Onboarding Process for SBMM Account Managers and Account Executives

For paid sites, the average timeline is 6 weeks. This is broken down below:

• Project Coordinator assigned and client contacted: 5-7 Days
• Project intake including discovery call: 1 week
• Site build: 2-4 weeks
• Client feedback: 1-2 weeks

This timeline can be expedited if clients are extremely responsive and eager to get their website live quicker!

Prior to a Project Coordinator being assigned, if you have questions or additional notes for your clients site project, please use the “FHS Project Update/Q?” Workflow in the #fhs_sbmm_projectmanagement channel.

Once your project has been assigned a Project Coordinator, please reach out to them directly. You can find the Project Coordinator by going to this Airtable interface and using the filters at the top or scrolling through the queue. If you’re unable to find the project in this view, then it’s likely the project was never submitted.

More information on using the #fhs_sbmm_projectmanagement room is available in the FareHarbor Sites Project Timelines doc.

The first step to getting clients on a FareHarbor website is to discuss the package options. Visit sites.fareharbor.com for more details on website and SEO packages.

When pitching a FareHarbor site, make sure you’re following the proper Close Pipeline process. This presentation outlines the full process to create and move a FHS opportunity through Close. Client’s must have their commercial order signed before we will begin working on their project.

Additional Questions from Clients

If your client has questions that you feel a Sites team member is better equipped to answer, please post their questions using the “General FHS Question” Workflow in the #fareharborwebsites Slack channel and a member of the Sites team will get back to you.

Site Timelines

If you need an updated estimate on how soon the sites team will be able to build the site you can reach out in the #fhs_sbmm_projectmanagement slack channel (please use the workflow where applicable).

If there is a specific date the client needs to go live by or if a project needs to be prioritized the sites team will accommodate where it makes sense and where they are able. If a Project Coordinator has not yet been assigned these requests should be submitted to the #fhs_sbmm_projectmanagement Slack channel otherwise these requests should be submitted directly to the assigned Project Coordinator. To see if a Project Coordinator has been assigned, please visit this Airtable view.

Once this the commercial order is signed, a project will automatically populate in the FHS Onboarding queue. For an AirTable view with all sites in progress you can click here.

Clients who are live on their dashboard will have a Project Coordinator reach out within 5-7 days.

Clients who are not live on their dashboard will be assigned a Project Coordinator but this PC will not reach out until the Dashboard Training Date has been added to the Close lead. Our team needs a complete dashboard in order to build the site so we will not be reaching out until that training date is in.

Filling in and Collecting Missing Items

The next project phase will be “Discovery.” The assigned Project Coordinator will go through the intake form submission and fill out any internal information on the AirTable record. As mentioned above, in most cases there will still be items that are needed from the client before we can move the sites project forward. It is the Project Coordinator’s responsibility to identify these items through reviewing their submission, their current site and their dashboard, and to make note of them on the project in the missing information field. Common items that may still need to be collected from the client include the following but are not limited to:

• Domain Registrar Login Information
• High Quality Images
• Google Analytics Account Access
• New Items Added in the Dashboard
• Any General Additional Info Needed for the Site Build

Once the Project Coordinator has combed through the project and identified what may still be needed, they will reach out to the appropriate party to collect that information. This is typically the client but the Project Coordinator may reach out to the AM or AE as well to see what discussions were had with the client prior to their involvement. Beyond that, it is the Project Coordinator’s job to reach out to the client with list of the items needed and to request a discovery call.

