Resourceful Designer - A Graphic Design Podcast

Client Offboarding is the final step in building that oh so meaningful client relationship that will keep them coming back to you time and again with more design projects.

The Design Contract is the crucial final part of the Client Onboarding Process. This vital part confirms that a potential client is now a paying client. Without a contract in place, you are opening yourself up to problems in the future.

A design proposal is a document you present to a potential client outlining details pertaining to their particular design project in order to convince them to hire you. The content of the design proposal is generated through the information you acquired during the client meeting.

Think of the client meeting like a job interview, which in a way it is. You are interviewing the client, and the client is interviewing you. This meeting is less about the design project and more about discovering if this client is someone with whom you want to have a working relationship. Both parties need to feel comfortable working with each other before anything else can proceed.

An intro packet is a tool you use to land new clients and facilitate the client onboarding process. It can either be a dedicated page on your website, a PDF or better yet, a well designed and nicely printed piece to hand out to potential clients.

Client onboarding is the process of turning potential clients into paying clients. It’s the process of introducing them to your business, addressing their questions and concerns, and ensuring they understand the services you offer and your processes while providing those services.

Understanding priorities become important once the ball is rolling, money is coming in, and your design business is out of the infancy stage. At some point, you need to take a measure of what it is you are doing with your business, compared to what it is you want to be doing with it and ask yourself, “am I saying yes to stuff I probably shouldn't be saying yes to?”

This week's release falls on April Fools Day. The one day of the year where tomfoolery, shenanigans and levity abound. A day when you put all seriousness aside and let out your inner practical joker. I decided to use this episode to share some of the practical jokes I’ve been part of over the years.

I want to share something that happened to me this week. I came home from a nice lunch with friends to both an email and urgent voicemail message from a client saying someone had hacked their website and their URL redirected to a porn site.

The idea is to build relationships with your clients. Building relationships is the main ingredient in building client loyalty. I’m not talking about designer/client relationships, but relationships on a more personal level.