Agency SOP starter

How to use this

An SOP (standard operating procedure) is a short written checklist for a job you do again and again. These starters cover the jobs a small web agency repeats every week. Copy one, run it the next time you do that job, and fix anything that did not match reality. After two or three rounds it will describe how you actually work, which means you can hand it to a contractor or a future hire without a long explanation. Keep each SOP to one screen if you can. Nobody follows a twelve page procedure.

This is not legal advice. The outreach SOP mentions email rules (CAN-SPAM in the US, CASL in Canada, GDPR and PECR style rules in the UK and EU), and other SOPs touch contracts and client data. Check the rules that apply where you and your clients are, and ask a qualified professional when you are unsure.

SOP format

Every SOP uses the same short header so you can scan them quickly.

Field	What to write
Name	[What the job is]
Owner	[Who is responsible for it being done]
When	[Trigger: daily, weekly, or "when a client signs"]
Time	[Roughly how long it takes]
Tools	[What you use]
Done means	[The visible result when it is finished]
Last updated	[Date]

SOP 1: Weekly prospecting

Field	Value
Owner	[Name]
When	[Monday morning]
Time	[90 minutes]
Tools	[Lead source, tracker, prospect qualification worksheet]
Done means	[Number] new qualified prospects in the tracker with a hook written for each

• Choose this week's niche and city: [niche], [city]
• Build a raw list of [number] businesses from [source]
• Remove any already in the tracker or who opted out
• Open each site on a phone and a laptop
• Score each one with the qualification worksheet
• Write a one line hook for each prospect scoring [15] or higher
• Add them to the tracker with status "researched" and today's date

SOP 2: Daily outreach

Field	Value
Owner	[Name]
When	[Each weekday, same time]
Time	[45 minutes]
Tools	[Your mailbox, tracker, real outreach email examples]
Done means	Today's emails sent, follow ups sent, tracker updated

• Check the opt out list and remove anyone on it from today's batch
• Write [number] personalized first emails from the researched list
• Confirm each email includes your business name, postal address and an opt out line
• Send at a steady, human pace from your own mailbox
• Send follow ups due today (maximum [2] per prospect, each adding something new)
• Update each prospect's status and next contact date
• Record any opt out immediately and never contact that address again

SOP 3: Answering replies

Field	Value
Owner	[Name]
When	[Twice a day: [time] and [time]]
Time	[20 minutes]
Done means	Every reply answered or labelled, inbox empty of unanswered replies

• Sort replies into: interested, question, not now, not interested, opt out
• Interested: reply within [4] business hours offering two call times
• Question: answer it plainly and offer the free draft
• Not now: thank them, ask if you may check back in [3] months, set a reminder only if they agree
• Not interested or opt out: thank them and mark them so they are never contacted again
• Update the tracker for every reply

SOP 4: Free draft and sales meeting

Field	Value
Owner	[Name]
When	When a meeting is booked
Time	[About 30 minutes for the draft, an hour at the very most, and 30 minutes for the call]
Tools	[Build tools, discovery call agenda, meeting close checklist]
Done means	Draft shown live, next step agreed with a date

• Build a homepage draft that fixes the flaw from your first email
• Check it on a phone and a laptop
• Put it on a private preview link
• Confirm the meeting the day before
• Run the call with the discovery call agenda
• Send a recap email within 24 hours
• Send the proposal if they want to go ahead

SOP 5: New client onboarding

Field	Value
Owner	[Name]
When	When a proposal is accepted
Time	[1 hour]
Tools	[Website proposal template, website specification brief, invoicing tool]
Done means	Deposit paid, kickoff booked, brief started

• Confirm acceptance in writing
• Send the deposit invoice
• Create the project folder from your standard folder template
• Send the welcome email with the content checklist and due dates
• Book the kickoff call
• Start the specification brief
• Add key dates to your calendar

SOP 6: Build and review

Field	Value
Owner	[Name]
When	After the brief is approved
Tools	[AI website prompt pack, launch QA checklist]
Done means	Client has approved the final version in writing

• Build from the approved brief, stage by stage
• Commit or back up after each working stage
• Run the launch QA checklist before the client sees anything
• Send the preview link with a short list of what to review
• Collect feedback in one message or document, not scattered across chats
• Make agreed changes, counting revision rounds against the proposal
• Get written approval

SOP 7: Launch and handoff

Field	Value
Owner	[Name]
When	After approval and balance invoice
Tools	[Launch QA checklist, client handoff checklist]
Done means	Site live, client owns accounts, handoff email sent

• Balance paid
• Record existing DNS records before any change
• Point the domain, confirm HTTPS, run the launch pass of the QA checklist
• Save a backup of the launched version
• Run the client handoff checklist
• Send the handoff email

SOP 8: Monthly maintenance

Field	Value
Owner	[Name]
When	[First Tuesday of each month]
Time	[Minutes per site]
Tools	[Maintenance scope template, monitoring, backups]
Done means	Every care site updated, backed up and logged

• For each care client, run updates on a copy or preview first, then live
• Confirm backups ran, and test one restore each quarter
• Check uptime alerts from the past month
• Check the HTTPS certificate and domain renewal dates
• Log time spent per client
• Send quarterly health reports when due
• Flag any client whose requests exceed the plan

SOP 9: Weekly admin

Field	Value
Owner	[Name]
When	[Friday afternoon]
Time	[45 minutes]
Done means	Money, pipeline and next week are all up to date

• Send invoices that are due
• Chase any overdue payments politely
• Review the tracker: replies, meetings, proposals out, deals won and lost
• Record the week's numbers (see below)
• Check renewals coming up in the next 45 days
• Plan next week's niche and city
• Back up your own business files

Weekly numbers to record

Week of	Emails sent	Replies	Meetings	Proposals sent	Won	New MRR	Notes
[Date]	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]
[Date]	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]

Keeping SOPs alive

• Each SOP has one owner
• When reality differs from the SOP, update the SOP the same day
• Review every SOP once a quarter and delete steps nobody does
• Store them all in one shared place everyone can find