As of Aug. 2022, Project Coordinators will be conducting a Discovery Call with the client as part of the intake process. There are several purposes to the Discover Call:

• Establish a relationship with the client as their Project Coordinator
• Set the expectations of a FareHarbor-built website and what we can provide
• Discuss any requested features or features of their former site that the FHS template cannot accommodate and offer a solution
• Understand the client’s goals for the FHS
• Show them an example outline of a FareHarbor Site so they visually grasp what their site will look like and how it will be organized
• Gather information about their current site in relation to their soon to come FHS and verify the accuracy of existing information
• Gather missing information and ask questions that need to be answered
• Communicate the build timeline and discuss next steps
• Obtain information more quickly than over email
• Prevent the client from being in the dark about the look of their FHS and eliminate surprises

The Project Coordinator will make the initial contact with the client to schedule the Discovery Call. If the client does not respond to the initial email, the Project Coordinator will follow up in 3 – 5 days with another email. If the client is still not responsive the Project Coordinator will send another email in 3 – 5 business days letting the client know that the project may be canceled if we are unable to conduct a Discovery Call. The Project Coordinator will reach out to the AM or AE during this process for assistance in making contact with the client. In extenuating circumstances, if the client is unavailable to schedule a Discovery Call, the needed information can be collected over email.

The Project Coordinator will post a summary of the Discovery Call with a workflow in the #fhs_sbmm_projectmanagement room inform the AM or AE of how the call went. It is not likely that the Project Coordinator will ask the AM or AE to step in at this point in the process unless an unforeseen escalation occurred during the call.

Following Up on Missing Items

After the Discovery Call, the Project Coordinator will work with the client to collect any other information needed and communicate the build timeline once the information is collected. The Project Coordinator will follow the same process above of reaching out every 3 – 5 days then escalating to the AM or AE if the client does not respond.

If the Project Coordinator is still not able to contact or fully collect all the missing items from the client at this time the Project Coordinator will move the project to the “Stalled Pre-Build” status and send an email letting the client know that the project has been canceled. When a project is Stalled, the PC will escalate the project to the AM in the #fhs_sbmm_projectmanagement Slack channel for any needed support.

The Sites team is still able to move forward with the project if the client responds with the items needed after they have been informed that the project is canceled. However, the Project Coordinator will not actively continue to reach out after this point and will ask the AM or AE to do so instead.

Submitting to the Site Build Queue

Once all items have been collected from the client, the Project Coordinator will confirm with them that we have everything needed to start their project and let them know of the next steps. From here, the AM or AE’s involvement on the project is minimal and any website related questions should be directed to the Project Coordinator. The Project Coordinator will move the project to the “Ready to Build” status in Airtable.

The Ready to Build status is the first of several statuses that the Project Coordinator will supervise movement through before it is ultimately built. For a full list of the Small Business Mid Market Onboarding table statuses and their descriptions please see this help doc. If you need a view that shows all projects currently in the queue you can use the AirTable view here and scroll down to the Ready to Build status.

How long it takes for a site to be built once it has been submitted will depend on how many other sites are in the queue as well as the size of the website. As an AM or AE, if you need an update on this timeline, reach out to the Project Coordinator and they will give you an estimate of when the site will be ready for the first reveal to the client.

SEO Research

When the project has been submitted to the queue, a member of our SEO team will begin working on the SEO Pre-sweep. The Pre-sweep represents the research phase where the SEO team member will compile as much information as they can about the current site’s SEO strategy and form a document to guide that strategy. An SEO Check is required before the SEO research is implemented on WordPress to ensure the site is built on a strong technical foundation.

Initial Build

When the project has been picked up to be built, the status of the project will be updated to “Initial Build”. Once the project enters this status, the Web Content Specialist will utilize all the information that has been collected to build out the website using our in-house WordPress theme. If questions arise at this point, the Project Coordinator will work with the client to gather answers. During this stage, the Project Coordinator may reach out to the AM or AE if there are dashboard questions or adjustments that need to be made.

First Round Check

Once the site is complete, the Web Content Specialist will update the AirTable record status to “First Round Checks” and submit a workflow in Slack to notify the Project Coordinator that the site is ready for the first round of design and functionality checks. The Project Coordinator assigned to the build will go through a series of checks on the website and utilize AirTable to make any notes of items that may need to be corrected before the project is reviewed with the client. The First Round Check Guidelines can be found here.

