3 Steps to Creating a Client Workflow

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Suppose potential customers are wowed by your amazing marketing and signups start pouring in… now what? How do you usher clients into your business, keep projects organized, and avoid mistakes along the way?

You need to develop a client workflow. A client workflow to keep your business processes organized while also managing your growing client base. 

What is a Client Workflow? 

A client workflow involves a funnel that your client goes through as he is introduced to your business, like a buyer’s journey from picking a product to the completion of the project. It consists of a series of steps, from the onboarding stage to the delivery of the service or product. 

If you’re setting up your client workflow on your own, you have to plan how to direct the customer from initial contact right to sign up, nurturing the client throughout the entire process to achieve the desired results. In this case, complete a project or deliver a product. 

Creating a client workflow gives every client the attention they deserve. When your clients have great experiences with your business, they’ll likely become repeat customers and perhaps, tell people from their network how amazing your business was for them!

For new entrepreneurs, setting client protocols from the get-go to stay on track with your business processes so there are fewer mistakes and mishaps to deal with along the way. 

How to Create a Client Workflow?

Setting up a client workflow can be done on your own using free tools or through client workflow software. You have to outline what happens when a client initiates contact with your business. Creating a flowchart lets you document the outline of the client workflow. You can use Google Docs or Microsoft Word for the flow chart. Outline the steps customers have to take to complete a project from start to finish. Write written responses or actions with every step to guide a client through the workflow. 

For example, you can create a signup form using Flodesk and then develop a series of emails, beginning with a Greeting email to usher the customer into every step of the workflow. You can write the canned responses and email templates on Google Docs; just don’t forget to label the template so you can quickly find them and copy the emails to send. 

Setting Up A Client Workflow

If you are setting up a client workflow without using a paid workflow software, here is a step-by-step guide:

Step 1: Mapping Out the Initial Contact

A potential client saw your business on a Google search or through social media and reaches out to you – how do you entertain the initial contact? If a client reaches out to you, what response should you forward? Where would you respond to your client?

Assuming that the client hits you up on Facebook (or other social media platforms), you’ll need to provide automatic responses or booking options to set up a meeting. Facebook has its own booking system, enabling customers to self-schedule a specific business. 

The platform also provides canned responses that you can customize, so every time a client sends you a message on Facebook messenger, the canned response is sent automatically until you are ready to chat or confirm a consultation date with the said customer.

You can also use calendar schedulers, team management platforms, and email marketing services to improve the client workflow. The paid services can wait until you’re ready to level up your business workflow. 

Now, if a client contacts you through email, you must prepare a series of template emails to push them through your calendar and book a consultation or a chat. After mapping out and setting up the initial contact, you can begin with the integrations – connecting different tools and apps to develop a smooth client workflow. For example, connecting your Zoom account with your Calendar service or your email marketing service to your social media profiles to manage customer inquiries. 

Step 2: Creating a booking or consultation template/copy

The next step is creating a template for the email you will send to a client after the initial consultation or booking. The copy essentially summarizes all the details related that you can offer to the client: 

• Offer
• Action plan
• Pricing
• Date of availability

Anything that you might’ve missed during the initial contact should be added to the copy. Once the copy’s done, it’s just a matter of copy and pasting parts of it into every new email, so you don’t have to create new emails every time a potential client contacts you. This process can be automated using a calendar tool. 

Step 3: Follow-Up on Clients

This step can be done in advance; you can create a follow-up email ahead of time and just save it at a specific date – like a one-week and one-month follow-up. Gmail has a feature that lets you send follow-up emails at a particular date, so that’s worth checking out. 

Following up on the client is a crucial step in the workflow because it will compel the client to confirm or reaffirm his intentions to push through with the project. 

On the email, let the client know that you're following up on the email you've previously sent (mention the week the email was sent and the subject of the email), ask their thoughts about the offer, outline the proposal, what to expect at the start of the project, and finish up with a call to action by inviting the client for a meeting or call. 

While it’s much easier to use an automation tool to complete the client workflow, using your own workshop at the beginning of your days as an entrepreneur enables you to understand the business more and develop a better business process while keeping your tasks organized. 

Setting up time-saving tools will definitely help speed things up, making things easier for the client at the start of the project. Thankfully, there are loads of schedulers and time-saving apps to try online. 

Creating a client workflow requires a lot of planning, but one thing to keep in mind is to make the entire process of signing up for your service easy and convenient for clients. The workflow ensures that the onboarding stage is as seamless as possible. This helps organize your tasks too. 

Closing

Providing the best customer experience is, hands down, the most effective way of staying at the top of your client's mind. Trust is built when clients feel that they’re being taken care of. Excellent customer service sends a clear message: you’re taking your business seriously. 

But the thing is, not all businesses have the cash flow to invest in pricey tools – at least not yet for your fledgling business. If you’re on a limited budget, there are ways to take care of your customers without spending a small fortune, like developing a client workflow. Once you’ve mastered your client workflow, you can start growing your business and attracting more clients. 

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