If there is anything that I have learned in working with clients is that it is essential to have a seamless onboarding process. If you appear scared and distracted when someone contacts you for a project chances are they won’t have very much faith in you and may even take their business elsewhere. That is why is it essential to have a system in place to ensure that you appear professional.
I admit it I took me a while to get it all put together. I use to have a mishmash of ways to keep track of things. It worked mostly when I was just working for friends but now that I am getting clients from the website I needed something that was more streamlined.
I had tried various softwares, but once I found dubsado I was able to pull everything together, and I have been able to make it streamlined to ensure that I appear professional at all times.
Most people first contact me through the website on the form I have. It goes to my email AND the Dubsado software. I ask some questions and when the person hits send it appears in Dubsado and my email.
When it hits Dubsado, I have a workflow set up that it automatically sends an email with a link to Acuity. I also have a questionnaire on Acuity as I still get a lot of referrals from friends of friends and they either just straight up email me or ask me in person I was tired of trying to remember details, so I made a form on Acuity and hoped that people wouldn’t be annoyed by two questionnaires. So far they have not.Once a person selects a time to chat with me it appears on Acuity and my personal Google calendar and yes I pay a small fee to get them to sync up, but the frustration that it saves me is more than worth the price!
Then I Skype with the person. WAIT!! Didn’t you say you are Deaf? I AM but I have Cochlear Ear Implants, and I am one of the rare people who have superpowers when it comes to Implant usage. #kiddingnotkidding Seriously I can understand people like I have been using the things my whole life. and just for two years So once we are on Skype and I get my Bluetooth thingie working with Skype correctly ( please bear with me that thing is tricky I can never get it to work on the first try) we talk about what you want to be written and all of that good stuff!
If we agree to work together, I will send you the contract through Dubsado ( seriously I LOVE that software), and once you pay your ten percent deposit I will get to work!
That is mine onboarding process. It took me a year to get it all working seamlessly. I had tried using 17 hats, but I was all like eehhhh with it. Once I found Dubsado though it all came together.
I have a process for working with a client, but that is a whole other post.