SEO & Copy Check

Once the PC completes the check, a, SEO and copy check is performed by the SEO/copy team. These checks will make sure the grammar on the website is correct as well as look for any additional opportunities to add keywords to the website’s content. The copy team does not write full website copy for the client but checks for grammar and rankability of content provided.

Ready for Review

Once all three checks are complete, the site will be assigned back to the Web Content Specialist in AirTable to implement any corrections. The Web Content Specialist will then update the AirTable record to “Ready to Review” and assign the Project Coordinator. This tells the Project Coordinator that the new website is ready to review with the client.

Before the website goes live, the Project Coordinator will review the website with the client. To do this, the Project Coordinator will reach out to send the website link & feedback form and move the AirTable record to the “Client Review” status. The Project Coordinator will also offer to schedule a Reveal Call if the client is interested in talking through their feedback. If the client has no edits, the Project Coordinator will work with the client to set a date when the site can go live.

If the client provides feedback, the Project Coordinator will move the AirTable record to the “Client Feedback” status. At this point, the Project Coordinator will communicate back and forth with the client to collect any reasonable feedback as well as continually push the client to go live on the new website. Any feedback or edits provided by the client will be passed to the Web Content Specialist by the Project Coordinator and completed in a timely manner. Once the edits have been addressed the Project Coordinator will let the client know for further review or for go-live approval. If further discussions are needed to go over anything related to the website, the Project Coordinator can make themselves available for a follow up call.

Stalling Projects Post-Build

Projects can be stalled for a number of reasons:

• The primary reason a project is moved to the “Stalled” status is due to clients becoming unresponsive after three attempted reach outs, each 3 – 5 days apart.
• The client wants to pause the project for some reason (too busy, not a good time/unavailable, third party delays, waiting on information, ect.)

In these cases, the Project Coordinator will move the project to the “Stalled Post-Build” status. This status signifies that the Project Coordinator has made all reasonable attempts to move the project forward but the client has been unable to approve taking the site live, provide the feedback or provide the items needed to take the site live. If the Project Coordinator moves the site to this status they will also escalate the project to the AM or AE using the FHS Project Update Workflow in the #fhs_sbmm_projectmanagemement channel for any needed support. For unresponsive clients, the Project Coordinator may request that the AM or AE reach out to the client to see if they’re able to collect information to get the project moving forward again. At this point it will be up to the client or the AM or AE to get the project moving again.

The final step for new websites is taking the site live. Once the client has give the approval for the website to go live the Project Coordinator will start by moving the project to the “Greenlight” status. A full description of the FareHarbor sites process for taking a website live can be found in this help doc.

If the client has paid for an SEO Gold or Silver package, at this point a project is created for the SEO team to track post-live SEO services.

Live Check

A different Project Coordinator will check the site after it has gone live for function and dashboard congruence. This does not include Dashboard optimization like checking for unused features, only matching what’s on the website to the Dashboard. The Live Check Guidelines can be found here.

Once all items have been addressed, the Project Coordinator will let the AM or Onboarding Specialist know that all items have been addressed on the site side and the site is ready to call live.

Calling the Site Live

The final step is calling the website live. This step is done by the AM or Onboarding Specialist and is a great way to recognize all of the team members that have been involved in the project. Calling the website live consists of posting a notification in the #live slack channel. While there isn’t a set format for posting these messages in the channel below is a template that can be used if needed. Replace the appropriate slack handles and inputs within the brackets.

@fareharborwebsites_all @[slack handle for your Account Manager region] [website name] is Live! Shoutout to all those involved on this build @[Project Coordinator], @[Web Content Specialist], @[copy person], @[SEO person} [website url] [image for calling website live]

If the client has paid for an SEO Gold or Silver package, an SEO PC will reach out within 7-10 business days of site go-live.