Secrets of Customer Onboarding

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L E A D E R S H I P  P R O B L E M SO L V I N G  V A L U E C R E A T I O N
The Secrets to Customer Onboarding Success
How to Turn New Clients into Business Partners
January 21, 2014

The Secrets to Customer Onboarding Success – January 21, 2014
Confidential. For discussion purposes only.
Is Client Loyalty an Oxymoron?
Establishing Long-Term Partnerships with the Right Service Provider is Key
• About 50% of clients were “indifferent” when asked to rate their loyalty to their service provider
• It is easier for a client to work with a “known-quantity” rather than hiring someone new
Client Loyalty is Created through a Healthy Balance of Trust and Authenticity
• Companies do not create value unilaterally
• Why do customers choose you instead of your competition?
• Different customers have different needs
 In a study by analysts at Ross McManus, 1,200 senior executives gave their service provider a C+ grade for client
satisfaction. Top dissatisfaction driver: Understanding the client’s business
 Understanding and addressing these needs is an imperative
Flawless Results is Also a Key Driver
• Companies hire service providers for one key reason: Results!
• The prerequisite for long-term client relationships is the consistent delivery of benefits and value throughout the duration of the
client or customer engagement
Another Key to Earning Client Trust is Acting in their Best Interest
• Do your homework on your client’s business
• Present solutions to your client’s most pressing problems
• Are you confident that your idea or solution exceeds the “value-to-fee” ratio for your client?
1
Client Acquisition and Loyalty is tougher to come by than ever before.
While fierce competition and bargain hungry clients may be a driver, the truth is the client or professional services
business is a relational one founded upon truth and authenticity

Three Truths and a Lie
Truth # 1 – You Can Only Sell to Someone Who Can Buy
• Don’t spend your time on resources who do not have the authority to buy
• The process for purchasing decisions need to be sniffed out
Truth #2 – A Prospect Must Recognize They Have a Need Before They Purchase
• No sale is ever possible unless the person who has the authority to make a purchase recognize the need themselves
Truth # 3 – Your Buyer or “Coach” Must Have a Vision on How to Solve the Problem
• The buyer must see how the current situation can be improved
The Lie – Sales is a Numbers Game
• It is far more productive to sell to prospects who meet the established pipeline or key account planning criteria
2
Client Acquisition and Loyalty is tougher to come by than ever before.

Key Account Planning
Key Account Planning – What is it?
A process and a document to:
1. Educate the team
2. Help direct and anchor business development and account planning activities
3. Provide a central location to capture intelligence about your customers or clients
Tiering Your Account Plans Is a Way to Get Focused
3
Understanding the customer or client’s business are essential for creating loyal clientele. Therefore. the first step in successful customer
onboarding is Key Account Planning. The process must become a part of a companies operating practice and business.
Tier One (Key Account) Tier 2 (Mezzanine) Tier 3 (On-Deck)
• Strong relationship with key buyer
or multiple key buyers
• Strategic account with significant
chance of generating work
• Periodic meetings with group as
necessary
• Assistance with creating structured
way to follow-up on action items
• Forum to brainstorm and identify
areas of opportunity to share with
• Relationship with key buyer or one
degree from key buyer (Using
LinkedIn as Business Intelligence
source)
• Periodic meetings with group as
necessary
• Action items and action item owners
documented
• Key Account Plan (Lite)
• Constant monitoring of company
• Assistance with creating structured
way to follow-up on action items
• On-deck relationship with someone
one to two degrees from buyer
(Using LinkedIn as Business
Intelligence)
• Looking to build key relationships
• Constant monitoring of company

Key Account Planning
4
Understanding the customer or client’s business are essential for creating loyal clientele. Therefore. the first step in successful customer
onboarding is Key Account Planning. The process must become a part of a companies operating practice and business.
Key Account Plan Elements
• Your Direct Experience
– Direct experience, knowledge of
the company or vertical
• Overview
– Snapshot of team
– Goals
– Corporate strategy
– Business challenges
– Internal SWOT analysis
– Opportunity pipeline
• Management Overview
– Management overview;
organizational charts
• News and Happenings
– Events
– M&A activity
– Competitors
Why Is This Important?
• Your Direct Experience
– Highlight strengths and experience in the marketplace
including community involvement
• Overview
– Provides a general overview of the company and their
strategy
– Lists the Key Account or Deal team
– Understanding their challenges is key to developing your
value proposition. Knowing your strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats is key to tailoring your strategy.
• Management Overview
– Have to know the key players and relationships
• News and Happenings
– Stay abreast on current affairs – demonstrate your
knowledge and competency of your customer or clients
issues

The Path to Profit
TM
Market Leadership
• Achieve a leadership position in the minds of your existing and targeted customers/clients
Sales Mastery
• Execute a winning sales strategy for each opportunity you choose to pursue
Flawless Service Delivery
• Deliver stunning value to your customers or clients by managing projects, engagement or service precisely
Operations Excellence
• Manage all aspects of the business with the same rigor as you apply to your customer or client work
Performance Management
• Keep a clear view of the overall performance of your business and the profit or loyalty performance of each customer or client
relationship
Renewal and Reinvention
• Stay energized, grow and prosper
5
Michael McLaughlin, founder of MindShare Consulting recommends six organizational competencies that should be
developed for every services organization.

