In our modern world, understanding and optimizing the customer lifecycle is more important than ever before. Gather around, because we're about to dive into the wild world of customer handoffs!
You know, that magical moment when Sales passes the baton to Onboarding and Customer Success. It's like a relay race, but instead of a medal, the prize is a happy, long-term customer. No pressure, right?
The SaaS Customer Lifecycle: It's Not a Sprint, It's a Marathon
In the B2B SaaS world, we're not just selling a product and calling it a day. Oh no, we're in it for the long haul! It's like adopting a puppy - sure, the initial excitement is great, but are you ready for the walks, the training, and the occasional chewed-up shoe? That's what customer success is all about - keeping that tail wagging long after the honeymoon phase is over.
Onboarding and Customer Success: The Dynamic Duo
Now, depending on your company's style, Onboarding and Customer Success might be the Batman and Robin of your organization, or they might be a two-in-one superhero. Either way, their mission is clear: turn new clients into raving fans faster than you can say "renewal."
I've worked with companies onboarding 3 accounts and 30 accounts at a time with various levels of Success and Go-Live satisfaction rates. If you think the number of accounts in onboarding is what determines the quality of outcomes, then we definitely need to talk! We all should be shooting for that "frame it and put it on the wall" level of awesome with 100% of Successful Go-Lives!
Three Reasons Why a Smooth Handoff is Crucial (and Not Just for Show)
Expectations vs. Reality: The Epic Showdown: A good handoff ensures that what Sales promised and what Customer Success delivers are more aligned than a perfectly stacked Jenga tower. Trust me, you don't want that tower to come crashing down!
Customization is King: With a proper handoff, we can tailor the onboarding experience faster than a bespoke suit maker on espresso. Not all customers might need a tailored onboarding but giving a bit of that extra attention can go a long mile and will set up a solid foundation for renewals and expansions in the future. Plant the seeds early!
Efficiency is Your Best Friend: A smooth handoff means your Onboarding team isn't running around like headless chickens trying to figure out what's what. It's like having a GPS for customer happiness - you know exactly where you're going and how to get there.
When Handoffs Go Wrong
Picture this: Sales promises the moon, Onboarding and Customer Success doesn't even know there was a lunar mission planned, and the customer is left wondering if they've been ghosted. It's like showing up to a potluck with a fork when everyone else brought full meals. Awkward, inefficient, and nobody's happy.
The truth is we've all been there. The key is not to make this a norm. Even though your Onboarding and Customer Success teams are superheroes that can pull of miracles, you would much rather have them apply their superpowers elsewhere, right?
The Handoff is Your Secret Weapon if You Use it Right
The handoff from Sales to Onboarding Customer Success isn't just some bureaucratic step. It's the secret sauce, the magic ingredient, the... okay, I'm running out of food metaphors, but you get the idea.
Here are some simple tips that will help you smooth things out:
Use a single source of truth - you will be surprised to know how many companies have their Sales and Onboarding Customer Success teams use different CRM systems (or none at all). Agree on one place where all customer-related data is stored and it will save hours of back and forth and reduce friction between the teams.
Align on what is important - once you have settled on your CRM of choice, agree what customer-related information is required. Define areas of responsibility and adjust as needed (always easier to start with fewer data points and add more as you go).
Talk - having the information documented in a CRM is crucial but there might some details that cannot be captured in writing. Set up a process that incorporates touchpoints between Sales and Onboarding Customer Success (and anyone else that would benefit). I'm talking about 10-20min syncs to get everyone on the same page before the kickoff, during the implementation (as needed), and around the go-live. Experiment and see what cadence makes sense for your business.
Keep the Sales team in the loop - have your sales team join at least the kick-off session to support the transition (especially if you do not do formal handoffs).
Additionally, you can keep your Sales team on CC throughout the project (if they don't mind of course) - the intel that they can gather (and share) along the way can help all parties quite a bit.
Invite the Sales team to Customer Go-Live session - they've done a lot to bring the customer. They deserve to join the party!
From there, have them join the retro session (internal and external if you separate the two) to share what you have learned / discovered. They surely will appreciate any tips or intel you can share from the onboarding journey.
Keep your CRM up-to-date - often times, customer records get updated only when the project starts. Do not let this happen in your organizations. Sales, Onboarding and Customer Success need to keep adding the details as they are uncovered (new contact people, expansion opportunity, risks, etc.) - you should be able to get a snapshot of the current state by looking at their record. One might say 'No joke, Fikret, that's what CRMs are for' but when was the last time you updated a record?
Keep iterating and evolving - Once you get to a point where you feel like things are running OK, remember that there's always a way to make things work better. Plan, test, innovate, and grow but don't let the comfort OK hold you back from developing.
If you leverage a solid handoff process, it can really set you up for success in hitting that Net Revenue Retention of 105+% to get to the "pop the champagne and do a happy dance" level of success!
So, treat your handoff process like it's the most important relay race of your life. Train for it, perfect it, and watch your customers stick around longer than that leftover pasta in the office fridge.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go explain some Sales folks why they are part of the Onboarding team... again. Maybe I should create a handoff process for that explanation. Now there's an idea!
Thanks for sticking around till the very end of this article!
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