new-client-onboarding

New Client Onboarding

Post-deal setup workflow for new clients. Takes a signed deal and produces everything needed to kick off the engagement: client profile, baseline audit, project timeline, communication templates, and CRM updates. Run this immediately after a deal closes to maintain momentum and professionalism.

Prerequisites

• agency.config.json fully populated with services and team info
• CRM initialized with the lead record for this client
• Deal closed and contract signed

Composites & Capabilities Used

1. company-researcher -- gather company details if not already in CRM
2. cro-auditor -- baseline technical and CRO audit
3. crm-writer -- update lead stage, record contract details

Phase 0: Intake

Read agency.config.json for agency info and services catalog.

Accept the following inputs:

• Client name: the company name
• Website: their primary website URL
• Contact person: primary point of contact (name, email, title)
• Services purchased: which services from the agency catalog were sold
• Start date: engagement start date
• Contract value: monthly retainer or project fee
• Contract duration: number of months or project timeline

Validate that the client exists in CRM. If not, create a new lead record first.

Phase 1: Client Profile

Create a client profile document containing:

CLIENT PROFILE: [Client Name]
===
Created: [Date]
Account Owner: [From agency.config.json]

COMPANY DETAILS:
- Name: [Client Name]
- Website: [URL]
- Industry: [from company-researcher or intake]
- Platform: [Shopify plan, theme, apps]
- Team size: [if known]
- Social: [Instagram, LinkedIn URLs]

KEY STAKEHOLDERS:
- [Name] -- [Title] -- [Email] -- [Role in engagement]
  Decision maker / Day-to-day contact / Technical contact / Billing contact

ENGAGEMENT DETAILS:
- Services: [list of services purchased]
- Monthly retainer: [amount]
- Contract duration: [months]
- Start date: [date]
- End date: [date]
- Payment terms: [from contract]

COMMUNICATION PREFERENCES:
- Primary channel: [Slack / Email / WhatsApp]
- Meeting cadence: [Weekly / Bi-weekly]
- Preferred meeting day/time: [TBD -- confirm at kickoff]
- Reporting format: [Email summary / Shared doc / Dashboard]

ACCESS NEEDED:
[ ] Shopify admin (collaborator account)
[ ] Google Analytics
[ ] Google Search Console
[ ] Ad accounts (Meta, Google Ads)
[ ] Email marketing platform
[ ] Social media accounts
[ ] Brand assets (logos, fonts, guidelines)

Phase 2: Technical Audit

Run a full technical and CRO audit on the client's current state to establish baselines.

Execute cro-auditor with depth: "deep":

• Full audit across homepage, product pages, collection pages, mobile, cart, checkout
• Document current Core Web Vitals scores
• Capture current conversion rate benchmarks (if analytics access is available)
• Screenshot key pages for before/after comparison later

Compile baseline metrics:

BASELINE METRICS: [Client Name]
===
Captured: [Date]

SITE PERFORMANCE:
- PageSpeed (Mobile): N/100
- PageSpeed (Desktop): N/100
- LCP: Ns
- FID: Nms
- CLS: N

CRO SCORES:
- Homepage: N/10
- Product pages: N/10
- Collection pages: N/10
- Mobile experience: N/10
- Cart/Checkout: N/10
- Overall: N/10

QUICK WINS IDENTIFIED:
1. [Issue] -- Impact: [High/Med/Low] -- Effort: [Low]
2. [Issue] -- Impact: [High/Med/Low] -- Effort: [Low]
3. [Issue] -- Impact: [High/Med/Low] -- Effort: [Low]

Quick wins are defined as: high or medium impact, low effort, deliverable within the first 2 weeks.

Phase 3: Project Setup

Generate a phased project plan based on the services purchased:

PROJECT PLAN: [Client Name]
===

WEEK 1-2: QUICK WINS & SETUP
---
[ ] [Task] -- Owner: [name] -- Due: [date]
    Dependencies: [access needed]
    Definition of done: [specific criteria]

[ ] [Task] -- Owner: [name] -- Due: [date]
    Dependencies: [none]
    Definition of done: [specific criteria]

[ ] [Task] -- Owner: [name] -- Due: [date]
    Dependencies: [brand assets]
    Definition of done: [specific criteria]

WEEK 3-4: CORE DELIVERABLES
---
[ ] [Task] -- Owner: [name] -- Due: [date]
    Dependencies: [quick wins complete]
    Definition of done: [specific criteria]

