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What It Takes To Create a Killer Onboarding Experience with Jen Heuett

Brandfetti · 2026-05-12 · 39 min

0:00--:--

Key moments - from our scoring

Substance score

38 / 100

Five dimensions, 20 points each

Insight Density9 / 20
Originality8 / 20
Guest Caliber8 / 20
Specificity & Evidence7 / 20
Conversational Craft6 / 20

Jen Heuett, a business strategist and operations consultant, breaks down how to build strategic client onboarding experiences that move beyond transactional touchpoints. Drawing from 17 years in hospitality and tourism, she reveals practical tactics like quiz-based intake forms that identify client archetypes ("duct tape queens," "organized ish operators," "secret systems lovers") to inform content strategy and client segmentation. She emphasizes asking personality preference questions - how clients like feedback delivered, whether via voice notes, Loom videos, or Google Doc comments - to build immediate trust and accelerate results. The episode covers eliminating confusion by providing clear next steps within the first 7-14 days, creating early wins through checklist-based onboarding, and anchoring the entire experience around a guiding question: "How do I want my client to feel?" rather than just managing logistics. The Small Wins Company's Client Experience Bundle toolkit provides scorecards, checklists, and templates for audit and implementation. This is essential listening for service-based business owners, membership leaders, and agency founders seeking to reduce churn, increase lifetime value, and generate referrals through intentional client experience design.

Key takeaways

  • →Use quiz-based intake forms to identify client archetypes and pain points early, then use this data to create hyper-targeted content and ideal client segments.
  • →Ask preference questions about how clients like to receive feedback and learn (voice notes, videos, written) to build immediate trust and fast-track results delivery.
  • →Eliminate confusion in the first 7-14 days by providing crystal-clear next steps, a simple 3-item checklist to complete, and an early win (like portal access) before the first working session begins.
  • →Anchor your entire onboarding experience around a single guiding question - "How do I want my client to feel?" - rather than just executing logistics like contracts and portals.
  • →Create personalized surprise-and-delight moments (like custom roadmaps based on where clients are) and avoid the "bare minimum" onboarding that leaves clients confused and second-guessing their investment.

Guests

Jen Heuett

Topics in this episode

Slackclient portalVoxerSmall Wins CompanyClient Experience BundleQuiz-based intake formsSystem archetypesPersonalized roadmapsBrandon Hall Group studyCommunication etiquette guidelines

Questions this episode answers

What should you ask in an intake form beyond basic business information?

Include quiz-style questions that identify personality traits and system preferences, such as asking clients to describe their systems archetype (duct tape queen, organized ish operator, secret systems lover) and how they like to receive feedback (voice notes, video, written comments) so you can deliver support in their preferred format.

What's the biggest mistake businesses make in the first 7 days of client onboarding?

Failing to eliminate confusion by not providing clear next steps and early wins, which leaves clients second-guessing their investment and creates anxiety rather than excitement. Clarity on what happens next and at least one quick early win (like portal access or first roadmap piece) is essential.

How does strategic client experience directly impact revenue and retention?

When clients feel seen, heard, and capable from the first touchpoint, they experience their first "this was worth it" moment quickly, which predicts both longer retention and better results - rather than creating confusion that leads to cancellations and negative referrals.

What is The Small Wins Company and what does it offer?

The Small Wins Company is an operations and systems strategy firm specializing in helping service-based businesses build streamlined, scalable, and sustainable client workflows. They offer the Client Experience Bundle, a 60-minute plug-and-play toolkit with scorecards, checklists, and templates to audit and elevate onboarding.

How should communication etiquette be set during onboarding?

Include clear guidelines in a welcome guide or first communication about preferred communication channels, response times, and when you don't work (weekends, evenings), so clients know the boundaries and don't reach out at random times, reducing confusion and reactive support.

What our scoring noted

Our reviewer’s read on each dimension, with quotes from the episode.

