How to streamline your

client process
like a pro.
What is The 01 Enquiry
Client Process
& why is it important? 02 Onboarding
Your clients journey is just as important as
their destination.
Strategy &
03
The Client Process includes vital stages Creative Direction
throughout a branding project. It spans from
initial enquiry all the way through to
offboarding.
04 Visual Identity
Having a highly-organised and well-polished
process results in improved quality of work, a
stress-free process allowing you to sleep
05 Presenting Your Work
better at night, save time through streamlined
workflows, less revisions, and happy clients
that will become your biggest advocates,
sparking a chain of word-of-mouth referrals
like never before.
06 Offboarding
Step 1. Full Name: Business Name:

Enquiry Email: Web/Socials:

This stage is a way for prospects to get in Tell me more about your business...
contact with you and ensures you're
gathering the right answers to proceed
forward with the enquiry. What services do you require?

That’s where an enquiry form comes in! This

What are your current pain points? What
form is designed to collect essential would you like to achieve?
information from prospective clients, including
their budget, goals and desired deliverables.

What vision do you have for your new

Creating a professional and detailed form not branding? Link your Pinterest board.
only helps the client outline their expectations
but also helps you:
How did you find me?
Filter out unserious enquiries
Collect useful and refined information What is your budget?
Creates a great first impression

Why do you want to work with me?

Step 2.
Discovery Call
After reviewing the enquiry, the project sounds
like a perfect fit. Next, it’s time to schedule a
discovery call and speak to the prospect directly.

The Discovery Call is excellent for higher

conversion rates. It’s also an opportunity to
accomplish three important things:
Discovery Call
Meeting with Abi Connick
01. Get to know the client and build trust. They
14 AUG, 13:00 BST
should be blown away by your knowledge but
also get a sense of who you are. JOIN MEETING

Gather more information and understand their

02.
problems so you can tailor your solutions to
their needs.

Talk about pricing & tackle any obstacles whilst

03. selling your service as the perfect solution to
their problems.
Step 3.
Estimated Timeframe
Project Proposal
Stage 01: Research, Strategy & Mood Boards 1 Wee

Stage 02: Brand Identity Presentation 1-2 W

After the call you’re now ready to put together a
custom project proposal that not only sells the
Stage 03: Revisions 1 Wee
prospect on your solutions but also reinforces the
key points discussed during the call including:
Stage 04: Packaging & Touchpoints 1 Wee

Stage 05: Brand Guidelines & Off-boarding 1-2 w

Project timeline
Project Process
Total estimated project timeframe 6-8 W
Project investments.

This is a great way to differentiate yourself from Project Investment

the competition. If the prospect has reached out
The project investment cost below shows a
to multiple designers for quotes and you’re the package project price. Please note this price is
only one that sends a tailored and professional valid for 7 days of the document date.

proposal, who do you think they'll choose?

The project investment cost $xxxxx
 Step 4. THE SOLUTION:

Onboarding Bye-bye stress, hello

smooth, professional
The client accepts the proposal and project management.
s
wants to proceed with the project...
now what? To keep things organised and leave
the client feeling at ease, opt for a
Well, sending your new client a long project management system that
email with all the required steps can be stores all information and
overwhelming (sending invoice details, documents in one central hub.
paying the invoice, signing the
s Upload Invoices
contract, filling out a questionnaire,
booking a strategy call – the list goes Contracts
ks on). It doesn’t make a strong first
Project Presentations
impression.
Feedback Forms
If the client is overwhelmed with FAQ
information and tasks, it only leads to
one thing: an abundance of Clients can easily access project
back-and-forth emails. Keeping track information and & it helps keep your
of it all becomes a real struggle, and projects organised. Juggling multiple
you end up with lost emails, projects can be overwhelming, but having
unanswered questions, and a client everything at your fingertips makes it less
who's feeling unsure about their stressful and more manageable, ensuring
investment with you. a smooth client experience.
Step 5.
Strategy Call
Brand Strategy Call Questionnaire
Business Problems
A brand strategy call is a collaborative conversation
with the Client. Brand Purpose
Brand Mission
During the call, you ask meaningful questions and dive Brand Vision
deep into their business, understanding their target Brand Values
audience, competitors, and desired design direction. Target Audience
Competitors
You’ll discuss 3 main areas:
Top Competitors URL / Social handles

1. Competitor name www.competitor.com

Brand Foundations: the core of the business 2. Competitor name www.competitor.com

Brand Positioning: target audience & competitors 3. Competitor name www.competitor.com

Visual Identity: the vision for their branding

Question Client answer:

“Are there any trends or patterns in ...

your industry that your competitors
are doing/using right now?”
The information uncovered during the call helps the
“What do they do well? ...
next stage - brand research and analysis. (Marketing, showing up
consistently, packaging etc.)”

“What makes you different from ...

them? What’s your USP?”

“What do you like about your ...

competitors? (brand identity,
personality, tone of voice etc.)”
Step 6.
Brand Strategy
Brand Strategy acts as the foundation that influences
design decisions throughout the design process, ensuring all
design decisions are rooted in strategic thinking.

It consists of:

Brand Foundations Buyer Journey

Brand Positioning Brand Voice
Competitor Analysis Brand Personality
Target Audience Creative Direction

Here you take the information gathered during the strategy

call with your client and use it as a roadmap for your
research and analysis.

You’ll then bring together all the findings, ideas, and plans
into a Brand Strategy Presentation. This will help the client
gain clarity on their business, provide action points and give
weight to the creative direction you’re proposing.
 Illustrations will be created with a
hand-drawn style, featuring
imperfect line-work to complement

Step 7.
the note-style typography.

Creative Direction The brand will incorporate

messy scribbles
(underlining, circles etc)
that mimics the
audience's busy lifestyle,
making it more relatable
and engaging.

