The 6 client intake process steps explained simply
Summary
So, your team just landed another big client and you’re all pumped to start working with them.
But first, they gotta go through your intake process, right?
That means forms, documents, signatures, approvals, and a bunch of other tasks to complete from the customer side.
And here is the thing: if the whole intake process is slow or confusing, then the excitement disappears (and so does your customer).
On the other hand, your team would have already spent endless hours tracking down information and this also means lost revenues and wasted time for your business.
And again, what should be easy on paper turns into a mess.
Getting clients on board is a key part of the customer lifecycle, but still, many companies haven’t yet found the secret sauce to a smoother, highly engaging customer relationship.
Some businesses, however, have driven excellent outcomes by improving their intake process:
- enhanced team productivity
- increased engagement and conversion rates
- centralized interactions and communications
- better overall client intake experience and engagement
In this post, I’ll go over the 6 key steps in the client intake process and share actionable ideas to streamline each part of this process.
Step 1: Collecting essential client information
The core step of a client intake process is gathering basic client details. You can’t really move forward without knowing who you’re dealing with. This starts as soon as potential clients show interest in your services.
Since this is the first impression your clients will have of your company, you want to position yourself as a trusted partner while making the process as seamless as possible.
So when teams rely heavily on email exchanges, PDFs, or even phone calls to collect such information, it’s common for clients to miss a few fields, submit the same info more than once, or even share wrong details.
The impact on the business is real; a lot of unnecessary back-and-forth and regulatory risks when it comes to data protection.
How to better capture client intake information
We’ve noticed at Clustdoc that creating password-protected online intake forms can help ensure that all the needed info is collected at once. Instead of sending a generic email, an interactive questionnaire can guide clients through the required fields, cutting down on mistakes and saving time for everyone.
Keep the form simple and only ask for the essentials; you can also break it down to make sure it remains comprehensive all the way through.
Form templates can also help with standardizing how you collect data, and once created, you can run the proper questionnaire to suit different client needs better.
That way, every customer follows the same structured process, which will be far less prone to errors.
It also makes it easier for your team to review the correct information in timely manner.
Using Clustdoc, you can safely build client intake form templates that’d be used later on to collect key contact information as part of your onboarding workflows.
If you already have data saved inside your customer management systems, you may want to look into integration capabilities between your systems so you can push data accordingly and avoid duplicates during the intake process.
Similarly, you may want to leverage form automation capablities allowing you to feed in other systems with your intake form data.
For example, using Clustdoc, you could leverage data captured through your intake forms to feed into a contract that would need to be signed during the intake process.
Step 2: Requesting and verifying client documents
Once you’ve gathered the initial client’s information, the critical important step is to collect supporting personal or business documents.
One would think that dropping an email to the client would solve this and expedite the process.
Not so true.
Clients might forget to send something, upload the wrong files, or ask for clarification.
This inevitably leads to more work on your team’s side for sending reminders and reconciling the files manually.
Most of the time, teams using online forms with file sharing capabilities would also face the same problem.
I believe that using a smarter system to collect required documents, will minimize the chance of clients missing or submitting incorrect information.
Also, by having a well-organized system from the beginning you’re ensuring success for your team when internal reviews and approvals would be needed.
The new way of collecting supporting documents
Businesses operating in regulated industries or having heavy compliance business requirements should assess whether file sharing is still the right way to go.
Indeed, I believe that document collection is a new approach that you should focus on to have more control and power during the intake process.
With the Clustdoc document collection feature, you can turn a simple email request into a structured document collection workflow that works on behalf of your team.
Automation is the key here.
Clustdoc document collection system automatically comes with scheduled reminders, checks on entries, activity tracking, and more, so you can easily increase the completion rate for this specific client intake process step.
Step 3: Signing service agreements
At this stage, you’ve correctly qualified your client and sorted all their information.
Next, you’d probably need to have a few more documents or agreements signed.
Some of our customers would need to have a power of attorney, a non-disclosure agreement, or a service agreement signed as quickly as possible to deliver the service.
The goal is to keep the signing process as smooth as possible for your clients and your business.
