Why Client Onboarding Can Make or Break Your Interior Design Business
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Written August 2023 | Updated August 2025
Why is Client Onboarding so Important for Interior Designers?
In my seven+ years of working with interior designers to help them price their services and streamline their business processes, I have repeatedly seen ineffective client onboarding (or lack thereof) cause issues, mismatched expectations, lack of trust, and frustration throughout an entire project.
Client onboarding is a crucial step in working with clients that applies to all business owners - and one that is severely overlooked and underdeveloped, leaving much to be desired. When done right, it has so many benefits:
It sets the foundation for a smooth process and an informed client
It makes it more likely your client will have a great experience working with you
It increases the perceived value of your service
It establishes that you have officially accepted a client and their project into your pipeline
It allows you to manage your capacity better
It validates the client’s decision to hire the designer
It establishes the designer’s expertise
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WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOUR INTERIOR DESIGN ONBOARDING PROCESS FALLS FLAT
On the other hand, when there is no formalized onboarding experience, your client AND your firm will feel the pain. Clients feel like they’re navigating the project on their own, and you/your team spend more time REACTING than moving forward seamlessly. NOT ideal if being profitable or getting referrals is the name of the game.
Here are just a few things I’ve seen happen when your onboarding process falls short:
01 | Your Interior Design Clients Might Feel Confused
Without clear expectations or a “roadmap,” so to speak, clients have no idea what’s coming next. They might start questioning the timeline, the process, and even their investment in your services. When they don’t know what to expect, their anxiety and confusion can spill over into the project, making everything harder, especially when it’s time to make design decisions or address challenges.
✅ Learn exactly how to fix, structure, and elevate your new client onboarding experience with our playbook for interior designers. Grab it here.
02 | Your Clients Might Feel Disconnected
Onboarding is your chance to really get to know your clients and set the tone for the entire relationship. Without a solid onboarding process, clients might feel like they’re just another project on your to-do list or like you’re going to design whatever you want to design for them, without even considering their unique style or needs. Again, NOT IDEAL!
03 | Your Clients Won’t Know How to “Behave”
This might sound like I’m scolding a child here, but if you don’t set clear guidelines for communication, decision-making, and project milestones, how will your clients know how they should “behave” or what’s appropriate/included vs. what’s out of line?
Do they email you or call for updates? Should they send you ideas they have? If they request a revision, is that extra, will it hurt your feelings, will it delay the whole project timeline by two weeks? Do they need to be involved in every little detail (they may think that actually IS helpful to you), or would you rather they get involved only for the major decisions?
A defined process will help guide your clients through the experience and answer questions they didn’t even know they had. The easiest way to do this is by sending out a new client welcome packet.
04 | Your Clients Might Feel Unappreciated
Whether you design luxury projects or not, interior designers ARE a luxury service provider. Clients don’t NEED to hire you (I mean, you and I both know they absolutely need you based on all the terrifying before pictures I’ve seen online … but you get what I’m saying, they technically COULD design their homes on their own).
But, when someone hires a luxury service provider, they expect the process to feel elevated. They want to feel special. This is a big deal for them. Not just hiring an interior designer, but FINALLY investing in their home to get the design of their dreams. THIS SHOULD BE CELEBRATED! Your clients are likely so excited.
It’s important that your onboarding process feels exciting and congratulatory, recognizing this exciting milestone and showing your appreciation for them. Without an onboarding process in place, your client may sign on the dotted line and expect fireworks, only to receive … wait for it … nothing from you.
No email. No client guide. No thank you card. No gift.
OUCH!
✅ Learn exactly how to fix, structure, and elevate your new client onboarding experience with our playbook for interior designers. Grab it here.
05 | Your Clients Might Question Your Expertise
I can tell how long someone has been in business by their onboarding process.
Clunky and not comprehensive onboarding process? I think things like:
They must be new at this.
Do they even know what they’re doing?
Did I just overpay?
Am I paying for their inefficiency?
How much is this lack of onboarding actually going to cost me in the long run?
Oh my gosh, what did I just do?
Organized and productive onboarding process? I think things like:
Wow! This is NOT their first rodeo.
They answered questions I didn’t even know I had. Finally, something in my life that doesn’t feel like pulling teeth!
Ooh, this is impressive. I can’t imagine how incredible the rest of the process will be.
Wow, they are really doing their due diligence to ensure they do a good job for my project. I can tell I’m in good hands.
A poor onboarding process can make you seem disorganized and inexperienced, even if you have years of expertise.
Read the biggest mistakes I’ve seen interior designers make with their onboarding process.
Your clients aren't experts (that’s why they hired you!), yet without proper onboarding, you’ve done nothing to lay the foundation of what they can expect throughout the process.
Talk about an increase in emails and frustration from your client and a higher likelihood of you thinking the client is a “red flag” client when, in actuality, they just don’t know how your process works or what they should do. And don’t forget: your client’s only experience with interior designers may be based on what they’ve seen on HGTV, which is NOT realistic at all.
This is NOT the best way to start a project.
✅ Learn exactly how to fix, structure, and elevate your new client onboarding experience with our playbook for interior designers. Grab it here.
How to Fix Your Interior Design Onboarding Process
As you can see, onboarding is everything when it comes to establishing an elevated (and impactful) client experience for your interior design business. It’s your opportunity to show clients you’re organized, professional, and prepared to lead them through the design process. And it saves TONS of time on the backend and increases the success of your project outcomes. #goals
Here are a few ways you can turn things around:
Understand your process: Before you can develop any sort of processes for your business, you have to know what actually happens in each service you offer. Get a piece of paper. Map it out. Go through the phases and major milestones of each.
Proactively guide clients: Once you have your process mapped out, identify ways at each touchpoint to let clients know exactly what’s going to happen, when, and how. These expectations are not just for clients; they also let clients know what THEY can expect from YOU.
Create a rinse & repeat welcoming experience: Onboarding is more than just what you do internally as a team, and it’s DEFINITELY more than just cards and gifts. Create a high-touch onboarding experience that makes them feel valued, heard, and excited for what’s to come.
Design a Better Client Onboarding Process Today
If your onboarding process feels a little all over the place—or, let’s be honest, nonexistent—you’re in good hands. Why? I’ve personally fixed the onboarding process for over 100 interior designers in my 1:1 services and hundreds more in my group program.
Learn exactly how to fix your onboarding process with The Interior Designer’s Playbook for Mastering Client Onboarding. Take control of the process, set clear expectations, and give your clients an experience that feels seamless and elevated from day one.
Inside the playbook, you’ll learn:
When and how to onboard a client—learn the correct sequence of steps to onboard new clients and when each should happen to ensure a clear process and strong boundaries.
Essential onboarding steps—access my onboarding checklist so you know the process for creating workflows, sending templated welcome materials, collecting key information, and organizing client projects for a seamless start.
How to support clients who have to wait to start—if you’re starting projects the day the contract is signed, Houston, we’ve got a problem. I’ll share ways to keep clients engaged and supported while they wait; they won’t even realize they haven’t started yet.
Client gifting best practices—get my bonus Client Gifting Guide that walks through the exact times to send a gift, my recommended gift ideas, and sample gift messages. One and done!
You don’t have to overhaul your whole business—nope! Prioritize this one KEY process and watch the positive domino effect it has on the rest of your company.
Grab your copy of The Interior Designer’s Playbook for Mastering Client Onboarding and refine your process today.
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