The Big Onboarding
It’s my tactical newsletter.
In the last one, you got the The Lurker Conversion Playbook™.
There are two other playbooks in the oven:
The Client Retention Playbook
Mailing List Growth Playbook
Today, I wanted to give you a quick glimpse into. The Client Retention Playbook. I’m working on.
Many people will skip this. Because when they hear client retention. they think, “I’ve got that covered. My clients like what I do.”
I won’t dispute that. Maybe, fair enough, they have other priorities.
But I’ll argue that 90% of the people I’ve worked with were totally missing a few tactical points—points that impact their business way more than they realize.
At minimum, here’s an opportunity to go from good to great.
An opportunity to keep clients longer and get them raving about your product.
Most coaches don’t see the need or don’t think there’s room for improvement.
That might be true for someone…
But if I can speak candidly—
It’s not true for the big majority. And the more they think this way, the more opportunities you’ll have 😉 (Yay!).
The easier it is for you to stand out and win.
In The Client Retention Manual. I’m focusing on three areas:
The Big Onboarding (BO)– what happens when clients first sign up?
The First Big Win (FBW)– how long from sign-up to their first win?
…wait for the playbook– this one could possibly double your business.
For now, let me describe the power of BO as I see it.
A quick story
This past week, one of my clients opened the doors to her membership and got 10 new clients really fast.
Awesome! She should be proud.
Many of them signed up for 6 months or a year—humble brag for her, and for me too.
But here’s the real humble thing:
With the first ones who signed up, guess what happened after payment?
Payment successful. And what did they get back?
You guessed it: nothing. Nada. Niente. Zero.
Can you imagine the client sitting there looking at their credit card and then staring out the window, wondering if anything was going to happen?
I’m shocked you’re not shocked 😱.
But not really.
Because this is extremely common. I used to do the same.
The next day—or a few days later—I’d come back with the first steps.
But I don’t love that idea.
Because there’s no reason for it. Any established business should get back to clients immediately upon purchase.
Whether you get 2 clients or 200, an automation workflow should onboard them all instantly.
Yes, it requires setting up in advance. But once it’s done, it runs forever.
does 4 things instantly:
Welcome
Orient clearly
Collect information
Surprise
That’s it. But it’s huge.
It builds the start of a real relationship.
If clients paid, they care.
If it doesn’t go well, they won’t stay—let alone recommend you.
Business success is 100% tied to repeat business and recommendations.
How to welcome
A simple message. Even better, a video message.
How to orient
One call to action. Only one.
I made every mistake here. In the past, I’d send people a whole list—terrible idea.
Now it’s one action, which naturally leads them to the next.
How to collect information
Create a form with key questions that help you serve them better and help you attract more clients.
Examples:
Why did you decide to join us?
What in our conversation or marketing convinced you?
Pro tip: Make this form a choke point. All other actions depend on it. Tell them: “When you submit the form, your course is activated.”
If you leave it optional, many won’t do it.
How to surprise
When they submit the form, unlock the course—and unlock a surprise.
It could be a Starbucks voucher, a special session, or a secret bonus course. Go wild.
And that’s all I’ll share today on Big Onboarding.
Of course, you’ll need a tool to automate the process.
Clients using Academy in a Box have the system fully built for them from end to end.
So what do you think?
What do you do to make the start of a client relationship special?
Stay tuned for the full Client Retention Playbook.
Onboarding is only one of three critical moments.
Here’s to your success!