Everyday shopping
list inspires the
note-style font
design, drawing on
the busy lifestyle of
the target audience.

Based on your research, findings, and analysis

from the strategy stage, you develop a Illustration or icon will be
consistent with the logo

strategic direction for the visual identity.

and typography used
with the hand-drawn
style.

This is presented through mood boards at the The logo will feature a refined
note-style font to bring familiarity

end of the strategy presentation, allowing the

to your audience and stand out
from your competitors by using a
font that isn't overused within the
industry.

client to clearly visualise the design style and

direction you will apply to their brand.
Photography to include a cut-out
shapes that match the imperfect

The client then digests the information

feel of the typography.

provided and opts for a mood board that they An illustration will be
subtly incorporated
into the logo, like the

feel best aligns with their vision for the brand.

'shovel' in the Patch,
keeping it relevant to
The logo will feature
the industry and
bold sans-serif
recognisable to the
letters arranged in
audience.
an imperfect and
messy way to reflect
the produce you sell
and the industry.

Once the client provides feedback and signs

off on this stage, it’s time to start designing
The logo will feature
letters that form into
one another, creating
a sense of closeness
and community -
relating back to your
community driven Illustrations to include
brand value. line-work that looks like
pencil to fit in with the
note-style and imperfect
typography direction.

Illustrations will show the

produce being used by
customers.
Step 8.
Designing The Visual Identity
Using the insights from the strategy stage, you’re now ready to craft a timeless visual identity. Here you’ll use the
approved mood board as a guide when designing their brand.

In this stage, your focus is to experiment and come up with multiple concepts. Depending on your design process,
you can refine several of the strongest concepts or pick one and work on developing it. The one-concept approach
works well because, instead of bombarding the client with multiple options, you make the decision for them.

Logo Suite Design Assets Colour Palette

Primary Logo, Secondary Brand Icons & Illustrations Complementary colours that
Logo, Submark, Logo Mark. that reinforce the aesthetic. help the brand stand out.

Font Pairing Photography Mockups

Direction
Primary, Secondary & Bringing the branding to
Alternate Typefaces. Styling recommendations. life with realistic mockups.
Step 9.
Presentation Tips:
Presenting
Your Work
1. Explain the ideas behind your design
choices. This is crucial for the client to
understand your thinking.

Once you’ve developed the visual identity, it’s time to present it to 2. When using mockups, ensure they relate
the client. with the client's industry. These help the client
06 envision how their brand identity will appear
07 in real-world contexts, creating a stronger
Crafting a killer presentation gives you the ability to showcase the
08 connection to the design.
developed visual identity that perfectly aligns with the direction
09
and style that the client envisioned. 3. Pay close attention to your layout. Check
margins and maintain consistency in font
sizes. A polished presentation enhances the
Here’s where a lot of designers go wrong – they forget about the
overall visual appeal and contributes to
presentation and layout. Focus on this, and you’ll wow your clients! effectively conveying the design concept to
the client.

What to include in a Brand Presentation: 4. To maintain coherence, integrate the

concept's colours and fonts consistently
01 About The Brand 06 Illustrations & Brand Pattern throughout the presentation (avoid using
02 Mood Board & Creative Direction 07 Social Media & Photography Direction your own visual identity). The presentation
03 Logo Suite 08 Mockups (identity in action) should remain concise and visually
04 Fonts 09 Thoughts & Feedback harmonious to effectively engross the client
05 Colour Palette in the proposed visual identity.
Step 10.
Gathering Feedback Form

Feedback What are your first impressions of the brand

identity? Does it align with your vision?

Once you’ve sent the brand presentation for the client to Add your answer here.

review, it’s time to gather feedback. Ask specific questions to

receive better feedback! To do this, create a feedback form
filled with thoughtful questions about the designs. This helps Thoughts on the custom logotype? Is the font
clients pinpoint exactly how they feel about the concept. used what you had in mind?

Add your answer here.

After receiving feedback, typically, there are two scenarios:

1 If the client requests changes: Schedule a call with

them to discuss and clarify their requirements. This Do you like the colour palette? Are there any
enables you to delve deeper into their feedback, colours you’re not sure on?
brainstorm solutions jointly, and avoid Add your answer here.
misunderstandings. By discussing the changes on the
call, you can ensure that you're on the same page
and avoid any miscommunication

2 If the client has no revisions: You can move forward Anything you want to change? If so let me
to the next phase, known as offboarding. know the specifics and why?
Step 11. Brand Guidelines

Offboarding Create a brand guideline document to ensure

clients maintain brand consistency.

As a designer, there's nothing quite like the rush of

excitement when the client gives you the green light Packaging Files
and signs off the entire project. After all the hard work,
Export files as AI, EPS, SVG, PDF, PNG & JPEGS.
it's finally paid off! Compress into ZIP folder & send to the client.

But the work isn't quite done yet. Now it's time to focus
on ensuring a seamless offboarding process for the
client. Font Links

Provide clients with links to fonts so they can

First, send the remaining invoice, which needs to be paid
purchase a license for themselves.
by your client before you start packaging up all the files.
This ensures that you receive full compensation for the
project before handing over the final deliverables.

Offboarding Call & Review

Once payment is complete, it’s time to start offboarding
your client, which includes completing 4 key things. Ask your client to fill out the feedback form and
discuss their experience of working with you.
Want to create a
referral-worthy
client experience?
But not sure where to start?

My course ‘The Client Process’ covers it all.

Created to help designers like you streamline and

organise client workflows so you can gain more
confidence in your work, freedom in your life, and
revenue in your business.

Inside, I provide the tools, templates, resources and

walk you through each step of the client process.

More info