Insight Density

9 / 20

The episode delivers a handful of actionable onboarding tactics - quiz-style intake forms, preference-based feedback delivery, and a 'one link, one direction, one definition of done' framework - but these are diluted by substantial filler: long affirmation loops, host anecdotes, and sponsor integration. The ideas-per-minute ratio is low for a 39-minute runtime.

what I do in intake forms is I make them more quiz. Like, so instead of just saying, okay, what's your name, your business, your link to your website, you know, gathering all the information you need, I also ask them, okay, it's Monday, you sit down, you open your laptop, what's your first thought?
give them one link, give them one direction, give them one definition of done

Originality

8 / 20

The client-archetype framing in intake forms ('duct tape queen,' 'organized-ish operator') and the idea of anchoring onboarding design to a single emotional North Star show some creative practitioner thinking, but the overall framing - care about clients, personalize communication, don't be transactional - is well-worn service-business advice with a fresh coat of paint.

are you a duct tape queen? Are you an organized ish operator? Are you a secret systems lover?
I want them to feel like I'm approachable and they are capable. That is what I say every time that I build an onboarding experience

Guest Caliber

8 / 20

Jen Heuett is a genuine practitioner with real operational experience across service-based businesses, and her hospitality background gives her perspective some texture. However, she operates at boutique/solopreneur scale and is also the episode's sponsor, which blurs the line between expert guest and promotional appearance.

I started off in social media world and I was just really good at it because I love to talk and I had like 17 years of hospitality and tourism experience
I help people kind of give a bigger shit in the client experience, um, and help them understand how to organize the back end of their business

Specificity & Evidence

7 / 20

The episode cites one vague third-party statistic (Brandon Hall Group, 82% retention), names a handful of tools (Slack, Voxer, Loom, Claude, ChatGPT), and provides one concrete time estimate ('30 minutes to do all three steps'), but there are no named client examples, revenue figures, or before-and-after metrics to back up the claims about retention and ROI impact.

businesses with a strong onboarding process are up to 82% more likely to retain clients and customers than those without an onboarding process
I want you right now to put 30 minute time block in your calendar to get this all done. And when you're done, I'm going to give you access to your client portal

Conversational Craft

6 / 20

The host is warm but routinely interrupts the guest with extended personal anecdotes, issues no meaningful pushback, and relies on affirmation ('love it, love it, love it') rather than probing follow-ups. The questions are mostly soft or leading, and the integrated-sponsor dynamic further reduces the episode's credibility as independent dialogue.

love it, love it, love it, love it. Yeah, uh, such good, such good advice and conversation
Is there, is there another one that you, you want to throw in?

Conversation analysis

Computed from the transcript - who did the talking, and the words that came up most.

Share of words spoken

  • Speaker A53%
  • Speaker B47%

Most-used words

onboarding33experience31client29feel26first20help18love16clients11excited11build11shit11better10show10start10strategic10email10

Episode notes

It's one of those things everyone says is important… but very few businesses are actually strategic about. In this episode, I sat down with the incredible Jennifer Heuett of Small Wins Company to unpack what it really takes to create a client experience that people remember, the kind that builds trust, retention, and referrals without you needing to constantly chase new leads. We get into the behind-the-scenes of what happens after someone says yes to working with you, because spoiler alert: the moment after someone buys is where a lot of businesses drop the ball. Inside this convo, we dive into: Why client experience is about way more than welcome emails and gifts The surprising way your intake form can double as a marketing goldmine How asking better questions can help your clients feel instantly seen and supported The tiny onboarding shift that eliminates confusion and builds trust fast How to use AI to improve systems (without losing the human touch) If you've ever wondered why some businesses have clients who stay for years, rave about them online, and refer everyone they know… this episode is going to give you a whole new perspective. Enjoyed this episode?

Full transcript

39 min

Transcribed and scored by The B2B Podcast Index.

Speaker A: All right, fam, here's something you might not realize. According to a recent study by the Brandon Hall Group, businesses with a strong onboarding process are up to 82% more likely to retain clients and customers than those without an onboarding process. Crazy. Hey, um, a great client onboarding experience has the power to not only help your clients achieve better results, but it also helps increase what I like to call your triple threat R's being retention referrals and roi. Uh, now to help you do exactly that, I am so excited to announce that we're partnering with the Small Wins company, our proud sponsor of today's episode, to give you guys an incredible client experience bundle. The Small Wins company are, uh, an operations and systems strategy house specializing in helping service based businesses build streamlined, scalable and sustainable client workflows. Jen has created this epic client experience bundle which you are going to be able to get on our show notes and I'm going to share with you the URL in just a ticket, but it's going to be a practical plug and play toolkit designed to help you audit, structure and elevate your onboarding in literally under 60 minutes without overcomplicating anything, uh, in terms of what you've got at the moment. So inside you're going to get a scorecard, an easy tick tock checklist and proven templates. Hello. So that you can deliver a seamless professional five star experience from day one. So if you are ready to level up your onboarding, make sure you grab this bundle gifted by the incredible Jen over at the Small Wins company forward slash bundle. And we're going to have this in the show notes for you. Alrighty, onto this episode. Let's do it. Jen, I am so excited to have you on brandfetti. Welcome my friend.

