9 Questions to Include in Your Client Onboarding Form

Too often, the process of onboarding new clients or customers to your business begins and ends with the client signing your contract or purchase order. While this step is essential, it’s only the beginning of your relationship with your client.

To make sure you meet client needs, it’s essential to ask the right questions during and after they sign on to your service or product offering.

These 8 questions will help you have an effective conversation with your new client that enables you to address issues before they turn into problems that can harm your relationship with them over time.

How will this move your business forward?

Consider whether or not your client’s specific project is something that will move your business forward. Many professionals will take on projects simply for money, but if you don’t have time to handle additional clients, it may not be worth it in the long run. Your time is valuable—don’t waste it.

For example, if your client wants you to help them land more leads for their eCommerce site, do they want those leads from sales of specific products, or would any old sale work? Either way, what resources will they need from you (content development and social media promotion) to achieve that goal?

What is the desired outcome of this project?

Before you jump into any project, you must understand what your client is trying to accomplish. Asking them what they want from their new product or service will help get everyone on the same page and ensure no miscommunications down the road.

When working with clients, the biggest mistake you can make is failing to keep your goal in mind. It might be better to end up with nothing than to end up with something that does not align with your goals or vision for your business. This question may seem obvious, but it’s incredible how often we forget about it as we get caught up in our work.

What are the key performance indicators (KPIs)?

The first step in onboarding is making sure your client knows exactly what you’re going to be working on, what success looks like, and how they will know when things are on track.

You and your client should both have an agreed-upon set of metrics that determine whether or not you need to alter your strategy.

Once these KPIs are defined, make sure your client understands them completely, including how often they will be measured. In other words, don’t just do it—explain it! If necessary, involve your client in establishing specific goals within their KPI framework so that they feel empowered by involvement.

For example: Let’s say one of your client’s main KPIs is increasing website traffic by 25 percent over three months.

How will we measure progress towards these KPIs?

There are many ways to define and measure success, but it is crucial to ensure that your client and your company agree on how these will be measured.

Asking How will we measure progress towards these KPIs? Forces both parties to detail how progress will be evaluated, ultimately clarifying company and client expectations.

It also helps identify potential problems or issues with your business goals before they become a problem later. A clear view of your end goal helps set appropriate metrics along the way.

Three things you’re hoping to get out of working with us: Whether you’re contracting someone for their expertise or working directly for a client, both parties must know what each other expects from one another at every step of your collaboration.

What are your expectations?

Before you ever start working with a new client, both parties must be on the same page regarding what can be achieved and how. A great way to clarify these points is by getting your client to articulate their expectations from your work together.

This will help you ensure that you’re delivering at least what they want (and ideally more) so you don’t get frustrated further down the line. What outcomes do you want?: Being crystal clear about what clients expect from you will also allow them to give specific outcomes they want as a result of your work.

These could include short-term objectives like increasing customer satisfaction by 20% within three months or long-term targets like achieving 10% profit growth in 2022. By aligning yourself with these goals, you have greater clarity around success factors.

How do you prefer to receive updates?

It’s essential to handle how your client prefers to receive updates from you.

Will they always check their email inbox for new messages, or do they prefer text messages?

Does your client want you to call them every time there’s an update, or do they understand that sometimes things need to run smoothly without interruption?

If it seems like your client doesn’t have any preference for how you communicate updates, you may want to consider sending more formal communications through email and calling less often.

Also, be sure to ask your client where you can find all of his contact information; if he has multiple email addresses and phone numbers, be sure to collect all of those so that you can keep him in the loop with minimal hassle.

Asking these questions during onboarding can help future interactions go a lot smoother.

How will you provide feedback, and how often?

It’s essential to communicate with your clients throughout their onboarding process, but what exactly should you say? How often should you provide feedback?

You don’t want to overload them, but neither do you feel they have no place for direct feedback. Try asking them if they have any questions during each of your communications, or provide them with an avenue through which they can offer real-time feedback.

What information do we need to get started?

Before starting any project, it is crucial that both parties understand exactly what they are getting into.

Your clients need to know what is expected from them and how long it will take before there is a measurable outcome; you need to know their expectations and potential challenges upfront to plan accordingly. To avoid future confusion, agree on all details as soon as possible.

Are there any known risks or issues we should be aware of at this stage?

If there are, discuss them in detail with your client. Clients want (and need) to know they’re working with you because you’re their best option and not because you just happened to be available.

They should feel confident that you can deliver fantastic results—so ask about any potential roadblocks upfront. And if something isn’t clear to either party, then make sure it is by asking an open-ended question like What would that look like? Or How do we move forward from here?

Free Client Onboarding Form Template

We’ve built a free client onboarding form template on HeyForm. Feel free to import and use it on your projects. And if you fancy creating a new onliine form from scratch, get started with HeyForm online form builder today!