The Framework You Need to Build For Your Business

Over the last few years, I have found that most creative businesses follow the same basic framework for working with their clients. This framework can be broken down into the 8 distinct phases described below.

Keep in mind that not every business is going to hit all 8 phases, some phases could definitely be combined, overlapped, or performed simultaneously, and there's no "right" or "wrong" way to work with your clients. 

1 | Initial Inquiry 

The Initial Inquiry phase is the very beginning of the sales conversation and takes place when a potential new client (also called a "lead") takes action to find out more about working with you.

2 | Discovery 

During the Discovery phase you will learn more about your potential client's needs and pain points, and then determine which (if any) of your services would be the most supportive way to help them achieve their goals.

3 | Make an Offer 

Once you've determined that the potential client is a good fit for your services, you'll want to Make an Offer. In this phase, you're simply sharing the details of what you have to offer and giving the lead everything they need in order to sign up.

4 | Onboarding 

The Onboarding phase is what happens after your new client has accepted your proposal, signed your contract, and made any up front payments you require. This is where you'll want to welcome them into your business and let them know what to expect moving forward.

5 | Service Delivery 

During the Service Delivery phase you'll be performing whatever work or services the client actually hired you to do. This phase may require its own separate framework to keep things organized.

6 | Feedback

You will likely have at least 1 round of feedback and revisions that occurs simultaneously with your Service Delivery and is related to your work. But, you should also be collecting feedback about your process so you can make updates and collect testimonial content.

7 | Offboarding

The offboarding phase lets the client know your work is complete and gives the project a definitive ending so no one is left wondering.

8 | Beyond

The beyond phase can include things like ongoing maintenance, referral programs, and information about how to work with you again in the future.