What key components go into building out your engagement model post implementation? How often you me

Michael Buccellato

 

Kevin Mitchell Leonor

Ask them what they value.

I always ask during onboarding if they are open to learning different ways to leverage the software to get results on their desired outcomes. 95% of the time they say yes. That opens the door to discuss how we could manage those talk tracks.

I am very respectful of their schedule so I ask them how often they want to meet or how often they want to conduct EBRs.

I had executives tell me, I'm interested but I don't have the time to meet or set a cadence. We have an email thread or a collaboration channel that they could respond at their convenience and they actually communicate. I find our progress to be just as effective especially if there is a motivation.

Find what their values are. Set the rules of engagement. Execute in those parameters.

Michael Buccellato

Great points, @Kevin Mitchell Leonor - so often we try and put a square peg into a round hole with customers. Should always be about what's best for the customer.

Our tool is a zero change management tool - the customer simply sends an email to our AI and we send back a finished product to their inbox. We are looking for creative ways to keep stakeholders engaged post onboarding, when we do have a consistent cadence.

Also legal tech buyers don't know what to expect from partnering with a CSM, so a majority of the time they might not have expectation for meeting after they go live. We are emphasizing on the kickoff who we are, what we do and why we do it. Challenge is how do we add value on every touch after onboarding. 

Kevin Mitchell Leonor

I like to set the expectation that achieving your goals are one thing but maintaining the benefits are another thing. I tend to use the analogy of losing weight and hitting your weight goal. In the past I lost 56 pounds. I gained it all back and lost all the benefits of all the hard work I fought for.

Mr. Customer, I am sure there is a desire to move accomplish our goals and maintain the benefits rather than take 2 steps forward and then taking 3 steps back, am I correct?

For that reason, during our cadence calls post-initiative, we are going to continue to come together to benchmark how we are doing and give some best practices on maintaining or expanding on those benefits or outcomes.

Then, the real challenge is having a playbook or program that delivers on those values during each cadence mark.

Michael Buccellato

Love that analogy - use a similar one during kickoff. "Imagine being in a gym. When you approach a personal trainer, one of the first questions they'll ask you are what are your goals"

I like the idea of asking a thought shaping question to allow the customer to map out what engagement looks like to get them to their goals.

Ellisa Feinstein

I have generally set a cadence to meet with customers once a month or bi-monthly, depending on their availability/preference. It was important to have scheduled meetings to ensure we were on the customers' calendar and be prepared to review any goals and expectations. During those meetings, I would also highlight a success/results, introduce and review any new features, as well as review an existing feature that was particularly relevant to them. By having these regular meetings, I was not only able to build strong relationships, but also get product and other feedback from the customer, which is important to do on a regular basis - not just during an EBR/QBR.