Rolling Out the Red Carpet: Onboard Clients With Better Proposals

So, you've landed a new client - congrats! But don't pop the champagne just yet. Now that your client has accepted your proposal, they're at peak engagement. Excited to get started, they're itching to know what comes next.

The last thing you want to do is turn that enthusiasm into concern and confusion. This is where the real work begins - it's time for client onboarding.

Client onboarding is all about welcoming and integrating new clients into your business smoothly. It sets the tone for your entire relationship with a client. It helps build trust, clarifies expectations, and ensures that everyone is on the same page from the get-go.

Think of client onboarding as laying down the foundation for a successful partnership. When done right, it leads to long-term relationships and clients who keep coming back for more.

By taking the time to onboard clients properly, you're not just making their lives easier - you're also showing that you value their business. When clients feel understood and supported from day one, they're more likely to stick around.

Once a client has accepted your proposal, it's only logical to include an onboarding flow right after. Besides saving you the trouble of switching between apps, it's a faster and more efficient way of getting clients on board.

Your Better Proposals Onboarding flow is designed to stack positive client experiences one on top of the other. You start with a beautiful, responsive document and keep the momentum going with a smooth onboarding sequence inside the same app.

You'll find your Onboarding by going to Settings > Admin > Onboarding. From there, you can set up and edit different onboarding flows for different types of projects.

To make this as simple and as familiar as possible, the layout of the Onboarding editor is similar to the Template Editor. From the sidebar to the left, you can modify the names of your onboarding steps, add, remove, and reorder them.

In addition to editing the Onboarding flow, you can also edit each individual step. Change the content by simply clicking where you want to edit or edit how a step works by clicking on the Settings icon in the left sidebar.

By default, your Onboarding flow starts with a "thank you" page. As every other template inside Better Proposals, this page is also completely editable.

To make sure you're starting off on the right foot, you can use this page to go beyond a simple "thank you" and give your client a warm welcome. Express your excitement about working with them and provide them with a framework of what comes next.

Besides reinforcing the idea that they've made the right choice, this also lets clients know that the process is moving forward. What's more, knowing what to expect removes any doubt a client may have and makes them excited to continue with the onboarding process.

If you've integrated with Stripe, GoCardless, or PayPal, the payment page will automatically be a part of your Onboarding. You can edit both the "payment required" and "payment successful" messages.

By clicking on the settings icon in the left sidebar, you can also change the step name. In addition to this, you can decide to let the onboarding sequence continue without a payment being made. We recommend not doing this if you're collecting a deposit.

However, it can be useful in cases where upfront payment is optional. For example, if you're offering a discount for upfront payments, this lets your onboarding continue even if a client decides to pay later.

Inside Better Proposals Onboarding, you can add forms. Whether it's collecting extra information, contacting you, opting in, or anything else, you have two ways of adding them:

As with all our templates, the pre-built forms are editable, so you can add additional form fields. And if you're building your own from scratch, you can do it directly in Onboarding or go to Settings > Admin > Forms.

If you create a form inside Onboarding, it will also be saved into your Forms tab. However, we recommend going in and renaming it, especially if you create more than one. That way, you'll know which one to add if you're using it in another Onboarding sequence later.

On the other hand, if you create a form from the Forms tab, you'll be prompted to name it right away. Then, when you want to include it in an Onboarding flow, it will sit under My Forms in the library.

To access additional form functionality, click on the settings icon in the left sidebar. Besides renaming the step in your Onboarding flow, here you can also decide who needs to fill out the form. If you have more than one document recipient, you can opt for only one person or everyone to fill it out.

In addition to this, you also have the option to send the form data to people in your company who need access. You can CC them and decide whether they only get to see the data or the entire form.

If you need to schedule a kick-off call with your clients, you no longer need to send them an email with a link. Instead, simply include it in your Onboarding using our Calendly integration. And if you have multiple calendars, don't worry - you get to pick which one gets linked from the dropdown menu.

Just like the Template Editor, Onboarding also lets you add Content Blocks. As a matter of fact, the "thank you" page from the beginning is a Content Block.

While most will opt for a Content Block only for the "thank you" page, there are cases you might want to add one between steps. For example, if you have a longer form coming up, you might want to give your client an approximate time it will take to fill it out. Or, you might want to use them to add breaks with personalized messages throughout your Onboarding flow.

After your client has completed the Onboarding flow you've set, you can add a redirect step to guide them to your website. Sending them to a useful resource or a gallery of your work is a great way to round up the onboarding experience and keep them excited about the project.

You no longer need to rely on slow, manual processes to get your clients on board. By automating your onboarding flows and connecting them to your documents, you're not only saving time. You're ensuring a consistent onboarding experience for every client, every time.

With Better Proposals Onboarding, you'll no longer miss steps, forget to send forms, or fear the spam filter on your client's inbox. From offer acceptance, all the way down to information collection and scheduling, every step of getting a new client happens in a smooth sequence.

So, why wait? Head over to your account, set up your Onboarding flows, assign them to templates, and keep impressing clients long after they've signed.