System 05
B2B onboarding
The stretch between a signed agreement and a customer actually ordering is, at many companies, a black hole of emails and loose ends. This system turns that into a steered process, without anyone keeping a spreadsheet.
Where new customers get stuck
A new business customer has to pass more steps than people realise: supplying details and a VAT number, getting creditworthiness assessed, agreeing prices, having users created, integrations configured, and only then that first order.
Each step is a moment where it stalls, usually because someone is waiting on someone else. The longer onboarding takes, the greater the chance enthusiasm drains and the first order never arrives.
How the system fits together
One continuous process with visibility of where each customer sits and who is up.
- 01
Collecting details without ping-pong
One form that asks what is needed, fills and validates company and VAT details automatically, and only proceeds when it is complete.
- 02
Checks in the background
Credit check, VAT validation and any sanctions screening run automatically. Only exceptions reach a person.
- 03
Setting everything up
Account in the order system, pricing agreements, users, discount structure and any integration with their own purchasing system.
- 04
Monitoring and reminders
If a step stalls, a reminder goes to whoever is up. Internally as well as at the customer.
How it gets built
- 01
Map the real process
Not the process as intended but as it runs. There are always steps in there that are documented nowhere.
- 02
Build and shadow
The system first runs alongside a few real new customers before it becomes the leading path.
- 03
Measure where it stalls
After delivery you can see how long each step takes. That makes visible the bottlenecks that previously existed only as a feeling.
What the system does
It makes the road from signed to first order shorter and visible, with far less manual coordination.
- One form instead of a chain of emails back and forth
- Automatic checks on company registration, VAT and credit
- Accounts and pricing agreements ready on their own
- Visibility of where each new customer is stuck and for how long
What it costs
What an engagement costs depends on its scope and on how many systems are involved. I work with a fixed price per phase rather than open-ended billing: you know what a phase costs before it starts, and you decide after each one whether to continue.
I only quote a figure once I know what we are talking about. That takes a half-hour conversation, at no charge.
Whether this fits
This works well when
- you take on new business customers regularly
- onboarding currently runs through email and loose actions
- checks are needed before anyone may order
- the lead time is longer than you would like
This fits less well when
- you take on a handful of new customers a year
- every customer gets an entirely bespoke contract structure
- your order system cannot create accounts through an API
Questions about B2B onboarding
Does this work with our existing CRM?
Usually yes. The system does not install a new CRM but steers the process and writes outcomes back into what you already use. It only gets awkward if your CRM has no API, which is rare with modern packages.
What if a customer drops out halfway?
It becomes visible, and that is one of the more useful outcomes. Right now those cases disappear quietly; afterwards you see at which step people drop out and how often. Often one specific step turns out to be needlessly complicated.
Can the customer see where they stand?
Yes, that can be built in and it cuts the number of status enquiries considerably. It is optional because it makes the build somewhat larger, but in practice it pays for itself in fewer phone calls.
Let's discuss how I can help your business grow
A short call is enough to tell whether there is a good fit. No sales pitch, just an honest read on what is possible.