181. What Happens After “Yes” Shouldn’t Be a Mystery

In this episode, I break down what happens after someone says “yes” to your offer and how creating a clear customer onboarding process supports smarter decisions and sustainable small business growth.

We’ve all felt that awkward silence after a purchase, or worse, been flooded with confusing emails and left wondering if we made a mistake. Today, I’m pulling back the curtain on those uncertain moments that scare off good clients and stall out small business momentum. I’m sharing why having a clear customer onboarding process (showing your customers exactly what happens next) is one of the simplest ways to build trust, keep them calm, and even help them say “yes” in the first place.

We’ll talk through the power of a visible customer onboarding process in your website strategy, how to communicate what comes next, and ways that transparency filters out wrong-fit clients before trouble begins. I’ll walk you through the simple steps every business needs to outline, whether you’re running a service-based company, digital product shop, or local spot. 

I’ll also give you practical ideas to try right now so your customers feel confident at every step. Ready to let your process do the heavy lifting? Let’s dig into the “after yes” experience and take the mystery out of your offers.

00:39 – Why uncertainty after a sale kills business momentum

03:48 – How showing your process builds trust and professionalism

05:26 – Making transparency work for service, digital, and local businesses

07:48 – The three things every business must communicate before and after “yes”

Links & Resources:

• Watch this episode on YouTube.
• Follow me on Instagram @kristendoyle.co 
• Let's talk about your website and systems: Book a Website Gameplan Call 
• Explore your options for working together: Web Design Services 
• Rate & review Small Business Savvy on Apple Podcasts

