Figure out when a client moves from one customer service team member to another. Decide what that process looks like and who will have oversight.
It’s also important to integrate the client's preferred tools into your system. That way, they can keep using what they already know (when possible). For example, if they use QuickBooks for accounting, your invoice software should support data merges. You may also need to set up new communication platforms like Slack.
Finally, all this information must exist in a single source of truth. This could be your onboarding software or project management software like Trello and Asana. The key is to ensure that employees can find the information they need independently and without wasting much time.
4. Host a Project Kickoff Meeting
You’ve made it through the most labor-intensive work. Now, it’s time to share the onboarding experience you’ve created with the client.
The kickoff meeting is an opportunity to introduce your internal customer support team to the client’s team. You’ll go through objectives together, clarify timelines, and resolve any lingering questions to make sure you’re on the same page.
It can also be smart to establish a regular check-in procedure here. For example, you might agree to reconnect every month to review high-level progress. However, this can vary based on the client, their preferences, and the project’s goal.
That brings up the importance of considering client feedback. The onboarding experience you curate may not always be the customer’s ideal version. It’s important to listen to their opinions and adapt, as the main goal is keeping them happy.
For instance, maybe you think it’d be smart to check in every month. If the client thinks that would become a chore, there’s no need to force them into it. Just make sure you present the case and move forward.
5. Optimize Your Communication Strategy
After the kickoff meeting, review your communication strategy going forward. Which platforms will you use to communicate with the client?
Generally, email works. But it may not be the right fit for every team. An onboarding platform can be an excellent option, too, as it lets clients ask questions and get answers in the same place. When in doubt, use your best judgment based on what you know about the client's previous communications.
Other worthwhile tasks at this optimization phase of the onboarding process, include:
- Performing regular status check-ins to ensure progress is satisfactory
- Reaching out proactively with status reports at set intervals (such as at the beginning of every month)
- Scheduling Zoom calls with key stakeholders
One other thing to consider here is setting up a feedback loop. It should be easy for clients to share concerns with your team. When they do, those concerns should be forwarded to the appropriate people and handled without significant delay.
You may need to establish this feedback loop yourself by writing a set of guidelines. You can also set up a channel for feedback on Slack or your onboarding platform. Whatever you and the client prefer.
6. Provide Ongoing Support and Adjustments
Your client’s onboarding needs can evolve over time, and you’ll want to address them timely to ensure satisfaction with your services. You can keep an eye on any potential changes in client's needs in two ways.
You can host post-launch review sessions to get feedback from clients and offer to make any adjustments or training they request from there. But you can also leverage data.
For example, if you deliver on-demand training, data could tell you which modules take the most time. You could take that information and use it to improve those modules for future use, preventing any challenges.
Data can also help you keep monitoring your processes, so if any issues arise, you can refine and improve them timely.
7. Finish With Strong Documentation and Handoffs
The only thing left to do is wind down the onboarding process. There are two important steps to this:
- Make sure that you hand over all key documents to the relevant stakeholders on the other side.
- Introduce the client to their long-term account manager or support team.
This is also a good opportunity to differentiate your brand. Leaving the client with a training system they can manage internally can do wonders for your relationship with them.
Move Forward Faster With an Onboarding Checklist Template
An enhanced onboarding process can help a business form stronger relationships, reduce turnover, and support the bottom line. If you’re ready to start working on it, create your new client onboarding checklist template. It’s a useful tool for implementing these steps more efficiently.
Customer Onboarding Checklist FAQs
.svg "Clip path group (1)"){kind=small}
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.png)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
