When you land a new client, the last thing you want is to spend weeks onboarding them and getting access to their marketing accounts. 

After speaking to dozens of high-performing marketing agencies, we found they all come to the same sticking points with onboarding new clients. Finding the right tools to make the onboarding process smooth and hassle-free has been a real struggle for many of them. 

Brady, the executive director from ChiroCandy Marketing told us:

“Our method for onboarding new clients was typically with videos that walked them through the process step by step. Frustratingly, it only worked around 30% of the time.”

Evidently, the client onboarding process is essential for the long-term retention of new clients. It’s also key to building a positive working relationship from the get-go. 

In this post, we’ll offer fourteen valuable tools to improve your onboarding experience for agency clients. Remember that you’ll never get a second chance to make a first impression.

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Why is onboarding a pain? 

After the sales process is complete, failure to deliver an effective onboarding process can lead to frustrated clients. A new customer will quickly learn if you can live up to your company’s promises and meet their expectations.

Many challenges can make the customer journey unpleasant. The onboarding process can take too long, causing your client to become impatient and dissatisfied. They may even decide to abandon you halfway, leading to a higher churn rate for your business.

Failing to understand the client’s expectations and struggling to gather the correct information can be major roadblocks in the process. A business must have templates that can offer a well-defined and personalized client onboarding process for team members to work through.

Poor communication inevitably leads to a relationship breakdown in both personal and professional life. 

Your clients may be apprehensive about your service in the initial stages, so it’s paramount to be clear and consistent to put any doubts at ease. If there’s a lack of communication, those inevitable early doubts can turn to dissatisfaction, and, before you know it, you’ll be parting ways. Deanna, from the team at EmberTribe mentioned that: 

“The unmeasurable part is the client experience.”

Set clear goals in a kick-off meeting, and explain how you will collaborate and communicate with them. Clients may have unrealistic expectations or become confused if you are not transparent about all your processes from the get-go.

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What’s holding up the process of onboarding? 

Many factors can hamper the client onboarding experience. No one wants the process to drag on, but it can do so if your agency hasn’t considered some of the most common issues.

An agency without a standardized onboarding process will likely struggle to welcome new clients. 

Without a standard operating procedure and a client onboarding checklist, team members will be far less capable of delivering a seamless experience for the new client. 

Getting access to marketing assets is the most common complaint we hear from marketing agencies who want to seamlessly onboard new clients. 

It’s possible your clients aren’t tech savvy, or may not know all their account passwords. Precious time can be wasted setting up access to social media accounts, websites, and analytics. 

The back-and-forth emails, the phone calls, and the explainer videos about how to get access to your client’s accounts all waste precious time. Time you could use to start implementing your plans and getting results your clients expect from you.

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How can you make the onboarding process easier?

There are many tools that claim to make the client onboarding process smoother.

Customer onboarding begins as soon as the sales process is complete. A welcome email is often the first port of call, and this should include a point of contact. An onboarding questionnaire is a fantastic way to gather information and help create a customer-centric workflow that aligns with your client’s needs. 

It would be unwise to ignore the range of tools that can help you during this process. After assigning an account manager and a team to oversee the project management, it’s time to communicate the client goals you intend to achieve, and how you plan to achieve them. 

You’ll want to establish deliverables, timelines, and any fixed meeting schedules. Organization is the key ingredient to any good onboarding process. And there are many tools that can be implemented to create a positive customer experience for the new client. 

Here are 14 of the most useful tools for agency client onboarding. 

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14 Tools for onboarding agency clients 

Without a doubt, these tools can help you provide a client onboarding process that will lead to greater customer satisfaction. Let’s take a closer look at why each of the tools can streamline your client onboarding. 

1. Leadsie (getting account access) 

Ok, we may be biased, but thousands of marketing agencies use Leadsie to simplify the process of getting access to their clients’ advertising, social media and analytics accounts. 

How it can help improve your onboarding process  

Getting access is the starting point of any new customer relationship, and Leadsie was specifically developed to remove frustration from the onboarding process. 

Sending an instant access request is a great way to get off on the right foot and make a good first impression. All the client needs to do is open the link and grant permission to give you access to their accounts, such as their Facebook Page, Instagram & Ad Account, Google Analytics, Ads and TikTok.

Leadsie makes the onboarding experience easier for your clients, saving everyone time and a potential headache. It’s a fantastic tool for any freelancer or marketing agency that wants to impress new clients with a slick onboarding process.

Get a free trial and see how it works here. 

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2. Calendly (scheduling meetings) 

Calendly is a scheduling automation platform that you can use to schedule, prepare and follow up on external meetings. This tool, used by over 10 million people, is a great time saver and easy to use. 