Speaker B: Thank you very much. I'm very excited to be here.

Speaker A: It's going to be a good juicy episode. So before we dive into it, can you tell us a bit about you, like how did you get to doing what you do today? I'm always just so curious about like what the journey that's led to someone too doing what they do today. So tell us.

Speaker B: Yes. So my work world started in social media marketing. I went to uni for marketing before social media was even a thing. So I. Yeah, yeah, that kind of ages me a bit. But I started off in social media world and I was just really good at it because I love to talk and I had like 17 years of hospitality and tourism experience so it was just so easy to yap online and to help other brands yap online. And I really enjoyed it. But I realized quite quickly on that the businesses that I was working with, they wanted the results from social media. They wanted, you know, all the sales, all the followers, but they didn't have any foundational structure set up in the back end to be consistent with their social media and marketing. So I kind of went from like the front of the house, the marketing and social media to the back of the house to the operations side and help them start to train their teams, start to help them build operation strategies. And that's where I started to see, oh, people actually don't know how to really run and manage businesses. It's pretty chaotic and it doesn't matter if they were a two person team or a 20 person team or bigger. There was just so much organizational chaos in the background that no wonder their social media and content and marketing isn't consistent. So I, I worked with systems integration and operations consulting for a while and now I've kind of pivoted into more of the business strategist, big picture planning, but also looking at the client experience design because that's where you're going to make money, that's where you're going to retain your clients so you get the best referrals and it helps people not only build out their profits and money, it also helps them build way bigger results for their clients. So me using my 17 years of hospitality and tourism experience again to show people like how to care more like how to give a shit, um, so that's kind of where I'm at now is I help people kind of give a bigger shit in the client experience, um, and help them understand how to organize the back end of their business.

Speaker A: I love that. Now you know when I first met you, so for those that are listening, I actually met you at a conference around this time last year actually. Crazy. It's already been a year, Jen. But I met you at conference where I was speaking and I remember meeting you for the first time and you were just a freaking like walking sunshine. And I don't know whether you recall this or remember this but you like I, I went over because you had a uh, like a activation that was there and you handed me over like a bracelet.

Speaker B: You're like jesus, she's a bracelet.

Speaker A: And you know, I was read like you were probably seeing me like look through your activation and I was just like, I really dig what you do, like the element of client experience and you know, really actually caring about people. That is something that is so Aligned to what I am all about. And one of the things that I really speak to is this concept of like a bow tie funnel, which is less about how things end just because it converts, but how if you actually gave a shit, like you said to your clients, that the middle. So hopefully you can visualize a bow tie with me. But like the middle of that funnel then grows again, which essentially is, yeah, if you give a shit about people, not just to get them to buy, but especially in that client experience, it can grow your business tenfold. So my first question, I guess for you is, can you tell us a bit about how we can be a bit more strategic with our client experience? Because I think the idea, the concept of client experience, I think people think is just about, you know, I don't know, sending gifts or sending an email being like, welcome, I'm so excited to work with you. But like, how can we actually be a bit more strategic with our client experience here?

Speaker B: Yes. And I, um, I could talk about this, the whole podcast, but I'll just talk about.

Speaker A: Share with us maybe. Yeah, strategic areas, a few things.

Speaker B: Yeah, I gotta, yeah, simplify this for you. Uh, one is your intake form. So one, if you're not doing an intake form, this is your sign to do that. But what I do in intake forms is I make them more quiz. Like, so instead of just saying, okay, what's your name, your business, your link to your website, you know, gathering all the information you need, I also ask them, okay, it's Monday, you sit down, you open your laptop, what's your first thought? Right? And then the quiz questions. Obviously there's, uh, multiple options they can choose. Um, one of them is, how would you describe your system's archetype? So are you a duct tape queen? Are you an organized ish operator? Are you a secret systems lover? So what I do with that is I look at, okay, this person identifies as an organized ish operator. They, uh, have signed up and paid me for my six month business mentorship container. If I get multiple people that identify as an organized ish operator, that's where all of my content is going to go. So I'm being very strategic with who is now my ideal client. And I'm going to use that in my content to obviously, um, highlight and encourage those type of people to be a part of my service or product or whatever I'm selling. It makes it so much easier for you to also create content. I no longer have to think, oh, you know, I could write 10 different reels and 10 different carousels. I know exactly who I'm talking to. I know exactly what their pain points are. And there we go, right? I'm calling in the right people. That feels good, that feels aligned, that, that's no longer. I'm going to write a giant list of content ideas and never do them. I'm not going to have drafts in my reels for a whole year. Um, the other thing that I do. Oh, sorry.

