<aside> 📋 Frequency: Trigger-Based | Time: 45 min | Trigger: When a signed contract is received

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Without a structured intake, you enter your first client meeting without the information you need to run a clean kickoff. The engagement starts reactive — you're diagnosing on the fly instead of confirming a hypothesis — and the client's first impression is disorganization, not expertise.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. Open your project management system and create the client record. Populate all known fields: contact info, engagement type, SOW reference, kickoff date.
  2. Run the Client Intake Questionnaire Builder skill with the client's industry, engagement type, and primary stated constraint as inputs.
  3. Send the generated questionnaire to the client with a 48-hour response window. Flag it as a prerequisite for the kickoff meeting.
  4. Review returned responses before proceeding. If the questionnaire is incomplete, follow up directly — don't move to kickoff prep with gaps.
  5. Run the Client Onboarding Welcome Sequence skill with the client's name, engagement start date, and primary constraint as inputs.
  6. Send the welcome sequence. Confirm the kickoff date is locked and aligned with the Engagement Kickoff Prep SOP trigger (3 business days prior).

Expected Outcome

A complete client record in your project system, a sent and returned intake questionnaire, and a welcome sequence delivered — all before the first working session begins.

<aside> ⚠️ Common mistakes:

— Sending a generic intake questionnaire — you get generic answers. Calibrate the questions to the engagement type or you'll spend the first session asking things the questionnaire should have already covered.

— Treating the welcome sequence as optional — it isn't. The gap between signed contract and first session is when buyers experience doubt. A structured welcome sequence holds the relationship during the handoff.

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