Bucking the Booze, Signal Over Sequence, and Nailing Your Customer Onboarding Meeting

Hey founders, sellers, and the sales curious!

📌 Quick note: We’re making a commitment - starting now, you’ll find us in your inbox on the last weekday of every month. This helps us stay on track, so you’ll know when to expect to hear from us 😊

What we’re covering this time ⬇️

• How going alcohol-free helped me benefit in business 💪

• Why "Signal over sequence" is our go-to saying right now 🚦

• And tackling a Founder Asks about how to run a customer onboarding meeting successfully 🤔

GROWTH WITH GREALY

Going No-Alcohol: Surprising Effects on My Founder Journey

Alcohol can cause inflammation, upset sleep cycles, damage the gut, and ultimately delay recovery. For me, the experiment has been a huge success, with physical benefits spilling over into business outcomes. I’ve noticed my recovery time after big workdays has shortened, leading to more consistent energy levels, better focus, and longer, more productive workdays.

So, although unexpected, it makes sense… Increased sleep quality = Increased focus + performance.

This isn’t about preaching being alcohol-free, and I’m no expert on what others should do. But I wanted to share how this experiment has benefited me and shown me the potential cognitive gains that can compound over time - especially as a founder.

P.S. 🔔 This was a new segment into founder growth. Right now, I’m also trialling a "dummified” iPhone for productivity 😬 

Let us know if you want to hear more about personal experiments!

SALES INSIGHTS

🚨 Signal Over Sequence 🚨 

"Signal over sequence” has been our saying for 2024!

Signal over sequence answers: 

• What is the right sales sequence?

• What step should I take after the first email?

• How do I know what cadence to create for that prospect or nurture list?

It’s all about the signal of intent you get from a prospect during your process of engagement. You should lean into these intent signals at each stage of the deal and take action against the signal to create a higher engaged prospect and increase control.

By doing this, you are not letting yourself get caught up in the sequence of steps you had planned and are instead proactively responding to the signal.

Signal exists everywhere in the buyer's journey, from fresh leads to nurturing activities and live deals.

Signal can look like:

• A new free trial user on your product that's sticky 🧀

• Someone waiting for help or engagement 💸

• Your founder-led content striking a chord and drumming up the right ICP leads, ready to engage and nurture 🎣

By using signals across your buyer's journey, you can begin to create greater rhythm in your deals and lean into people's cues of intent.

Here are some examples 👇

What signal are you focusing on daily? 🔍

Have you ever paused your sequence to dive deep into engagement?

Also! We’re considering a Signal Over Sequence workshop! 👉 Let us know if you want more examples and a breakdown of what actions to take in your buyer’s journey.

FOUNDER ASKS

How to Run a Customer Onboarding Meeting Successfully

Our Advice ⤵️

Your goals in an onboarding meeting are to:

• Set clear expectations for the trial

• Train users on the fundamentals so they’re successful in this trial period

• Make certain all users are active or have been invited

• Clarify the key milestones of usage

• Quantify the trial success metrics and requirements

• Confirm check-in dates and times

1️⃣ During the onboarding meeting:

• Recap their needs: Based on the information gathered beforehand, summarise your understanding of their needs or challenges. Ask if there’s anything else they want to focus on during the trial.

• Clarify success criteria: Crucially, ask what specific outcomes they need to see during the trial to consider it a success. This will help ensure that your efforts are aligned with their expectations.

• Identify key stakeholders: Confirm who needs to be aware of the trial's progress and success. Ensure that everyone who needs to see the trial’s success is identified and included in relevant communications. Discuss who will be part of using the solution post-trial if it is successful.

• Demonstrate the key features: Walk them through key features that are most relevant to their needs and workflows required for the trial.

• Interactive walkthrough: Allow the user to explore the product during the meeting. Guide them through the setup process and answer any questions they have on the spot.

• Highlight quick wins: Identify and demonstrate a “quick win” feature or setup that they can implement immediately to see value early in the trial.

2️⃣ Establish Success Criteria:

• Define milestones: Set specific, achievable milestones for the trial period. For example, “By the end of week one, you should have set up XYZ feature.”

• Discuss KPIs: Talk about the key performance indicators (KPIs) that will be used to measure the trial's success. This could include user engagement, feature adoption, or problem resolution.

Note: Some trials are about proving the technology works. Others are about seeing the ROI immediately.

3️⃣ Plan the follow-up:

• Schedule check-ins: Arrange follow-up meetings or calls to review progress, address any challenges, and adjust the approach as needed.

• Provide resources: Share relevant documentation, video tutorials, or guides that can help the user navigate the product independently.

• Set expectations for next steps: Clearly outline the next steps after the trial, including what happens if they decide to continue with the product or if they have additional questions or concerns.

4️⃣ End the meeting with a soft close:

• Recap key points: Summarise the key takeaways from the meeting, the goals for the trial period, and the next steps.

• Express availability: Reassure the user that you’re available to assist them throughout the trial and encourage them to reach out with any questions.

5️⃣ Post-meeting follow-up:

• Send a summary email: After the meeting, send a summary email that recaps the discussion, the agreed-upon milestones, and the next steps. Include links to any resources mentioned.

• Monitor engagement: Keep an eye on their activity within the product. If engagement drops, proactively reach out to offer support.

What does it look like when you nail it? 🎯

OD-AI hit a 400% increase in MoM growth after implementing the beta-to-trial user and customer process we designed in a two-hour strategy session.

Check out what Mikhara had to say here, and if you need help designing your trial-to-closing process, reach out!