Speaker A: I was just going to say it becomes so much more specific, right? Because when you can really know who you're really talk, it becomes so much more specific. But what I love about that is you're literally data mining from the very beginning. Data mining from almost the get go of where the pain point is the most, like, you know, prominent. And you're excavating the language from the get go, which from my lens as a copywriter, I'm like, that is gold. Like, that is gold. From the lens of, yes, content, but also from the lens of knowing the thing that actually gets people to jump in with you. Like, it's like the question of, like, what was the thing that actually got you to be like, heck yes, Jen, help me with X. Like, in that point, knowing that point that led them there is also so powerful. So I love that, you know that, that, that element you mentioned being strategic with your intake form. Love that. What's, what's another one?

Speaker B: I'm, um, asking questions that identify, uh, their personality and their preferences. So not just asking, you know, questions, um, based on, okay, what's the work you want to do? What are your goals? It's also like, we're at a cafe together. Are you ordering iced, ah, matcha or coffee? You know. Oh, oh, oh, oh.

Speaker A: I'm curious. Okay, so what if I told you I'm a matcha girl? Because I'm like, like, I'm like bouncing between the two. So what if I'm a matcha galley? What does that make me?

Speaker B: Um, oh, that's for me. It's. I build personalized gifts.

Speaker A: Oh, okay. So you get me some mattress stuff.

Speaker B: Yeah, so I get you. I listen, right? These are like listening touch points. Um, and then when I ask preferences, I ask, how do you like your feedback to be delivered? Are you a voice note girl? Are you, um, short and sweet? Do you like blunt advice? Do you need me to, you know, do a, um, loom video? What are the ways in which you like to have feedback? Because once you learn how somebody also likes to learn and receive feedback and do the work they need to do, that is the biggest trust builder because now they feel seen and heard. And it is just such an easy win for me to know. Okay. Maria likes voice notes and Nicole likes video tutorials or overviews. And you know, um, Melissa loves comments on her Google Doc. And so for me it's so much easier to deliver what I need to deliver based on their preferences so they get the work done. They're not trying to learn something new. We are fast tracking their results. And it's super strategic for me because I'm building that trust immediately. I'm getting quick wins and that builds retention for me because it's like, oh, shit, she is listening to me. She is making it very easy for me to do the work and continue working with her because she is delivering something in a way that feels good

Speaker A: to me, which I think, you know, it's not too different to when you onboard like a new staff member to the moment of. Even when you're getting to know someone, it's like just knowing the things that. Because each of us, like, uh, even though I'm a word nerd, like, for me I actually, when I give feedback, like, I actually prefer to do a video. Like I, I'm just like visual. Here we go. So it's so important to actually get the client to actually tell you. Like one of the questions I love to ask is, you know, what is usually the sign in which you know you. When, when, when things are stressful for you? Like what's usually the sign for me to know that you're stressed? Because some people will tell you, but a majority of people do not tell you, especially when it comes to coaching. They will either disappear. They will either, you know, not, uh, like join calls or they would just be quiet like. So it's like knowing when people are like that, but asking that earlier on is just so helpful because then you know how to best support them like throughout the entire experience. I love the strategic asking of questions so that you can better support them in getting the best results for them and, and their journey. Is there, is there another one that you, you want to throw in?

Speaker B: I think, I mean this doesn't sound strategic, but it is. Is giving a shit is like giving an actual shit about your onboarding of, um, somebody to your services, whether or even products or courses or programs. Doesn't matter what it is or even an event. Right. Like your gather conference.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: Giving a shit about how you want a person to feel after they've been onboarded says so much about your business and how you deliver your results. But Also like, it's so easy, I feel, to be an industry leading service provider because people just do the bare minimum. There's a lot of basic bitches.

