How to Run the Best Discovery Meeting of Your Client's Life

In this episode of Happy Client Show, Ben and I are going to be talking about how you can effectively gather information from your clients during the onboarding process. Perhaps the most important aspect of your client servicing is getting them up and running efficiently, doing it fast, and having the process behind it. So let's dig in.

Guys. Welcome back to the Happy Client show where our goal is to make sure that you have happy clients because as they say, happy wife, happy, happy client, happy agency. That's it. Got it. So today we're talking all about gathering information correctly and in a way that sets a relationship up for long term success in the onboarding process. Besides sales, onboarding is one of the most important foundational settings for a relationship, and it's also one of the most important times. I'd say, you know, sales and onboarding, that's going to be a tough one to determine who's more important because they're mutually important. But onboarding is where things go wrong so fast. So we really want to dive into how to do this and the best practices.

Yeah, the mindset that we want to have here, Ben, is that these first, you know, 30, 60, 90 days are mission critical. What we've done is we've gotten people amped up through the sales process. We've gathered information from them there, so we've got a good feel for who we're working with. We know what they want to do. We've got shared expectations around the numbers that are going to define success. Now we need to start delivering now. We need to make sure that we show up with a plan because this is almost like a next stage of the interview process where the team that we're working with is going to be looking at us as the agency to figure out, do these guys really know what they're doing? Do I feel safe in their hands? When you get on a plane and you take off, you do so with a level of expectation that the pilot knows what they're doing. They've done trainings, they've done this time and time again, and they're going to get you from where you are now to where you want to be. The situation you have with your clients is the exact same thing. They're coming on board your plane, they're hoping that you've got the charts, you've got the training, you've got the clearances, you're ready to take off and get them from where they are to the goals that they set. Usually the numbers, you set where you want to go. So the whole process here at Onboarding is to make sure that we maximize the momentum that we gain through the sales process. And the important thing to do there is to make sure that we've got key meetings set up with key stakeholders in a sequence, in a rapid fire sequence, so that we're gathering the right information from the right people at the right time. So there's two ways we want to tackle this, Ben. We want to talk about running a good discovery meeting, getting people around the table, whether that's on Skype or it's on GoToMeeting or something like that, or if it's in person, how do we do that? Well and create a creative environment there. And then two, what are some things that we can do to automate this process and make sure, if we're sending out forms, templates of emails, getting things in our CRM to really streamline things, what are some tips there? So why don't you kick us off by talking about running a successful discovery meeting, getting people around the table and getting those creative thoughts?

Absolutely. So first things first. Setting up the discovery meeting, you need to make sure that all of the key players from various departments are there for the branding process and inbound marketing processes and the success of that work. You need to have all of the key players, not just the president, not just the cmo. If it's an engineering manufacturing company, head of manufacturing, head of engineering, head of client success, head of fulfillment, head of marketing, president, secretary, you need to get all the key heads there. Maybe there's an employee who's been there for 40 years, get them in there too. You need to have some key people so that you can gather diverse perspectives. And a lot of times presidents and CMOs might push back at this, but you really should push for those various heads to really get to the essence of the organization. That's number one. Number two is you want to come in there with a pre thought out process. If you're just coming in there winging it, you're going to forget about questions that you should ask and you're going to look really unprofessional. And again, it goes back to that airline analogy. You know, there's nothing more sensitive than the first couple meetings where you can either create faith or create doubt. So you really want to come in there prepared. And third is think about the time of day that you're having this meeting. Some of the greatest meetings we've ever had. We said before, hey, does your team eat at this time? And they've said no. We said we're going to cater Lunch because hungry people just want to get out of there. Hungry people don't want to say anything but full bellies create good words and good processes. So be sure to do this. This building block thing is for a successful kickoff.

Amen. I love that, Ben, because again, we're trying to just create an atmosphere of open collaboration. We want an honest atmosphere and a comfortable atmosphere because we're starting our relationship right here. So what we want to do is do all that we can to foster that warm and welcoming place so that everyone around the table feels comfortable. And we gather those people from multiple departments around that table for two reasons. Number one, we want to defeat group think. We don't just want a marketer's perspective or a salesperson's perspective, or the president's perspective. We want to grab a full picture of what's new perspectives and of this business across the entire company and tap into those people that know that brand story really well or know the target Persona really well. So that's reason number one. Reason number two is we want to build advocates outside of the marketing department and the C suite. We want to build relationships with people so that when we kind of take it to the next level, more of the ongoing work that you do, you got those contacts there, you know who to call and they know your name, you know about their kids, you know about their day to day life in the business. And so you're building relationships here with these people, creating kind of a reputation within the organization that you are there to help. Here's how you help them do their job better. You're asking them good questions and just being a good person right there. Another couple things you can think about when you're running these discovery meetings. Ask permission to be the facilitator. Ask the president who's in the room. Mr. President, do I have your permission to run this meeting? Because just think about that. If they're the leader of the organization, they come into a meeting, they're used to being the heavy handed person that's gonna guide that thing. But if you're trying to create an open and creative and collaborative environment, the president might smother that. Some personalities might come in and just share their perspective on things. And that's all. So, Ben, it's really important that we kind of not put them in their place, but set the expectation again with them that they need to know their place in this meeting. Because if we're gonna get the best result out of this, we need to make sure that everyone has their voice heard.

Yeah, it's a dynamic shift and they, they don't mean to do it. It's like you're saying they're used to it. They feel like the expectation is on them to do so. So it's just a, it's a little bit of a dynamic shift where you're like, hey, can I, can I take control here? And it's important to do that in front of the rest of the people in the room. I would probably bring it up before you do something like that. So it's not like a what, but you know, it's like, hey, you know, do you mind if I say this? And you know, that way I can be the bad guy. That's how I like to frame it. Let me be the bad guy. Let me be the one to say that's good. So it's a very important thing and you got to shift that dynamic a little bit. And you know, what's also really important here is, you know, really ask good questions and gather good information on, on the, or onboarding. Because I doubt you'll ever have this many people in a room again unless you do something drastically wrong. So really take that time. It's like a wedding. All those people are going to be there. Make the most of the opportunity and don't fault on gathering the right information from those various talking heads because you're only going to have this chance to do it.

Amen. Those are all great things, just kind of like interpersonal skills, how to facilitate things, couple tactical elements that you can add to your new client. Onboarding process is number one, record absolutely everything. If you do an in person meeting, just get your call recorder set up on your iPhone and set that down in the middle of the room so that you've got the audio recording there. If you've got a video crew or if you've got cameras, set up those cameras to grab some video there. Those are great assets to come back to as you're building your plan, as you're building your brand, or you're building a website, whatever it is, you want to go back to those conversations so that information isn't lost. We don't just want to rely on a note taking ability to grab that information. And the second thing is figure out different ways that you can automate some of this information gathering. As soon as the client signs the contract, they want to get started right away. They're kind of red hot in that moment. So that's a great opportunity to have a templated kickoff email all ready to go. And inside that templated kickoff meeting. You lay the groundwork for what the meeting schedule is going to be. You send them homework, maybe it's a link to your calendly calendar so that they can schedule that first kickoff meeting. Or you include links there to gather information from them like a marketing inventory form, just a form that lives on your website that allows them to send in information so that you know, what are all of their social media channels that they have claimed right now, what are the key form, the key documents that they have available right now, past sales presentations or magazine articles that they've written, things like that, Just gathering information from them. You do that for a couple reasons. Number one, you want the information that's important, but number two, you want to continue the momentum and let the client know that hey, we're moving forward. Now I see these guys have a plan and, and I'm moving forward and I'm excited to be here right now. So it's a small thing, but it's really, really important. We want to make sure that we're tapping into that momentum, keeping that momentum moving forward so that we set up the next phase of the process really, really well. So think about with your team, what are the pieces of information that we need so that in six months, nine months, 12 months, when we present our results to our clients, we don't need to say oh, I wish we set X up at the beginning, whatever it is, brainstorm out the entire process for kind of a hypothetical client and identify those pieces of information that you need early on. Maybe you want to get your lead nurturing, set up on day one. Maybe you want to get certain ebooks on the website right away so you're capturing leads. Think about those things while it's just a hypothetical client before it's an actual client and get that process lined up and then life is going to be so much easier when you're gathering information through the onboarding process when you just walk through it like that first.

Amen.

Amen. So if you want to grab an interactive note taking guide from this episode, head over to doinbound.com learning on the learning center. You can find the Happy client show. Drill down to this episode and get all the information in the show notes right there. You can also head over to Facebook and like our page there and you can grab all these videos wherever they come out. Check us out on YouTube as well. You can subscribe to Happy client show right there on YouTube. We got all kinds of other videos up there on the YouTube channel as well. If you want to tap into the inbound agency journey or the inbound sales show, whatever it is, agency toolbox. It's all right there on our YouTube channel. So head over there and make sure you subscribe. You can grab these things as soon as they come out. Ben, any parting words of wisdom on how to gather information during the onboarding process?

Come prepared. That's the biggest thing. Be proactive, not reactive. Come with a plan. Come with a environment that you want to create and don't waste your time and don't waste your client's time. This is the single most pivotal point in the beginning of the project relationship. So you really, really need to take every measure you can to make sure you get it right. So take this seriously and be prepared.

Well said, my man. All right, guys, thanks for tuning in and have a fantastic day. We'll talk you in the next episode.

Sam.