MSP Consumer Onboarding Greatest Practices and Guidelines
The onboarding expertise units the tone to your total relationship with new purchasers. It is a crucial juncture when you may make your purchasers really feel like they made the appropriate resolution by hiring you — or simply as simply make them query their resolution. Like most processes, onboarding ought to be deliberate beforehand to make sure it runs easily. A structured strategy resulting in seamless onboarding will set the appropriate tone and assist foster a long-lasting relationship whereas lowering consumer churn.
What this text will cowl:
What’s the MSP Onboarding Course of?
Onboarding consists of the whole lot from the purpose the place a managed providers settlement is signed to when your providers go dwell. It’s an thrilling time for the MSP — nevertheless it’s additionally difficult due to how a lot hinges on the method. It shouldn’t be rushed, and it shouldn’t be left as much as likelihood.
Onboarding typically takes time, as much as per week in some circumstances. On common, MSPs spend about 40 to 80 hours onboarding every new consumer.
Each consumer use case is completely different, so there is no such thing as a common course of for onboarding. Subsequently, you could develop your inner onboarding course of, which considers the challenges and wishes of your new companions. Set up a framework to optimize your time and reduce the danger of errors.
On this article, we’ll check out an instance onboarding guidelines for MSPs, in addition to a few important instruments like kickoff conferences and onboarding questionnaires.
Begin with an Onboarding Questionnaire
A simple questionnaire is an effective way to gather any data you didn’t collect through the gross sales course of. Use this technique to assist perceive your consumer and higher plan assist them obtain their objectives. As a result of questionnaires may be answered on the consumer’s comfort and forwarded to different stakeholders, they’re an effective way to get enter from varied folks inside your consumer’s group.
Most MSPs use a CRM or advertising and marketing automation software that enables for the creation of kinds. For instance, should you’re utilizing a buyer relationship administration platform to create your survey, you’ll be able to sync the solutions on to your consumer’s account within the CRM. Should you’re not utilizing a CRM or one other software that enables for kind/survey creation, you need to use instruments like Survey Monkey or Google Varieties to create your questionnaire.
An onboarding questionnaire ought to typically acquire the next data:
Consumer’s firm identify
Level of contact (POC) identify
Service degree/settlement tier
Portions and prices of {hardware} and gadgets
Managed providers required (Managed backup and restoration, cloud storage, help-desk, {hardware} procurement, vendor administration, cybersecurity, techniques administration, monitoring, VoIP, and so on.)
Details about present providers or third-parties concerned within the IT administration
Any present documentation
Server and workstation specs
Consumer position definitions and entry permissions
Enterprise-specific particulars together with areas/addresses, working hours for every location, any extra POCs, and details about computer systems that should not restart throughout working hours
Particulars relating to expertise leasing, {hardware} warranties, and ISP account
Questions pertaining to another providers you could provide (doc options, safety techniques, and so on.)
As soon as your new consumer has crammed out the survey, you’ll be able to start shifting them via your documented onboarding course of. The next part supplies an instance of what such a course of might appear like.
Onboarding Guidelines for Managed Companies Suppliers
Assign staff members to the account
Start by assigning the suitable staff members to your consumer primarily based on their dimension and the providers to be rendered. This consists of assigning an account supervisor to be accountable for many of the remaining consumer onboarding steps. As well as, assigned staff members ought to be totally briefed on any consumer particulars you picked up through the gross sales course of — another excuse why protecting high quality notes in your CRM earlier than the sale is necessary.
Ship your consumer a welcome package
What can your new consumer count on from working with you? Use a welcome package to reiterate the phrases of your settlement, spotlight the working course of, and reinforce your model. (Advertising and marketing doesn’t finish when the sale is made, in any case.)
That is additionally your alternative to share useful guides, FAQs, case research, and information base articles out of your useful resource library. You need to know what typical questions come up initially of the consumer relationship, so attempt to reply them earlier than they’re requested.
Your welcome package may be totally digital and shared via e mail or your buyer portal, or you could need to additional wow your new purchasers by sending bodily letters, posters, magnets, or different swag.
What ought to be in a consumer welcome package?
Workforce introductions – Let the consumer know who can be working with them straight. Embody roles, details of contact, and get in touch with data for assigned staff members.
Abstract of goals – Restate objectives and targets mentioned through the gross sales course of and any set plans for reaching these objectives.
Set expectations – Good relationships typically hinge on reasonable expectations. Define your processes and any bottlenecks that the consumer might create. A listing of consumer expectations outlining their obligations might help reduce future points.
Challenge timeline – Break down the milestones and phases of the consumer challenge, together with dates for any conferences associated to onboarding.
To-do record – Notice any pending gadgets your consumer wants to finish for onboarding and any gadgets that your staff is engaged on.
Schedule a kickoff assembly along with your consumer
When you’re via these first steps, the assigned account supervisor ought to attain out to the consumer and schedule a kickoff assembly. Then, we’ll talk about what ought to go on the agenda of those conferences within the subsequent part.