Speaker A: That's kind of sad. That's really sad, Chang.

Speaker B: It's very sad to me. But it doesn't take that much to give a shit. But it also doesn't take that much to, to be memorable, to build those moments that make somebody feel really good that they invested in your business and with you. Um, and that's strategic because that deepens a relationship that makes retention so much easier and it helps you build better results because you're getting to know them and what they need, not just have they paid their deposit yet.

Speaker A: Yeah, right.

Speaker B: It's not transactional.

Speaker A: On the uh, important topic of onboarding and I think that's something that so many people again think, uh, it's just one email which, you know, you, you probably hear that you just like, oh my God, it's not just my email. But you would have, you know, been behind the scenes of a lot of, you know, businesses when it comes to building out really stellar, uh, onboarding experiences. I guess from your perspective, what is going to be like one top thing that you look to implement in, I don't know, the first, like seven or 14 days to really make sure that we set people up for success.

Speaker B: Oh, that's a great question. I would say that it's kind of like a three step process. One is when you're onboarding somebody, regardless if it's a team member or a client or customer, we have to eliminate confusion straight away. They need to know what happens next, what are uh, my next steps? And regardless if it's, you know, you're, let's say I'm hiring a photographer for a brand shoot or somebody's hiring me for something if I don't know the next steps after I pay or say book the time or sign the um, sign the contract, if I don't have any information as to what I do next, I'm going to start regretting that investment. I'm going to start questioning that investment being like, what do I do now? Oh God, was I supposed to do something else? And then you start to email them back or try and find DM them on Instagram, um, which makes it very, very messy and chaotic for that service provider as well because they're probably delivering and busy during the day. So it just creates kind of like this just mess from, from day one if you are not given directions straight away, like what happens next? So take the confusion out of it and give people a. The next step is a checklist. Okay, welcome. You know, super excited. Can't wait. Okay, you've got three things to do and that's it before we jump on our first call. One, I need you to sign this contract to pay this deposit. Three, I need you to fill out this intake form. So I'm really bossy in my. It sounds funny, but I'm really, I am very instructional. That's a better word in that first email saying, this is going to take you 30 minutes to do all three steps. I want you right now to put 30 minute time block in your calendar to get this all done. And when you're done, I'm going to give you access to your client portal. So I incentivize. Uh, so we don't want confusion, we want to incentivize and we want to give them an early win. There's so many onboarding experiences I've had in the last, say two years that have zero wins, zero personalization. And I am left confused because they haven't not only haven't given me direction, but I'm waiting, I am waiting until our time together kicks off. So if I don't have that early win of, you know, is it access to the client portal, is it. Have we built out the first part of a roadmap? Have we, you know, decided on our first priorities? They don't have to be huge wins. It's just something that I can hold onto to know that this was the investment, this is the right person. So when there's no early win, there's so much second guessing. There is, you know, constant questions, doubt. I haven't heard from them. Did they just take my money? Um, you know, we don't start for another two weeks. What do I need to prepare? So it just becomes this more of an anxious experience rather than a lovely guided experience that makes people feel like, oh, I've invested in the right person and we're doing the work already. We're not waiting until we start. We're doing it now, we're prepping. And that is a huge, huge missed opportunity in most onboarding experiences. And it's such an easy fix.