Show Notes: https://kristendoyle.co/episode181 

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Transcript

Kristen Doyle: 0:01

Have you ever had that weird moment after you purchase something, or after you say yes to working with someone, where there's this awkward silence? Or maybe you get a flurry of emails and you're not sure what to do with all of them, or the person just kind of disappears for a while, and you're just not sure if your purchase went through or not? Or how to get the thing you bought or what you're supposed to do next? Yeah, that moment happens to all of us at some point, and if it's happening in your business, it is killing your business momentum. Here's the thing. Uncertainty like that doesn't feel neutral to your customers. It feels like risk. And when people feel uncertain right after they hand over money, or even just hand over their trust, their brain starts filling in the blanks with the worst case scenario. My payment didn't go through, this person forgot all about me, this whole thing is a scam. So today I am sharing why making the process visible before they say yes is one of the easiest things you can do to keep them from panicking after, and even to get them to say yes in the first place. Let's talk about how to do that. You've got happy customers and a solid business, but you're stuck guessing about what to focus on next. Is it your website, your systems, your marketing? If that sounds a little too familiar, then you are in the right place. Welcome to Small Business Savvy. I'm your host, Kristen Doyle, and every week we cover business systems, website strategy, simplified marketing, and the decisions that actually grow your business. No fluff, no shiny objects, just what works. Let's get started, y'all. The first thing we really need to get into is why that uncertainty feels so risky in the first place. So when someone says yes to working with you or to purchasing your product, they have just handed over either money or trust, maybe both, and now they are waiting. And like I said, if there is a gap in communication at that time, then their brain automatically starts filling in the gap with the worst possible scenarios. Any time a client or a customer hesitates or delays, backs out at the last minute, purchases and immediately asks for a refund, it is not usually about the price or even about it not being the right fit. They're usually not regretting what they've purchased. It is almost always about a fear of the unknown. They are suddenly worried that they can't actually do this, whatever it is, or that you might be a scam, and they're never going to get this thing that they've purchased. And all that applies before they say yes, too. If people don't know, if they can't picture what working with you looks like. they're not sure how they're going to get the thing they're purchasing, they will stall out before they ever commit to making the purchase. As an established business owner, you have probably seen this play out. If you haven't made these mistakes in your own business or noticed them yet, you have probably at least seen them on the customer side of things. Maybe you've had it happen in your business and you didn't recognize it. You've had a lead who seemed really ready and then they ghosted you. Or you've been that lead when you were looking for someone to work with, and then you backed out, or you stepped away because you just didn't feel confident. This is where transparency and really showing your process can come in so strong and be so powerful for your business. What transparency really does is show your customers, your potential customers, your process before they ever commit to making a purchase. And the reason it's important is that this signals to people that you have a plan, that you've done this before. It communicates expertise, and that is really reassuring to people who aren't quite certain what's going to happen next. It sets the tone, and it tells them that this is a working relationship that's going to be organized, professional, it'll be clear in the way that you communicate. Customers who know what to expect going into working with you or purchasing from you, or they find out immediately after they sign up, are going to be calmer, they're going to be easier to work with, and they're going to be more likely to be happy with what you've offered and then refer you to more people. This also kind of helps to filter out those bad fit clients before the problems even start. Because if you make your process clear up front, then someone can read that process and immediately notice this doesn't feel right for me, and they'll back out before you get started. And that is actually a good thing. I know we all want to get as much business as we possibly can, but getting the right people to not book with you is actually so important, because it keeps you working with the right fit people and not those wrong fit people. All right, let's talk about what this looks like across different business types, because it really applies whether you're working with clients or you're looking for customers for your products. We'll start with service based businesses. If you are running a service based business, people are looking for things like, what are the onboarding steps? Now, you might not call it that publicly, but how are they going to get started with you? Are they going to sign a contract, pay a deposit, fill out some sort of intake form? What's the order that they do those things, and where do they get the links to do them? What is the timeline from saying yes to delivering the service, and if you can't give a set in stone timeline, even just giving a range is really helpful, something like you'll hear from me within 24 hours about how to get started. Or, the project will be done in four to six weeks. What is communication going to look like? How do they get in touch with you if they need something? What kind of steps are there between the onboarding and the delivery? What do they need to know and do during this process? What about support after the fact? What kind is there? How long does it last? All those things are important to relate to people before they ever purchase, and then to reiterate again right after they sign up to work with you. Now, if you have an online or a digital product business, then your questions are going to look a little different. You're going to want to tell people things like, how and when does the customer get access to what they've purchased? How will this be delivered? Is it going to be emailed? Do they download it? Is there a platform that they'll log into? Again, what kind of support is available, and how do they get that? Will there be updates over time to this product, or is it one and done? And then, if you're a local business, this applies to you too. Think about things like, how does ordering work? What is the wait time? How long before my order ships? Do they need to make an appointment or can they walk in? What should they bring with them? Where do they go? What's going to happen when they show up? None of these things really have to be complicated or big, long, detailed paragraphs. It just needs to be stated somewhere clearly on your website to remove those questions by giving them the answers up front. There are three things that every business needs to communicate very clearly, both before and after the Yes, and you'll want to make them visible on your website or in other places, depending on what they are. The first one is the steps, what's going to happen in order and what kicks this off. The second one is the timeline. Even a date range is better than nothing. So saying things like you'll hear from me within 24 hours to get started, or the whole process takes four to six weeks. Your order ships in three to five days. It doesn't have to be a super formal timeline. It doesn't have to lay out every minute by minute thing that will happen. But you do need something. And then the third thing is that division of responsibility. What are you handling versus what are the things they need to do or provide? Now, some of this needs to live on your website. Other parts of it might be in a confirmation email, an FAQ page, or even on your booking confirmation page, before your customers purchase and then either just before or just after they say yes. The real reason this is so important is that it actually reduces problems in your business, problems like no shows, because people will forget or they'll deprioritize things they're not confident and certain about. It's just easy to try to avoid those things. So clear next steps can help people stay engaged and keep them showing up. Refund requests. A lot of times, those refund requests come from unmet expectations or from feeling like you haven't gotten what you paid for, even though maybe we're just not at that point yet in the process, it's usually not from bad products or services. So if you make the expectations clear right up front, that can keep people from being disappointed or frustrated and expecting something you never promised. It can also help keep them from ghosting you. A lot of times, people will say yes, and then they go really quiet, and it's usually because they don't know what to do next, and they feel really awkward asking. So make sure that they know exactly what to do. Give them those emails, prompts, texts, whatever it is, so that they don't ghost you because you've given them next steps to take. It can also help with reducing or even eliminating late or incomplete client work. See when your clients don't know what they need to provide or when or where to send it, they just don't, and that puts your timeline behind schedule. Now, a lot of times, business owners will hide their process until after someone signs up because they're worried it will sound too complicated, or even the other way around, too simple, and it will put people off. But customers really just want to know what to expect. And when you hide the process, then either people are going to ask you a lot of questions that you have to answer one at a time, client by client, or they just wonder, and they never ask. And that can make your business feel less stable and less professional than it actually is, and it can keep them from wanting to work with you or purchase from you. All right, so here is what I want you to do. Take some time this week to write out your'after they say yes steps' for your main offer. This doesn't need to be a big, detailed policy document or anything, just a simple list of steps. What happens immediately after they buy or book or sign up? What did they need to do? What do you need to do? And then, when do they hear from you next? Ask yourself, where does this information need to live for each piece of it? Which parts need to be visible on my site before they ever sign up on your services page or even the homepage? Which parts need to go in a confirmation email or welcome packet, maybe a thank you page after they book? And make a plan for where to put those things on your website. Now, if you went through that exercise, and you realized that your process is really clear in your head, but nowhere that your customers can see it, that is something I would love to help you with. We can talk through it on a Website Game Plan call, where we would map out what your site should be communicating and where, and then talk about what it would look like for me to help you get that fixed. You can head over to kristendoyle.co/gameplan to book a free call. I'll talk to you soon.