Import knowledge
You’ll seemingly have to import the consumer’s knowledge or set up connections to knowledge sources earlier than offering your providers. That is a vital step for the precise execution of managed providers.
The final strategy to knowledge import seems like this:
Assign a educated staff member to attach accounts and oversee the info import course of
Use data gathered through the gross sales and discovery course of to arrange the import.
Use automation the place attainable to streamline knowledge imports and integrations.
Use dummy knowledge to check the import course of.
Synchronize the consumer’s new system with knowledge on present techniques. Monitor this step fastidiously and cling to alter management greatest practices.
It is a step the place safety is a powerful consideration. Remember to observe greatest practices, reminiscent of enabling 2FA and organising account privileges.
Setup the RMM
Distant monitoring and administration (RMM) are essential for managing your purchasers and keeping track of their techniques, making this a vital step within the onboarding course of for any MSP.
New Consumer RMM Guidelines:
Set up RMM brokers on the consumer’s servers, workstations, and cellular gadgets.
Guarantee your RMM software is suitable with consumer software program and {hardware}, together with safety software program like antivirus.
Check the monitoring and notification system.
Arrange automation workflows.
Go dwell
Onboarding is nearly full, so it’s almost time for the challenge launch. Please work along with your new consumer to debate elements of their challenge administration intimately. As well as, the consumer ought to perceive how your MSP will strategy implementation, safety, troubleshooting, and different sides of their IT.
Conduct any safety or stress testing wanted, together with penetration exams or moral hacking. Any points found throughout this section ought to be damaged into duties and assigned to staff members for follow-up.
Lastly, you’ll switch the consumer’s administration management to the related groups. This handover course of ought to be deliberate and standardized inside your MSP.
Present persevering with worth
Schedule month-to-month and quarterly progress evaluations along with your consumer after taking them dwell. After the kickoff name, schedule a check-in after a number of weeks to make sure the whole lot works easily and reply any questions. When you’ve reached your stride, schedule quarterly enterprise evaluations (QBRs) and keep a constructive relationship along with your consumer.
Kickoff Conferences: Scheduling and Working
Kickoff conferences have a number of functions which can be central to the onboarding course of. At the beginning, they provide you an opportunity to introduce your staff to the consumer stakeholders they are going to be working with. That is additionally the time to evaluation consumer expectations and reiterate any expectations you’ve gotten of them to make the method run easily.
Subject questions from the consumer, as some might have come up through the onboarding questionnaire. As soon as everyone seems to be on the identical web page, you’ll be able to talk about subsequent steps and concentrate on execution and goals.
Agenda gadgets:
Introductions: Every staff member on the MSP facet ought to share their names, titles, and the way they are going to be working with the consumer. Present the consumer the place to search out POCs and get in touch with data of their welcome package.
Evaluation objectives and timelines: Revisit the consumer’s goals with their challenge lead and clarify the challenge administration timeline talked about in your welcome package. Reply any questions that come up.
Evaluation the expertise stack: If essential, clarify the instruments you’ll use and the way they supply worth to the consumer. Reply questions as wanted.
Restate upcoming duties and milestones: Present the consumer your upcoming motion gadgets and the way they are going to be addressed through the preliminary levels of your relationship.
Q&A – Go away time for people on either side of the decision, MSP and consumer, to ask any questions. Discussions throughout these conferences can typically convey up issues or beforehand ignored concepts.
Evaluation assembly notes: Guarantee everybody walks away from the assembly with their questions answered and a transparent understanding of their subsequent steps.
Maintain kickoff conferences productive with the next suggestions:
Familiarize your total staff with the consumer earlier than the assembly. Focus on data gathered throughout discovery, the gross sales course of, and the onboarding questionnaire.
Outline account roles and obligations earlier than the assembly and be certain that all staff members doc and perceive these expectations.
Put together strategic recommendation that will add extra worth for the consumer.
Evaluation the kickoff assembly agenda and amend as wanted. Ship this agenda to your consumer at the very least a day earlier than the assembly date.
Plan the move of the kickoff assembly. Who will discuss particular subjects? How a lot time ought to be spent on every agenda merchandise? Who’s chargeable for getting the assembly again on monitor if discussions head off on a tangent?
Process = Peace of Thoughts
Bringing on a brand new consumer is at all times thrilling, nevertheless it’s necessary to make their expertise as easy and hassle-free as attainable. Onboarding units the expectation for the remainder of the connection, and a tough onboarding can rapidly result in purchasers who remorse their shopping for resolution.
Avoiding expensive errors and pissed off purchasers is commonly as straightforward as following a process just like the one exemplified above. Remember to use the very best software program to assist that course of to additional streamline and optimize your operations from onboarding to exit.
Why NinjaOne?
Every little thing your MSP must assist purchasers in a quick, easy-to-use, and intuitive platform that drives technician effectivity and effectiveness.
Straightforward and Highly effective RMM
Constructed-in IT Ticketing
Built-in Cloud Backup
Patch Administration
Distant Entry
Software program Deployment
IT Asset Administration
IT Documentation