A Checklist for New Clients

As a Virtual Assistant, it’s important to be as professional as possible with new clients. And, it’s important to start off on the right foot.

This is a very important time in your client relationship to set the stage for a successful relationship.

To stay consistent, efficient, and ensure that each new client relationship gets off on the right foot, I follow a simple checklist to get them started:

1. I send my “Welcome” email. This contains valuable information for my clients. It lets them know how to get in touch with me, what hours I usually work, how to schedule time with me, and more. I use the same one every time.
2. I send my W-9. Before I began doing this, every year around tax time, clients would be asking for it. So now I’m proactive and send it to them in the beginning.
3. I add them to my contact manager application. I make sure I have all the important information I need: Phone number, physical address, email address, etc.
4. I add them to my time tracking software. Toggl. Easy to use, very efficient.
5. I send a gift. It’s a pen in the shape of a rocket (my company is called RocketGirlSolutions). I include a handwritten note and a warm welcome.
6. I send a referral gift. It’s a bottle of fancy olive oil which I send to whoever sent me my new client. Again, with a handwritten note.
7. I connect with them on LinkedIn.
8. I add them to my newsletter subscriber list.
9. I create a project for them in Teamwork, my project management software.
10. I create a folder for them in Dropbox.

All ten of these steps take me just 15 minutes. And, thanks to my checklist, I never forget any of them!

If you’re not already a member of our Facebook Group, The Virtual Assistant Connection, and would like to join, here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevaconnection/