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Paul Holder

CEO @ OnRamp

Paul Holder is a co-founder at OnRamp, specializing in customer onboarding solutions to enhance implementation experiences.

With a background in leading customer success and onboarding at Troops and VTS, Paul has a highly diverse experience in SaaS and commercial real estate industries.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Boston College and has previously worked at L.E.K. Consulting in various roles.

Paul has a strong track record in building customer-centric strategies and optimizing operations for increased efficiency and client satisfaction.

Highlights

Aug 13 · linkedin

The kickoff meeting sets the stage for everything that follows.

It’s your chance to build trust and rapport with your champions.

How to run an effective kickoff call with new customers:

  • Be prepared. Ensure all internal stakeholders have reviewed the client's goals and history (see my last post on the Sales to CS Handoff)
  • Your customers are busy. Create a clear agenda and let them know ahead of time what to expect.
  • Clearly outline next steps. Review action items so you and your champions are aligned. Define who will do what on both sides to avoid confusion later.
  • Keep the focus on the customer’s needs and goals. Understand their individual and team pain points and what success looks like for them.
  • Lay out a realistic timeline with key milestones working backward from their goals. Use a tool like OnRamp to make help manage expectations and keep everyone on track.
  • Be realistic about what you'll need from your customer (personnel, time, approvals) to make them successful. This should have started pre-sales!
  • Encourage open communication. Give permission to interrupt you with questions and share the floor. This shouldn’t be a one sided presentation. 
  • Always send a follow-up email with the meeting notes, action items, and deadlines.

A solid kickoff meeting can set the tone for a successful partnership.

Get this right, and you’re setting your customer up for a successful onboarding and long-term loyalty.

Aug 8 · linkedin

We talk often about the importance of a seamless customer journey. But often there’s friction before the journey even begins...starting with the handoff from sales to customer success.

A few best practices I’ve seen work well for the Sales to CS handoff:

  1. A CSM shouldn’t be learning about a customer on the same day they are meeting them for the first time. 
  2. Ensure your CS team reviews CRM notes, contracts, and any notable calls before the handoff.
  3. Sales should communicate early and often with CS - this means before the contract is signed

Key Questions for Sales & CS to Review:

  1. My favorite: Why WOULDN'T this customer be successful?
  2. Success criteria?
  3. Key stakeholders?
  4. Relationship map: who’s who, who matters, blind spots?
  5. Executive sponsorship?
  6. Is there any Account expansion potential to coordinate on upfront?

At OnRamp, we define and build the handoff checklist within our onboarding playbooks. This enables us to stay aligned and ensure a smooth transition, as well as making sure we're not asking our customer to repeat themselves.

What tips would you add for a smooth sales to customer success handoff?

Paul Holder
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Location

Boston, Massachusetts, United States