You had an initial consultation with the prospective client last week. He called a few minutes ago and he’s ready to get started. You need him to sign a client agreement and make a payment. It would be nice if you could get the client signed up while he’s ready to go. The more time you wait, the more likely it is that something will slow him down.

He can’t come by the office today to sign the agreement and leave the check. Unfortunately, he’s tied up in a meeting and needs to be at the airport at 6 AM for a three-day business trip. How can you get him started now?

Go ahead and draft the client agreement. Get it just right and send it to him using RightSignature or EchoSign. These services allow you to email the document to the client and he can sign it from his computer. He can even sign using his iPhone with RightSignature. It’s all done on the computer screen with no need to do the usual print, sign and fax back routine. It’s quick and painless and doesn’t involve any office equipment other than the computer.

Both services have trial offers so you can test the service and EchoSign even has a free account option. I’ve been using RightSignature for months and it’s solid. It’s simple and it works. We’ve signed up quite a few clients using their service and I can recommend it without reservation. I haven’t tried EchoSign yet and would appreciate your feedback if you give it a trial run. Give one of them a try and within minutes you’ll have the client agreement signed, sealed and delivered.

Next up – getting the payment taken care of.

One option is to have the client provide you with his credit card information over the phone or by email. Another option is to have the client provide you with his checking account number and routing number. If you go the checking account route, use software like that provided by CheckMan to create a check on your printer that you can deposit just like any other. You can take that check to the bank even though it isn’t signed. Another option, and the one we’re currently using, is a virtual terminal provided by your credit card processor. They allow us to type the check info straight into the software they provide and the check is instantly credited to our account.

Now you’re good to go. With an executed client agreement plus payment you can get started on the client’s case.