Speaker A: Yeah. And, but it's also something that I don't think we immediately think, think about because we think the hardest, the most amount of energy should be poured into just getting the client right. We don't think about once they do join. I mean, some businesses do, but I feel like this is not usually something people think about until it's almost like, oh my gosh, why? Here are a few symptoms I feel like is an indicator uh, of a missing really well organized onboarding experience. Let me know if you can add in like I'm sure you have a few to add on but one of the things that comes to mind is when someone's like oh my God, are my clients like calling me or messaging me at random times or um, it's just feels so reactive because she's calling me on a Saturday and look that's not cool obviously unless you're in a business where you do do that. But I would say majority of businesses like you shouldn't be calling someone at uh, like frickin8:09pm you know, so. But I would say that isn't just about the client. There could be exceptions but it's more about how you've really set up that onboarding experience of communicating the communication etiquette with you. Like if you had a welcome book that really talked about, you know, here is the best way for us to work together. Here is the communication etiquette. We're going to use Slack or we're going to use this platform on weekends. I don't work or like just clear communication. So there is no blurriness to it. So as soon as I hear someone go like they're calling me at random times and first of all like why are you picking up like as well? Because like when you pick up you've now set the new standard, right? But, but, but, but that says to me there is a missing link in your onboarding. Uh, another really clear example is when for a membership in particular when people leave and they're like I'm so overwhelmed. That again says to me there's a missing opportunity at the very beginning where you haven't set up the member in a way that feels personalized to them. So I know like I had to learn this the hard way for me. So when I first started our membership a number of years ago we had that like where. And I'm sharing this honestly with, with you all who's listening where there were moments in which I'm like oh my God, why are people leaving when it's overwhelming, it's not that overwhelming. But then I don't, I didn't put myself at that moment in the shoes of oh, it's not just about giving them access to the portal now we've built out as you mentioned, like a bit of like a three part pathway where as soon as they join because they're so excited Right. Like that is like a, like yeah, like so excited. But then like when you don't know exactly the next steps forward, as you mentioned, which I love, they're like. So it's like for now we're just like, okay. They get this personalized uh, like idea of like how for them based on where they're at, what should they dive into first. So that's like a bit of a surprise and delight. They don't actually know they get that until they join. Well, now you guys do. But it's like, you know, until they join the club, they're just like, they don't really like, they think they're getting X, but it's like there's so much in there that there's like a bonus. If you want a personalized roadmap, you get this. Then there's like how you make the most out of it, like the entire experience because there's so much. And then it's like, okay. So in the time being, start with this though, because that's going to pave the pathway. So it's like that has helped our retention m massively. And I think that's also another thing that I know you really, you know, you mentioned at uh, the beginning where a really great client experience and onboarding experience is not just about, you know, the overarching, like nice words that people are going to say about your business and brand, but it also helps with generating more revenue retention. Um, it's like that hitting the trifecta of all of that. So, you know, expanding on that, like, what would you say are, ah, the specific moments in an onboarding journey that you feel like directly predicts, you know, longer term retention, better revenue. Um, any examples and you know, some of the work that you've done with your clients in the past even that you could share.

Speaker B: Yes. I think one of the biggest indicators of whether it's retention or results is that first moment a client feels this was worth the investment. Like, I'm in the right place. I feel seen and heard and that could be really quickly. That could even be your first email. It could be the intake form where they're like, oh, this is fun. This isn't just, you know, gathering my information. She wants to learn more about me. Oh, we're having a quick 15 minute kickoff, uh, call and in there I make them feel seen and heard and motivated to get this work done. Because it's not just about delivering a service. It's truly caring about them, building their business and making their dreams happen. It could happen In a different, A variety of mediums. Um, but again, it comes back to how do I want my client to feel after they've been onboarded? And if you use that as your North Star, as your guiding light to build that onboarding experience, that first win or that moment where they're going to feel like this is the best investment ever is going to come quickly. Because it's not just about the logistics of onboarding. Okay. At this touch point, I have to do this at, uh, you know, we have to book in a call, I have to send the contract, the invoice, I have to set them up on Slack or, you know, Voxer or whatever. I've got to give them access to the portal or the program membership. It's flipping it on its head and saying, how do I actually want them to feel after they've done all those touch points and done all those, those pieces of work and to finally start. And when you go, okay, I want people to feel that I am approachable and that they are capable. That is what I say every time that I build an onboarding experience for any of my services, retreat courses, whatever, is, I want them to feel like I'm approachable and they are capable. And that makes building an onboarding experience so easy and helping me figure out what's that first win. Then if I want them to feel capable, I'm going to give them a very easy first win. And that is giving them the three, um, three pieces or three, um, points in the checklist.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: That incentivizes them.

Speaker A: I really like that because it is such a simple question to ask, but it really anchors in so much that comes after. Instead of, you know, what, what email should I send, actually asking, like, how you want people to feel. So then your touch points aren't just necessarily email. It could be a concoction of, you know, email is just one format. Like if you want people to feel, you know, excited or, you know, uh, loved and see, like, you could send like surprise gifts. I remember we, back in, when we were really growing the agency, uh, because we would have a waiting period of two months before we started.

Speaker B: We.

