Hey everyone! Welcome to another episode of code and coffee talk, this week talk is about building an on-boarding funnel for your business. Last week I covered building an appointment booking funnel that took your website visitors through to booking. If you are a service-based business who doesn’t have a funnel that takes your potential customers through the steps of booking an appointment right from your website then I highly suggest you take a moment and listen to episode 9 on the code and coffee podcast and get it knocked out.
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Now let’s get started! With our on-boarding funnel, we want to start with our goal. The goal intended for this funnel is to take your website visitors down the path to become a client. This funnel can be edited to fit many service-based businesses even though the content may be different.
For a coach, this funnel may look like: A potential client comes to your website > they find your service that they need > completes sign up form and books appointment > After the form is submitted the client receives an email confirmation outlining the next steps > After the call, an email is sent out to them for a testimonial, and welcome kit.
For a marketing agency, this funnel may look like: A potential client comes to your website > they find your service that they need > completes sign up form and submits payment for service> After the form/payment is submitted the client receives an email confirmation outlining the next steps > Once all information is received, the client receives final work and testimonial/survey email.
Still the same steps but some things are slightly different, as with any funnel you want to outline the steps and information that you need the client to go through in order to get started on the service. This will ensure that nothing is missed, so take the time to really make sure no step is left out. With this series, I created a download that will help you walk through and outline the funnels so don’t forget to download below this blog post.
Once you know exactly what is needed for the service, we can move on to the next steps. You will need to have the right tools, for this funnel you will need to have your appointment booking, payment processor and email marketing provider for this. There is also a video walkthrough of this funnel which you can find in the show notes.
So let’s breakdown this on-boarding funnel:
STEP ONE
You need to direct your visitors from your marketing channels to your website, this can be done with a Social Landing page. The landing page gives different options for your customer to choose from because most social websites only allow for one link in your bio. Having a social landing page you can add multiple links. Once a visitor lands on your social landing page, they can click to view your website or they may visit your service pages if they know what service they want to go with. On your booking page, they may book a call with you to go over your availability and the details of the project for direction. If the service is something that they can purchase to get started, make sure that you make checkout clear and include your policies to avoid cancellations. At this time, you should receive payment for the intended service and a email is automatically sent out to your new client with next steps.
STEP TWO
Once the call or purchased has been completed, send a email to your client with the next steps/ required information and testimonial request. The testimonial is for the call to see if anything needs to be changed or improved in your onboard process for the consult call. Sending this email within the first hour of the call makes it easier and has a higher conversion because it is still fresh. After the testimonial is complete, add it to an excel sheet so that you can use it on your website, social media and on other brand collateral.
STEP THREE
You want to send your welcome kit to your new client. The welcome kit can be a digital pdf that is automatically sent once your initial invoice is paid. The welcome kit should include: a copy of your contract, payment policy, cancellation policy, a thank you letter, an outline of project details, estimated deadlines and next steps/ expectations. This helps remove any questions that the client may have and removes any surprises.
STEP FOUR
Depending on if the client starts right away or has a scheduled start date, you want to inform the client when the date is approaching. Follow up with the client and let them know of any outstanding items that are needed to complete the job. Include any outstanding invoices, what to expect on the actual start dates and what happens when deadlines are missed. This will help keep your project on track so there are no miscommunications.
STEP FIVE
The last step of this funnel is the steps that happen after work has been completed. Send a quick survey to the client to see how the experience was and if anything needs to be improved. This will help iron out any issues with your on-boarding for future clients. As an added thank you, send a quick thank you email with a digital coupon or free gift. Also add the client to your email marketing list so that you are able to continue marketing to them for future services and promotions. Since they already experienced working with you they will not hesitate to purchase from you again.