Here are some tips to make it smoother:
Implementing eSignatures and remote-signing flows
Use an electronic signature solution to streamline your signing process.
Even better, you can use integrated systems to complete the signature step as part of the onboarding or client intake process.
Ideally, the solution you choose should not require your client to look for another email or even open a new browser tab.
Clustdoc not only provides a legally-binding e-signature solution but also helps you build routing logic so you don’t have to invite customers to sign a document manually.
Step 4: Reviewing client submissions
Once all of the above client intake steps are completed, you’re all set to review submitted documents and information.
Again, if you do not have the right solution in place, this phase would usually require internal email chains and spreadsheets to track each client’s progress.
However, complex B2B client intake scenarios usually involve numerous approvals making everything pretty messy.
If you already have a good idea of what approvals need to happen at this stage, you could definitely automate or at least systematize this collaborative effort.
The right client management tool allows operational teams to process submitted information directly from a single screen.
Once you’ve set up clear expectations, you’ll be able to efficiently process client submissions, ensuring compliance every step of the client intake process – all using a single tool.
Leveraging approval sequences to transform client management
For businesses that work with multiple stakeholders, having a centralized system for tracking approvals is essential. When approvals are scattered across different email threads, it’s easy for requests to be overlooked.
Clustdoc lets you stay in check with a rigorous approval workflow system. You can do it all with just a click. Our system makes it easy to approve (or deny) incomplete client tasks and wrong documents from a single interface.
Step 5: Managing data and connecting systems
After getting approval from a client, it’s important to keep their information safe and integrate it with your existing systems. You know how frustrating it can be with disconnected systems, manual data entry and data silos, right?
This process is not only inefficient but also prone to errors. This is where a seamless end-to-end client management tech stack comes in.
A well-integrated client intake system ensures that all client collected data flows seamlessly into your existing tools : CRM, accounting software, and other internal systems.
This cuts down on repetitive tasks and ensures everyone has access to the same, up-to-date information. Keeping sensitive client details in spreadsheets or unprotected folders puts you at risk for data breaches.
A cloud-based, encrypted storage solution protects client information and ensures compliance with data protection regulations. It provides a secure spot where all your documents are automatically stored.
Clustdoc makes it simple to safely manage client data and connect intake submissions to your current workflows. This streamlines admin tasks and guarantees that every team has easy access to the information they need.
How legal teams combine case management tool with a dedicated client onboarding tool
Step 6: Tracking your intake process overall performance
Once you’ve got your client intake process up and running, it’s key to keep track of how it’s performing and make changes as needed.
Pay attention to things like how many clients are completing the process, how long it takes to finalize the end-to-end intake process, and if there are any common roadblocks.
Such metrics can help you tweak your intake process:
– If clients are getting stuck on certain steps, it might mean you need to make things easier.
– If there are lots of missing documents, maybe setting up automated reminders could help.
With Clustdoc, you can keep tabs on every part of the intake process through one dashboard. This helps your team spot trends, improve your workflow, and enhance the overall experience for clients.
What you need to keep in mind
A well-structured client intake process eliminates delays, improves efficiency, and enhances the overall client experience. Plus you’ll be able to quickly identify bottlenecks or legal issues, so that you can easily optimize your process.
In a nutshell, this is what a client intake process looks like:
- Collect essential client information
- Request and verify documents
- Secure e-signatures instantly
- Approve and process submissions
- Store and integrate client data
- Track, improve, rinse & repeat
This will not only make your client intake workflow more effective but will also boost your conversions. With the right process design, your intake process can run smoothly, making it easier for you to grow your law firm.
Get to know Clustdoc
Clustdoc is a professional Client Onboarding and Verification Software.
Many teams use Clustdoc to orchestrate, run and manage repeated industry-specific onboarding workflows with clients or stakeholders:
– Automate routine workflows – no more paper documents
– Get rid of manual tasks and decrease approval lag time
– Stop chasing data and files across multiple tools
– Improve customer engagement and satisfaction
Marie
Marie is the voice of the customer at Clustdoc, she loves guiding businesses toward clarity in their processes and client interactions for better performance and peace of mind.