Speaker A: I know. So it was like, it's like they sign on in February. We don't start in like April or May. So like, one of the things that we had to really think, think about was, okay, oh my God, like in between that time, two months, what, what do we do? So we did like waiting room packs, which were cool. Yeah, we did, we did waiting room facts. We did like, obviously got them to Fill out their questionnaire. But then like in between that time got them to do some like, little bits of homework. So it's like, you know, um, and two months is a long, long time. And that was like a, uh, bit of a tricky one. But it's like I, I love the fact that you drill it down to that, that one simple question because at the end of the day it is so much about that feeling when you join a program, when you join a coach, or when you join a membership, whatever it may be, you're so excited. And I think definitely right now in this online business world, uh, when so much is AI, robot and all of that, uh, the more you can make someone feel that without it being like, I don't know what the word is, but almost like feeling like, oh, this is just so automated. Like it, it's a really nice feeling because you feel like, wow, they really care, like you mentioned. So I guess on the interesting topic, and you know, this is a bit of a wild card question for you, Jen, but I feel like it's an important one with, with AI, right? That have, I feel like it has helped, it will be helping so many businesses and I don't think we've even seen the crux of it yet. But how and what are you, what, what is your perspective around using AI as part of bettering client experiences and onboarding experiences in general? Is it possible that we can use AI in a way that is humanized but still delivers that, that, you know, zingy feeling that we've been talking about? Are there any rules or things that you, you want to really make sure. Consider to make sure that that is the case because we, we want to use AI to make things more efficient, but also we want to, we don't want to be freaking robotic either in our onboarding and client experience, you know?

Speaker B: Yeah, no, great question. I use AI for a few different ways in especially the operational side of business. And I always say that, you know, we have started to use AI to strip ourselves of the creative process, when in reality we need to use AI to do the boring shit like admin and operations. Like we, we are taking away the best parts of ourselves, um, by not allowing ourselves to be creative. But what I use AI for in the operational sense is with a client experience, I will write it out, I will map out my vision for my onboarding, and then I ask AI to show me gaps and opportunities and for that it helps me articulate what I want as my end goal for that client experience. Sometimes it's hard for us to articulate what we actually want. And it's like I see it, I can visualize it, but I don't know how to put the pieces together and I don't know how to say it in a full sentence. So I allow AI to help fill in those gaps and help me articulate what it is that I want to build and help me see the missing pieces that you know, from my own perspective or bias that I can't see. So a lot of that ends up happening to show me better systems or templates or different touch points I can template to help me free up my time that are still personal or get people to move along the onboarding process quickly so I have the time to be more personable. So the, you know, sending the invoice, sending the contract that's uh, you know, automated. Whereas now I have time to send a quick welcome video. Maybe it's me on a walk and I send a dm.

Speaker A: What is that?

Speaker B: You know, like hell yeah. I'm so excited that you signed up for my messy middle mentorship. Here's what we're going to do. But first I want you to tell me how you celebrating that you invested with me.

Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker B: Very personable. 30 seconds of my time to make them feel really, really taken care of.

Speaker A: I, uh, I love that you do that. And I, I uh, feel like the first time I met you, I'm like, she's one of those girls that would do that because I, I too am that person that I. After each launch, I. And in the middle of a launch, I literally get a list of every single person and where I can stalk them in a non creepy way, I stalk them and I literally will voice note people. And sometimes it's like, it's a lot of voice noting. But as you mentioned, it's literally 15 seconds, 30 seconds. It's your voice, it's not robotic. It's the most manual thing I could do. But also it's the thing. And I still get so many members to this day being like, I honestly could not believe I actually got a voice message from you. Yeah, um, it wasn't a DM because anyone could write a dm, but it was an actual voice note from you welcoming me in. And that's the thing, as you mentioned, it's not hard to kind of excel in the cloud experience because so many people do not do it or they do the bare minimum. They do the email and they're like, oh, welcome. Like, you know. So I love that you mentioned that and I think with the topic and conversation around AI, I agree with you. Where it's designed to really, like, it's almost like a master analyzer. Right. Like, and I'm talking about, I'm not talking about the like AI agents or anything. That's a completely different topic, obviously, but More so like Claude, ChatGPT, all of those elements. Like, you can literally feed it the data or the questionnaires or the quizzes that you mentioned at the beginning of this episode. Yeah, raw data. And I'd be like, yo, like, here are like 10 of my clients who have shared this. Here is what I think in terms of onboarding and help me, help me pick it apart. Like, you know, and give me suggestions as to how or themes or things I could do better. So M. That would probably used to take you and I, what, hours to kind of sit down. I used to like, literally open spreadsheets and I'm just like, okay, highlight this word and then I highlight that word. Like, now that stuff takes literally m minutes. Which is crazy. Like, which I'm excited about for this era. For anyone who are data geeks, I know you're a data geek, but anyone else who's listening, who is an absolute data geek, like, amazing time because it's like we literally get to feed it all. If you're a coach, if you're a consultant, if you've got zoom calls of transcripts and all of that, you are sitting on a go my girlfriend or boyfriend or like, you know, whoever's listening, like, literally, like plunk that into AI and get it to give you themes and, you know, content suggestions. Like, oh, it's um, incredible.