[ ] [Task] -- Owner: [name] -- Due: [date]
    Dependencies: [none]
    Definition of done: [specific criteria]

WEEK 5-8: OPTIMIZATION & MEASUREMENT
---
[ ] [Task] -- Owner: [name] -- Due: [date]
    Dependencies: [core deliverables complete]
    Definition of done: [specific criteria]

[ ] [Task] -- Owner: [name] -- Due: [date]
    Dependencies: [analytics data accumulated]
    Definition of done: [specific criteria]

MONTHLY ONGOING:
---
[ ] Performance review and reporting
[ ] Conversion rate monitoring
[ ] A/B test planning and execution
[ ] Content and catalog updates
[ ] Monthly strategy call with client

Tailor tasks to the specific services purchased. If CRO only, focus on audit fixes and testing. If full management, include catalog, marketing, and analytics tasks.

Phase 4: Communication Setup

Generate the following templates:

Kickoff Meeting Agenda:

KICKOFF MEETING AGENDA -- [Client Name]
Date: [Date]
Duration: 60 minutes
Attendees: [List]

1. Introductions (5 min)
2. Engagement overview: scope, timeline, deliverables (10 min)
3. Access and setup: confirm all logins and permissions (10 min)
4. Current state review: share baseline audit findings (15 min)
5. Quick wins: present and prioritize (10 min)
6. Communication cadence: agree on meeting times and channels (5 min)
7. Next steps and action items (5 min)

Weekly Status Report Template:

WEEKLY STATUS -- [Client Name] -- Week of [Date]
===

COMPLETED THIS WEEK:
- [Task]: [outcome/result]

IN PROGRESS:
- [Task]: [status, % complete, blockers]

PLANNED NEXT WEEK:
- [Task]: [owner, expected completion]

METRICS UPDATE:
- [Key metric]: [current value] (vs baseline: [value])

BLOCKERS / NEEDS FROM CLIENT:
- [Item]: [what's needed, by when]

Monthly Review Template:

MONTHLY REVIEW -- [Client Name] -- [Month Year]
===

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
[2-3 sentences on progress and impact]

KEY METRICS:
| Metric | Baseline | Last Month | This Month | Delta |
|--------|----------|------------|------------|-------|
| [metric] | [val] | [val] | [val] | [+/-] |

COMPLETED THIS MONTH:
- [Deliverable]: [impact]

NEXT MONTH PRIORITIES:
1. [Priority]
2. [Priority]
3. [Priority]

RECOMMENDATIONS:
- [Recommendation based on data]

Escalation Process:

ESCALATION PROCESS:
---
Level 1 (Day-to-day): Contact [name] via [channel]
- Response time: within 4 business hours

Level 2 (Urgent): Contact [name] via [channel]
- Response time: within 2 business hours

Level 3 (Critical/Outage): Contact [name] via phone
- Response time: within 30 minutes

Phase 5: CRM Update

Write to CRM using crm-writer:

• Update lead stage from DEMO_BOOKED or NEGOTIATION to WON
• Record contract value, start date, end date, services
• Add client profile link to CRM notes
• Create any recurring tasks or reminders for the engagement

Phase 6: Checklist Output

Final output, a comprehensive onboarding checklist:

NEW CLIENT ONBOARDING -- [Client Name]
===

PRE-KICKOFF:
[ ] Client profile created
[ ] Access requested (Shopify admin, Analytics, Ad accounts)
[ ] Technical audit completed
[ ] Baseline metrics documented
[ ] Project timeline drafted
[ ] Kickoff meeting scheduled
[ ] CRM updated to WON

WEEK 1:
[ ] Kickoff meeting conducted
[ ] Quick wins identified and prioritized
[ ] Communication cadence agreed
[ ] All access confirmed and working
[ ] First deliverable in progress

WEEK 2:
[ ] Quick wins delivered
[ ] First progress report sent
[ ] Core project work started
[ ] Client feedback on quick wins collected

ONGOING:
[ ] Weekly status calls
[ ] Weekly status reports sent
[ ] Monthly reviews conducted
[ ] Quarterly business review scheduled
[ ] Metrics tracked against baseline

Example Usage

Trigger phrases:

• "Onboard [client name]"
• "New client setup for [company]"
• "Run onboarding for the new deal"
• "Set up [client] after contract signing"