Onboarding new clients is a key opportunity to prime your clients for success. The way you approach the onboarding process and the words you choose to use can often make or break the long-term potential for the relationship. If you want to know how to onboard clients with an upgraded script, keep reading.
Words and Psychology
Onboarding clients is easier when you know what to say and knowing how to choose your words is as simple as tapping into Psychology 101. Just one word can evoke a range of feelings and emotions, good or bad, that dictate how you perceive the world around you. When it comes to onboarding new clients, this means that the wrong words could cost you a client.
This doesn’t mean you have to be scared to say anything during the onboarding process. There are a few tips rooted in general psychology you can use to form a basic script that helps ensure onboarding success.
Planting the Seed
The minute you close a deal, your focus should shift from sales to customer success. Your job becomes painting a vivid picture for the client of what success will look like. This is called “planting the seed.” When you’re onboarding clients, don’t just hit them with a statement like, “We’re so excited to be partnering with you.”
Use the opportunity to plant seeds of specific milestones of success. For instance, you could say, “I can’t wait to hear from you in 90 days that you’ve added $20K in new MRR.” When you plant the seeds of success with conviction, clients will unconsciously latch onto this and look for reasons to see success.
Our brains use confirmation bias to solidify beliefs we already consciously or subconsciously hold because it is easier to process information from our own viewpoint. Planting the seed helps shape your future with client success. Your clients will be more forgiving when issues arise, and you’ll achieve more success together when you both believe success is on the horizon.
Priming
In psychology, priming is a technique in which the introduction of one stimulus influences your response to a subsequent stimulus. Priming works by activating an association from memory just before the subsequent stimulus is introduced. It happens unconsciously, but it can have a major impact on our everyday lives.
When it comes to how to onboard new clients, this is where the words really start to matter. Think of this example. If you walk into work in the morning and the first thing you are confronted with is negative conversation, that encounter will directly impact your attitude and other interactions for the rest of the day. The same concept applies to new client onboarding.
Within the first 48 hours of signing a new client, positively prime them by flooding them with value and encouragement. Acknowledge them. Celebrate them. Solve their problems fast. With the right priming, clients will approach roadblocks and challenges with a positive mindset that contributes to better lifetime value of the client relationship.
Need More Onboarding Tips?
Knock your agency management out of the park with better agency onboarding. The experienced and motivated team at 8 Figure Agency is here to guide and support you as you take your business to the next level. Schedule a free consultation today.
