In today's new episode of Grow Your Firm Podcast, we interview Robert Colburn, a Senior Outsourcing Consultant at CliftonLarsonAllen, on different ways accounting firms can build their own systematic client onboarding process while simultaneously growing their firm.
In this interview, Robert and I dive into:
Show Links: Robert Colburn's LinkedIn Page CliftonLarsonAllen Key Summary The client onboarding process can become a headache, quickly, especially when you do not already have systems in place or staff to help transition new clients to your firm. Some firms even shut off their onboarding process and stop sales completely, because they just cannot handle the work. Instead of stunting the growth of your firm, in today's Grow Your Firm Podcast, we sat down with Robert Colburn, a Senior Outsourcing Consultant at CliftonLarsonAllen. Robert has developed key strategies to building your own systematic client onboarding process that not only allows you to keep the sales funnel on but also builds trust with your new clients. Let's dive in. Defining Your Onboarding Process Some CPA firms have been making the choice to fine-tune their onboarding process and some have just simply ignored it whether or not they realize the importance. What I am talking about is the importance of processes fulfillment in your client acquisition efforts. Robert says there are two beginning steps you should take to automate your client onboarding process . The first step is to know your business model and to focus on the services you provide to your clients. Set your levels and expectations of services. Understand what you do really well as a business and know what you can refer elsewhere to your trusted sources. Robert thinks it is really crucial to automate your client onboarding process early and to get your services up and running before you start to win clients. The second step is finding out how you can use outside technical expertise, programs, or applications to help execute your onboarding strategy. Examples of some of these services are
- Two important steps in determining the ways to automate your client onboarding process
- Deciding on your role to your clients
- Steps to take when launching your very own onboarding process
- and much, much more!
- Accounting programs like QuickBooks or AP Processing
- Tax applications or
- Client file sharing programs
- The initial onboarding phase can take approximately 1 to 3 months to complete. Review the process and adjust accordingly to make sure it will be working optimally for the client
- The ongoing phase is continuous and is reviewed periodically for fine-tuning. So in essence you are always onboarding your client. In doing so, you are fostering a great, interactive relationship and strengthening rapport with your clients.