How it can help improve your onboarding process 

A good onboarding process requires communication, be it introductions, kick-off calls, training calls, Q&A sessions, or follow-up meetings. Calendly helps eliminate the problematic back-and-forth when trying to schedule appointments, replacing it with just a few clicks.

Let’s not pretend that a messy scheduling process doesn’t create delays and missed connections. Calendly can synchronize multiple calendars and display your availability on a single calendar.

It also allows new clients to receive all the information they need without you having to copy, paste, and manually email each person.

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3. DocuSign (signing contracts)

DocuSign is a digital signature tool that helps collect signatures on contracts and other documents. It’s a fast and reliable way to sign documents electronically.

How it can help improve your onboarding process  

Remember that you should do everything you can to make the onboarding process as smooth as possible. Using DocuSign makes the contract signing process faster and easier for you and your new client. 

As soon as everyone has signed the document, you and your new client will receive an email notification from DocuSign to confirm that the document has been fully executed.

Businesses have quickly adopted e-signature technology and can integrate DocuSign into apps and websites.

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4. Notion (organizing information)

Notion is an all-in-one project management tool that creates a collaborative workspace for notes, projects, tasks, databases, and more. Users can connect their teams, projects, and documents in one place. It’s ideal for centralizing information.

How it can help improve your onboarding process  

A lack of organization can be detrimental to the client onboarding process. Let Notion come to your rescue like a knight in shining armor.

It offers your team a central hub where collaboration is seamless, both for the team members executing projects and the clients reviewing the work.

Sending a new client a Notion link eliminates the need to send multiple word documents and PDFs via email. It’s excellent for tracking milestones and deliverables, and thousands of free templates can help you jump straight into work and stay on top of your content creation. 

It’s fantastic for keeping track of your client onboarding checklist and organizing your timeline. And you can customize Notion to suit your needs and build the workflow you want.

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5. Notion Forms (capturing client information)

NotionForms assists Notion users in creating simple and beautiful forms connected to their central Notion workspace. Whether it’s a survey, a questionnaire, or any other form, you can receive responses directly in Notion.

How it can help improve your onboarding process  

An onboarding questionnaire is essential for gathering further information and understanding your client’s expectations. Making assumptions with insufficient data in the early stages can harm your chances of a positive customer relationship and long-term retention.

That’s why sending clients a polished questionnaire during the onboarding process is standard practice. 

NotionForms is an elegant code-less form builder where you can create reliably beautiful forms in minutes. And choosing to use NotionsForms means your client’s form responses can go directly to your Notion database.

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6. Typeform (collecting information & surveys)

If you aren’t a Notion user, Typeform is another excellent form building tool you can use to capture client information. The beautiful design of the forms help the client to feel like they’re engaging in a conversation with you, rather than being interrogated. 

How it can help improve your onboarding process  

When you onboard a new client, gathering as much information about their needs is essential. You’ll also want to capture the details about their current marketing efforts and any data they have. 

A simple form is an easy way for them to share all the information you need to get started. It eliminates dozens of calls and back-and-forth emails. You also have a record of everything they told you so you can refer back to it as needed. 

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7. Loom (sharing information through video)

Loom is a video messaging tool that helps businesses facilitate workplace communication through instantly shareable videos. Users can record their screen and camera simultaneously, allowing teams to easily share ideas and communicate.

How it can help improve your onboarding process 

Loom shines when used for collaboration. A team member can record an engaging video message and send it to colleagues internally and clients externally. 

The tool exploded in popularity because it’s so easy to put together a tutorial, walkthrough, guide, or announcement. 

It’s the perfect medium for one-way communication. You can skip those long and tedious emails and build a stronger customer relationship by adding a human touch to your communication.

It’s a fabulous way to introduce different aspects of your business to customer onboarding. A single informative video tutorial or walkthrough can save you and your new client so much time and frustration.

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8. Slack (client communication)

Slack is a workplace communication tool founded in 2009. It’s an instant messaging platform that has transformed business communication, bringing internal and external teams together across departments and time zones.

How it can help improve your onboarding process  

Effective communication drives onboarding success. Slack is an excellent tool for managing client communications. You’ll avoid back-and-forth emails, offering clients instant communication to enhance their onboarding experience. Yet, it may be impractical if you have hundreds of clients, so you may have to be pragmatic.

Therefore, offering direct Slack access to your top paying clients is a good idea. It offers a much stronger social connection than email, and all your communication will be in one place. You can add clients to existing channels or make a private channel and only add them and your team members. Slack means instant real-time communication, and decisions and tasks can be carried out quicker when there’s better access to project information.

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9. Google Drive (document sharing) 

‍Google Drive is a cloud-based storage tool that allows users to store and access files online. Its built-in integrations with Google’s suite of products help make it the most popular cloud storage service in the world.

