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Messy Business by The Help Bench®

Stop winging your client onboarding. It's costing you trust, time and referrals.

Build a clear onboarding journey that makes clients feel confident from day one, reduces stress, and earns referrals.

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First impressions Timeline clarity Ownership handoffs Progress visibility Communication rhythm
Built by someone who ran these systems at scale: 25+ years leading operations for £85M+ businesses within Investec, managing 70+ staff handling 1,000+ client transactions monthly.
Brand names reflect experience in corporate roles. No endorsement implied.
Investec HP TechData Currys Tesco Bank
The reality check

Is this you?

You deliver excellent work, yet the way clients experience the start may not always reflect it.

You're reinventing the process with every new client because nothing is documented or standardised
Clients go quiet in the first two weeks because they don't know what's happening next or when to expect it
Every team member does onboarding differently, leaving clients confused about what's actually standard
You're terrified the first month will be so messy they won't refer you, leave a review, or come back
Handovers between team members create gaps where clients feel ignored or have to repeat themselves
You know what good looks like but can't get the team to deliver it consistently without you micromanaging
Sound familiar? Take the Trust Gap Quiz
The moment of truth

The Two Companies Test

A client says yes. They are now judging you on how you begin. One of these two stories happens next.

Company 1: Structured
  • Welcome email arrives within the hour
  • Clear timeline and next steps explained
  • One point of contact named
  • Process feels intentional and professional
Client feelingConfident. Ready to engage.
Company 2: Winging It
  • Welcome email takes over 24 hours
  • Client unsure what happens next or when
  • Communication scattered across email, WhatsApp, and DMs
  • Feels like afterthought admin rather than a partnership
Client feelingUncertain. Already regretting the choice.

The difference is structure. Company 1 has a system. Company 2 relies on goodwill and memory. We help you become Company 1.


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Why it matters

The hidden cost of an average start

A weak start drains confidence, momentum and reputation.

Trust and referrals

Early uncertainty creates doubt. Clients who don't feel guided rarely refer with confidence. A shaky first week can cost you half your referral rate.

Your energy and focus

Without a repeatable system, you firefight questions and handovers. Your time goes into damage control instead of delivery and growth.

Your positioning

The market decides what it feels like to work with you in the first week. The start sets your reputation more than any later testimonial.

The cost of fixing onboarding is small. The cost of ignoring it compounds.

The deliverables

What we build with you

A working onboarding system inside your current tools. Built with you, not handed over as a document.

Proactive client communication

  • Welcome and timeline emails with exact next steps
  • Planned touchpoints at T+1 hour, T+1 day, T+3 days
  • Clear who to contact, what will happen and when
  • Clients feel guided and confident from day one
  • No more "just checking in" messages

Repeatable onboarding system

  • Stage-by-stage checklist with clear owners
  • Templates and scripts everyone can use consistently
  • Automation for reminders where it makes sense
  • Stops reliance on memory and individual styles

Friction-free handover & ownership

  • Sales-to-delivery handover that removes ambiguity
  • Internal and client-facing process maps
  • One-page playbook to keep everyone aligned
  • Reduces noise so the work starts smoothly
Most clients see inbox noise drop within two weeks and "just checking in" messages reduce by half.
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Engagement options

Three ways to work together

Choose the starting point that fits where you are today. We build inside your existing tools. No new software required.

Journey Build

For solo operators
£997 + VAT
1–2 weeks
Ideal forSolo service businesses who want a professional, repeatable start without overhauling everything
What this delivers
  • A consistent start that feels professional
  • Clear next steps so clients never need to chase
  • Less effort to deliver the same standard every time
  • Save 5–10 hours a week within the first month
Includes
  • First steps designed and documented
  • 3–5 onboarding email templates with timeline prompts
  • Client checklist & simple automation plan
  • 1 week implementation support
Start with the Trust Gap Quiz

Journey Fix

For teams with handovers
£2,997 + VAT
4–6 weeks
Ideal forTeams of 3–20 delivering client work who want consistency and fewer fires to fight
What this delivers
  • No clients go quiet at the start
  • Handover noise removed so work starts quickly
  • Referrals rise as the experience matches your quality
  • Referral rate typically increases within 60 days
Includes
  • End-to-end onboarding mapped with your team
  • Sales-to-delivery handover with clear ownership
  • Templates, scripts & automations in your stack
  • 30-day implementation support
Book Diagnostic Call

Fractional COO

Ongoing operational leadership
From £2,500 + VAT / month
Half day a week or more if needed
Ideal forFounders who want to step out of operations and scale without chaos
What this delivers
  • Operations run without you in the day-to-day
  • Founder time back: 20–40 hours a month
  • Monthly priorities and execution rhythm
  • Metrics, reviews & continuous improvement
Includes
  • Leadership for operations & client experience
  • Approx. 2 days / month minimum
  • Weekly check-ins & async support
  • Strategic planning & operational execution
  • Flexible scale-up if required
Book Diagnostic Call
Common questions

Questions buyers ask

No. We reduce the thinking you repeat for every new client. Templates and a simple checklist do the heavy lifting. Clients normally see a reduction in onboarding time and mental load within the first two weeks.

Not usually. We start inside what you already use and only add light automation where it saves time or removes risk.

Often within a week. Clear welcome, timeline and ownership create visible confidence quickly.

We build the system with you, so it fits how you like to work. Not forced on you.

Journey Build takes 1–2 weeks. Journey Fix takes 4–6 weeks. We work at your pace.

Perfect. We keep what works and fix what doesn't. Most businesses have fragments. We connect them into a complete system.

We involve them in shaping it. When people help build it, they follow it. We keep it simple enough that it's easier to use than ignore.

Most clients recover the investment within 60–90 days. Fewer firefights, faster onboarding, and better referral rates compound quickly.

We've worked with consultancies, agencies, coaches, accountants, legal firms and tech businesses. The principles stay the same. We adapt everything to your industry and tools.

No risk diagnostic

Book a 20-minute diagnostic call. If you don't get value from the call itself, we'll send you a personalised action plan anyway.

Book Diagnostic Call

Find out where trust is breaking down

Take the 2-minute quiz and get your Trust Gap score. See exactly what to fix first, whether you work with us or not.

Take the Trust Gap Quiz