An Approach for Customer Onboarding
6
Step 1:
Proposal Phase
Step 2:
Customer Onboarding
Step 3:
Client Relationship Management
Conflict Checks
Opportunity
Management
Pre-Project Team
Briefing
TechnologyEnablement
Project Team
Briefing
Customer or Client
Briefing
Schedule Kick-off
Meeting
ResourceConsiderations
Consultative and
Collaborative
Problem
Management
Ongoing Team
Communication
Measurement
The objective of the approach below is to provide a recommended framework for services companies looking to
improve their customer onboarding process.

Step 1 – Proposal Phase
7
Step 1:
Proposal Phase
Opportunity
Management
Conflict Checks
Pre-Project Team
Briefing
Successful customer onboarding begins during the sales process.
Key Terms
An internal inquiry to surface the potential for a
conflict of interest that may be created by a service
line initiating a project at a new client where another
service line is already engaged
When to Complete a Conflict Check
A Conflict Check should occur when an opportunity
is identified and at the point when the client has an
expectation that a services provider could be
engaged to assist them. This should occur
BEFORE a proposal is submitted.
Conflict Checks Should Be Completed in the
Following Situations
1. New Client
2. New Project/Existing Client
3. New Information/Existing Client

8
Step 1:
Proposal Phase
Opportunity
Management
Conflict Check
Pre-Project Team
Briefing
Must Live and Die in Salesforce Automation and
Financials (Resource Planning)
Regardless of the system, e.g. Salesforce.com,
Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Netsuite or even good
ole Excel, a process for capturing and tracking
opportunities, account management and proposals
should be established.
Example: A small but growing professional services
firm focused on CRM and Marketing Automation
services established a trigger within their salesforce
automation system that alerts all Resource
Managers when an opportunity reaches 50%
probability of close/won.
The event allows for the Resource Managers to
assign available resources to deliver the work in
their ERP system.

9
Step 1:
Proposal Phase
Opportunity
Management
Conflict Check
Pre-Project Team
Briefing
Pre-Project Team Briefing
• Typically, things go wrong with clients when a
services organization is a “sales machine” but
their client delivery is disjointed at best
• When it appears likely a Statement of Work
(SOW) is going to be signed, it is important to
walk the Delivery Team through the SOW.
• Reviewing the scope of the project: activities,
deliverables and milestones is an important way
to “ground” the team on expectations – both
internal and client
Norming Storming
Performing Forming
I believe adaptive leadership among all
members of the Delivery Team is equally
important for Successful Customer
Onboarding
Understanding Team Dynamics
3 2
14

Step 2 – Customer Onboarding
10
Step 2:
Customer Onboarding
Project Team
Briefing
Customer or Client
Briefing
Schedule Kick-off
Meeting
Dimensions
Solution Architect or
Engagement Leader
Customer Success
Manager
Role Summary
• Understand clients
processes and use cases.
Work with sales team and
other customer staff to
develop implementation
plans
• Requires deep
understanding of specific
operations, processes or
systems. Accountable to
build great client working
relationships
Role Description
• Monitor and review project
progress
• Onboarding of new
customers
• Keep Resource Managers
informed of post-sales
progress
• Assist in selling to
prospective new customers
• Assist Customer Success
Managers with project
delivery
• Consult with new and
existing customers
• Become a recognized
industry expert and
resource
• Develop custom
deliverables
Resource Considerations
Resource Considerations for Customer Onboarding Success.

11
Step 2:
Customer Onboarding
Project Team
Briefing
Customer or Client
Briefing
Schedule Kick-off
Meeting
Project Team Briefing
Once the SOW is signed or the sale is closed, it is
imperative to have a formal kickoff meeting with the
Delivery Team. Additional participants could include
Solution Architects and Customer Success
Managers to ensure consistency in
communications and expectations.
Customer or Client Briefing
Equally important is reviewing the SOW with the
customer or client prior to having the first kick-off
meeting. Using this time to establish a rapport and
walking through the SOW sets the tone for the rest
of the engagement. Miss this step or not executing
this step well will lead to disastrous results.
Communication – internal and external – is another key for success.