You can also use Google Forms as part of the Google suit which is a great option for capturing initial client information. 

How it can help improve your onboarding process 

The client onboarding process typically requires a mass exchange of information, and Google Drive makes it easy-breezy to share files with clients. You can share files with specific people across devices, giving each of them different levels of access; viewer, commenter, or editor. Google Drive lends itself nicely to collaboration because once a document is shared, other team members or new clients can work on it together in real time.

All onboarding materials and documents can be stored in Google Drive, and instantaneous updates mean everyone stays in the loop.

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10. HighLevel (CRM, scheduling, email software & more)

HighLevel is specifically for agencies who want to capture new leads, nurture those leads and then close the deal. It’s a multi tool platform that offers everything an agency needs to grow their client base and onboard those new clients. 

How it can help improve your onboarding process 

The tool combines workflow and pipeline management, CRM, email software, surveys, forms, appointment scheduling, and automation. It offers an all in one solution for agency needs. 

With everything in one place, you don’t need to flit between tools when using HighLevel. This will enable you to streamline your processes and maintain your professionalism with new clients at all times. Having all client information in one place can save you a tonne of time and avoid any miscommunications which may occur from managing multiple onboarding tools. 

Get a free 14 day trial using our link (we receive a commission in case you decide to continue using it).

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11. DashClicks (all in one tool for agencies) 

An all in one tool, especially for digital agencies, DashClicks includes templates to create ads on different platforms and and so much more. You can integrate analytics, contacts, forms, social media reports all in one place. Clients can access the reports which saves you a whole bunch of time explaining and reporting results.

How it can help improve your onboarding process 

A streamlined onboarding process is an effective one and DashClicks certainly streamlines everything for you. The software allows you to shorten your sales cycle and automate tasks that would normally take up a lot of time.

You can make a great first impression when you manage your clients through DashClicks. The platform even enables automated onboarding for new clients which gives them a slick and uncomplicated way to get started with your agency.

Get a free account using our link (we receive a commission in case you decide to move to a paid plan).

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12. ClickUp (project management) 

A favorite project management tool of many marketing agencies, ClickUp allows you to plan, manage and track any project. You can set priorities, share dashboards and manage marketing campaigns through simple workflow management. You can share documents for collaboration and even plan out content calendars within the app. 

The product’s tagline is ‘one app to replace them all’ and certainly delivers on this promise. It even has a CRM feature, so you can keep all your client information in one place and not have to switch between programs. 

How it can help improve your onboarding process  

A simple way to collaborate and keep a client’s strategy and planning information in one place, the tool shows the client you are organized. You can share to-do lists and prioritization information so the client can see what you’re working on without having to get in touch with you. 

The tool provides visibility to the client which can help you build trust and loyalty with them. 

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13. Monday (project management)

Another project management tool favored by agencies, Monday allows you to centralize all your tools, documents, and processes. You can easily scale workflows and customize dashboards for each client.

How it can help improve your onboarding process  

Monday’s customizable campaign dashboards and roadmaps offer a great way for clients to have an overview of your strategic plans. 

If all the information a new client needs is in one place, it shows efficiency and will help them take the steps you need from them. Say bye to new clients going through dozens of emails and loging into multiple different tools. 

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14. Asana (project management)

Asana is a cloud-based project management software tool that allows any business to manage, collaborate, communicate, and organize their tasks and projects. It’s adaptable and intuitive and streamlines communication across companies and teams.

How it can help improve your onboarding process  

Asana is an excellent platform for efficiently welcoming new clients and breaking up the client onboarding process into actionable tasks. 

Creating a workflow on their platform will ensure your team can focus on accomplishing your client’s goals. It’s flexible too, and can even be used as a basic CRM tool.

On Asana, you’ll find many templates that can benefit your business. For example, a project template can help you track the onboarding process. And creating your company’s own standardized onboarding template will reduce the time spent creating onboarding plans for new clients.

On this platform, information becomes centralized and accessible to everyone. The client can participate in collaboration, see the process in real time, and discern exactly what has been accomplished.

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Pay close attention to your client onboarding experience

When it’s time to onboard new clients, you need to bring your A-game, or else you could lose them forever. 

It’s the first stage of the customer journey, and you must do everything possible to make the process quicker and easier for them. Organization and communication are essential to forging a positive client relationship. 

Create a smoother onboarding experience, and you’ll be saying goodbye to high churn rates and losing valuable customers to competitors with better processes. 

By using some of the easy-to-use tools listed above, you’ll undoubtedly see better results in no time.

Did we forget a precious tool you’re using for your onboarding? Tweet us at @leadsie and let us know!