Stumbled into a coffee shop discussion that fixed my client onboarding

I was at Humble Coffee last Tuesday waiting for a meeting that got cancelled. Sat next to two freelancers arguing about contracts and one of them said something that hit me. She said she sends a simple welcome packet before even talking scope. I had been jumping straight into project details for years. That little step of setting expectations upfront has cut my revision requests in half. Now I spend about 20 minutes making a clear list of what I need from the client before we even start. Has anyone else tried a pre-project checklist that actually works for them?

3 comments

3 Comments

faith2717d ago

That welcome packet idea is gold, I started doing a one page client cheat sheet and it saved my sanity.

paige_bell8117d ago

Half the revisions? Couldn't that just be luck or better clients rather than a welcome packet changing everything?

parker_webb17d ago

Totally fair point, and honestly I used to think the same way. I figured a welcome packet was just a fancy way to make clients feel good, not something that actually changed how many revisions they asked for. But after I actually started using one (with clear scope and a "what happens after first draft" checklist), my revision requests dropped by like 60%. It isnt just about seeming organized, it actually stops clients from piling on extra requests because they know exactly how the process works. The luck thing could play a role, sure, but the consistency across multiple clients since then makes me believe the packet is doing the heavy lifting.