Speaker B: It's the. I honestly think people just have no idea how much, like, not only time and energy they would save by gathering their data and then asking, Ah, ChatGPT or Claude to analyze this, pull out themes. Um, what can I use in my content? What are the common themes across my mentorship clients versus my VIP day clients? You know, um, what are my ideal client avatars from these people now? Like, what, uh, where are they getting stuck? Where's the common, um, struggles? Where can I celebrate them more? What can I put in my client experience that makes them feel even more capable? Like, it's just so underutilized in the operation.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: Logistics aspect of making your business better and delivering better experiences for your clients? So, yeah, I am pro AI for sure. Uh, it's. It, you know, sometimes does scare me, but also at the same time I want to harness it for good. And I Want to use it to impact people and their businesses so they can impact others and, you know, build the business that they want and have the lifestyle they want. So for me, I look at it as when I use AI, I am utilizing it to better myself, my skills and figure out how I can help people even more.

Speaker A: Love it, love it, love it, love it. Yeah, uh, such good, such good advice and conversation. Um, we're having. I could talk to you for freaking ages.

Speaker B: Jen.

Speaker A: Um, uh, one final rapid fire question for you I guess for anyone who's listening and they're like, okay, yo, really need to improve my onboarding. What would you say is the one simple high leverage move that you get them to make, Mike?

Speaker B: Oh, highest leverage making that first thing they do. Very simple. So give them one link, give them one direction, give them one definition of done. So is it a link to the invoice or the contract or a portal? Is the direction telling them where they get support? Go read this welcome guide, go do this. And then the definition of done is here's your onboarding checklist. You're done when you're done with that. Again, simple but strategic and it doesn't feel overwhelming to them is like they know what they need to do in order to get shit done and to get started and you have clearly communicated your expectations of what they need to do. Oh, very.

Speaker A: So good. So good. Now I think you, you're, you've got a killer, uh, treat like a onboarding bundle that we're gonna actually put in the show notes for everyone. Um, yeah, quickly tell us what, what it is. Um, and yeah, well we'll link it in the show notes for you guys.

Speaker B: Perfect. Yes. So I created an onboarding client experience like bundle toolkit that has three different things. One is the checklist. So just a quick onboarding checklist that you can use in, in your business. One is a scorecard so you can see how you actually are actually onboarding people. I've got just a few sections in that checklist to help you figure out. Oh, okay. This is where I could improve or I've nailed it. That's awesome.

Speaker A: Amazing. So you have created a killer onboarding bundle which I'm going to link in the show notes. Um, it is going to help people get really clear on where your gaps are when it comes to your onboarding and uh, pretty much everything we've talked about today, but in a practical sense.

Speaker B: Right.

Speaker A: So I wanted to put that in the show notes and so generous of you to share that with our community. So make sure you guys get that because that's like a lot of time you can potentially save just by freaking downloading this immediately. Okay, so, uh, Jen, such a freaking pleasure. Uh, how can people find you if they're listening to this and they're like, yo, we need Jen all up in my business, like, where do people find you?

Speaker B: Yes. Easiest one is my Instagram, which is at the small wins co easiest way because the you can put my last name in the show notes as well. I also have my personal brand, um, Instagram, which you can find on, um, my small wins co Instagram. So come say hi. Come let me know what your fav takeaways are from our chat. I love to talk client experience and systems. So yes, come say hi and be a friend.

Speaker A: Woohoo. Yay. Thank you so much, Jen. Appreciate you, my friend.

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker A: Hey, fam. Um, thank you so much for tuning in in today's episode. If you guys enjoyed it, loved it, had a bit of a giggle and found value in it, it would really mean a lot to me if you guys would leave a note or review. Hit subscribe and tell your friends about it. All right, talk to you guys soon.

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