How to Onboard & Offboard Your Interior Design Clients
When it comes to working with interior design clients, you want to make sure you wow them from the get-go. They’re making a large investment and putting their faith in you to deliver their dream home. Let’s make sure they love the whole process, yeah? Here’s how to do it!
First up, onboarding
We’re going to walk you through how we do it over here at ASR Design Studio so you can swipe our perfected process!
Step 1: the client inquiry call
Take this time to learn all about your potential client. Ask them what problems their current home has along with how they envision their dream space. Allow them to get to know you a bit more, and learn about them as well to determine if the project is a good fit.
Step 2: Get yourself set up in Dubsado
We use Dubsado for lots of stuff: emailing, setting up appointments, creating proposals, and signing contracts. It’s a great platform for staying organized and streamlined — a key to having a well-running and client-wowing business!
Get 20% off your first month or year with Dubsado by using this affiliate link.
Step 3: Invoice via Houzz
Houzz is great for invoicing. It’s simple and easy to use, and allows you to invoice each step of the way, from the initial payment to the product needed in design. There are lots of online services that can help you streamline digital billing so select one that works best for you.
Step 4: the paid design consultation
Next up, we do our first appointment with our clients where we get clear on scope of work, investment amounts, and the design process. We also use this time for gathering info about the project so we can prep our custom quote.
Step 5: sign the papers
We have one final onboarding meeting where we review the proposal & contract and collect signatures & first payment. Need a hand collecting and creating all these docs? Check out our recs below to help your meeting go smooth as silk (and keep your butt legally protected).
Step 6: welcome email
Once they’re officially signed on to work with ASR, we send off their welcome email. Keep this informative and entertaining. Don’t make them slog through a long, boring email! Let this be an exciting first taste of what’s to come.
Step 7: Let’s head to basecamp
Before we start designing, we get our clients set up in Basecamp. This allows us to have one, well, basecamp to keep files and communication streamlined.
Let’s take a pause to get your tech in order!
We’ve talked about lots of tech platforms & emails to send. Here are some resources to help you through it all and set up for success.
Step 8: Create a timeline
Now it’s time for the nitty-gritty. We’ll take a look at the client’s desires, the project’s scope, and our design plan and create a timeline.
Step 9: The go-to list
We also create a list of links to places our clients may need to reference, including:
Houzz
PDF of Contract & Proposal
Investment Spreadsheet
Any other info needed for their specific project
This helps them feel super taken care of — and also saves us time in responding to lots of emails!
Step 10: OneDrive folder
On the internal side of things, we develop a OneDrive folder for things like invoices, CAD files, all that stuff. Make sure to select a cloud system that allows you and your team full access to all your files to keep your projects running smoothly.
Step 11: time to explore
Finally, it’s time to prep for the exploratory design phase. (You can learn more about our full process here, which will give you some insights about those next steps!)
Time to offboard
As much as we hate to say goodbye, when the project is complete, we begin our offboarding sequence. It looks like this:
Step 1: punch walkthrough
We do the punch walkthrough with the contractor and client where we quality-check every last detail.
Step 2: final walkthrough
Then, in the final walkthrough, we make sure everything (and we mean everything!) was addressed so the client has their magazine-worthy dream home, built and styled to perfection.
Step 3: styling
Oh, and about that styling — it’s time to get started on it! (If your client wants it, of course.)
Step 4: say cheese!
Before we hand the home back over to our clients, we photograph the space. This is an important step so you can show off your work in your portfolio!
Step 5: ask for client review & referral
Because your clients are so thrilled with their dream home design, they’ll be more than happy to share a review or refer you to someone else! Take a moment to ask for a review and referral. Networking is key, design besties!
Step 6: love letter
We finish up with a lovely letter telling them how much we loved working with them. We hand over a Dream Home Care Kit as well so that they know how to use and care for their new appliances, furniture, and finishes. Overdeliver wherever you can, and you’re sure to thrill your clients.
Step 7: Gift
Oh, and we can’t forget the gift! If the client loved something special throughout the design process, but didn’t get their hands on it yet, we’ll make sure to surprise them with it before we say our final goodbye.
So, design bestie, when it comes to developing your own onboarding and offboarding processes, think about 3 key things:
Staying organized
Having crystal clear communication
Over-delivering
If you go above and beyond on each step, you’re golden.
Connect with us on social media at @asrdesignstudio and @vida.by.asrdesignstudio for more inspiration and education.