12
Step 2:
Customer Onboarding
Project Team
Briefing
Customer or Client
Briefing
Schedule Kick-off
Meeting
First Kick-Off Meeting
All eyes are on your company or firm the moment
you step in the door. Whether you have a small,
medium or large delivery team, nailing the first
kickoff meeting is mission critical.
Preparation and presentation are the keys (all
are not applicable :
1. Prepare an interview guide
2. Develop an issue list and hypothesis trees
3. Deconstruction of client’s income statement and
other financial data
4. Begin storyboarding final deliverable
Create the right tone in your first kickoff meeting and you will build trust and confidence that will
accelerate progress.

Step 3 – Client Relationship Management
13
Step 3:
Consultative and
Collaborative
Problem
Management
Ongoing Team
Communication
Measurement
What Gets Measured, Gets Done.
Net Promoter Score (NPS) Portfolio or Account Growth
Client Loyalty Measurement Considerations
What: Developed by SatMetrix,
Bain & Company and Fred
Reicheld, Net Promoter is both a
loyalty metric and a discipline for
using customer feedback to fuel
profitable growth for your
business.
How: One Services company
created an object in
Salesforce.com which pushes
client survey questions (6) to
clients and the results are fed back
into Salesforce.com so everyone
can see and manage their client’s
perception of loyalty and
satisfaction.
What: There are two common
measures of growth. Year-on-year
percentage growth uses the prior
year as a base for expressing
percentage change from one year
to the next. Compound Annual
Growth Rate (CAGR) is a
generally accepted metric for
average growth rates.
How: A major software provider
specializing in supply chain,
sourcing and procurement
technology implemented portfolio
or account growth in their newly
organized Customer Management
organization to get laser focused
on client delivery.
Value ($,#,%)t – Value ($,#,%) t-1
Value ($,#,%)t-1

Step 3 – Client Relationship Management
14
Step 3:
Consultative and
Collaborative
Problem
Management
Ongoing Team
Communication
Measurement
What Gets Measured, Gets Done.
In The Experience Economy, Joseph Pine and James Gilmore
advises executives to battle the onslaught of commoditized goods
and services by managing the customer’s or client’s total
experience: “Businesses that relegate themselves to the
diminishing world of goods and services will be rendered
irrelevant. To avoid this fate, you must learn to stage a rich
compelling experience.”
No two customer or client experiences are the same. Shake loose
your customer’s or client’s best ideas and tailor your delivery to fit
their specific and unique challenges. In other words, attempt to
create memorable, emotional, and positive encounters for the
customers or clients you serve.

Customer Onboarding and Social Media Marketing
15
Additional Tips to Keep in Mind
• Listening is foundational for social media marketing.
Understand what customers are saying about your
brand, products, services and experiences will help you
focus your social media marketing efforts.
• Facebook and Twitter are often knee-jerk reactions.
Mere presence it not enough; without a sound strategy,
these efforts will fail.
• Content is critical and has to be relevant to the client
base.
• Resources have to be dedicated to the effort in order to
make it successful. Once you’ve entered this arena, the
content has to be dynamic and timely.
• Social Media efforts need to be tightly integrated into the
overall marketing campaign, it is not a stand alone
strategy.
• Understanding your clients or prospects is key to any
social media strategy. Knowing where they are
congregating on the Web is critical to your social media
marketing targeting strategy.
Authenticity
and
Transparency
Return On
Investment
Brand
Identity
Value to
Audience
Compliance
with
Regulations
Corporate
Policies and
Procedures
Sound Social
Media
Strategy
.Having a Facebook Fan Page does not equate to a social media strategy just as implementing Salesforce.com does not equate to
having a salesforce automation strategy.

The Path to ProfitTM
Market Leadership
• Achieve a leadership position in the minds of your existing and targeted customers/clients
Sales Mastery
• Execute a winning sales strategy for each opportunity you choose to pursue
Flawless Service Delivery
• Deliver stunning value to your customers or clients by managing projects, engagement or service precisely
Operations Excellence
• Manage all aspects of the business with the same rigor as you apply to your customer or client work
Performance Management
• Keep a clear view of the overall performance of your business and the profit or loyalty performance of each customer or client
relationship
Renewal and Reinvention
• Stay energized, grow and prosper
16
Michael McLaughlin, founder of MindShare Consulting recommends six organizational competencies that should be
developed for every services organization.

Let’s Keep In Touch
17
Art Hall
Director
Alvarez & Marsal Business Consulting
Monarch Tower
3424 Peachtree Road Suite 1500
Atlanta, Georgia 30326
Phone: (404) 759-9158
Email: ahall@alvarezandmarsal.com
Twitter: @Art_Hall4
LinkedIn Profile: Click Here

Secrets of Customer Onboarding

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