Techniques for Faster Project Kickoffs in Consulting

Steal this automated workflow to make sure your onboarding kickoff calls get booked promptly after a deal closes in HubSpot. Getting ghosted once a deal closes is all too common for onboarding teams. By creating a process that communicates what's next AND alerts our teams if things get off track we can make sure we start making progress quickly. Here’s how it works: 1. Trigger this workflow when a new ticket is created in our onboarding pipeline. 2. Rotate the ticket between members of our onboarding team to assign an owner. 3. IF/THEN Check who has been assigned as an owner of the ticket and create a branch for each. 4. For each possible owner branch set the value of “Owner Meeting Slug” to that team member's meeting link slug. 5. Create an Arrows customer facing onboarding plan for this customer (that includes the owners meeting link). 6. Copy the URL to access the newly created plan to a property on the ticket. 7. Send an automated welcome email using the “Welcome” template to associated contacts that includes a link to the onboarding plan. 8. Delay the workflow for 1 day. 9. IF/THEN Check if a contact associated with this onboarding ticket has Booked a Meeting where the Campaign is equal to any of “Onboarding Kickoff” → If a meeting has been scheduled we can exit the workflow. All is good. → If a meeting has not been scheduled we need to take the appropriate next steps to drive action. 10. IF meeting not schedule, send an automated reminder email which includes a link to the task in the onboarding plan to book the meeting. 11. Delay the workflow for 1 day. 12. Repeat the IF/THEN from step 9 to check if a contact associated with this onboarding ticket has Booked a Meeting where the Campaign is equal to any of “Onboarding Kickoff” → If meeting has been scheduled we can exit the workflow. All is good. → If meeting has not been scheduled we want to check if any action has been taken in our plan to determine the level of risk. 13. IF/THEN check if “Arrows Plan Progress” has any value. This indicates a customer has completed tasks in their onboarding plan. → If tasks have been completed we still need them to book their kickoff but they are engaged. → If no tasks have been completed AND they haven’t scheduled a call they are now “At Risk” 14. For “At Risk” accounts: → Set the “Account Health” property to 🟥 → Create a task for the ticket owner to enroll them in an “at risk” sequence. → Send an alert to Slack to increase visibility 15. For “Making Progress accounts: → Set the “Account Health property to 🟨 → Create a task for the ticket owner to enroll them in a meeting booking sequence. Effective onboarding builds momentum, if you can avoid “drag” between customers taking action, understanding the next step and your team's response when things get off track... You'll more effectively keep them in motion. Follow me and hit the 🔔 to steal another workflow next Tuesday! #hubspot #hubspottipsandtricks #customersuccess

The gap between a project estimate and kick-off can be a killer. (Automation Tip Tuesday 👇) For service-based businesses (any business, really!), friction is the ultimate profit killer. A client agrees to the scope, but then… paperwork, approvals, deposits — it all creates delay and destroys momentum. One of our recent automation projects tackled this head-on. Our client, a high-end home remodeling firm, was using a host of tools to manage their workflows, but the process of moving from an estimate to a signed agreement (with a deposit) was still manual and disjointed. We streamlined it. Now: ✅ Estimates auto-generate in Airtable, pulling project details from a structured pricing database. ✅ Signed agreements trigger deposits automatically — Dubsado sends the contract, collects e-signatures, and instantly generates an invoice in QBO. ✅ Once the deposit is paid, the project kicks off in Google Calendar and updates the team’s task board. The result? Faster approvals, fewer dropped leads, and a smoother experience for homeowners eager to begin their renovations. Software should work for you, not slow you down. If your business has gaps in its process, automation might be the missing piece. What’s killing your momentum? -- Hi, I’m Nathan Weill, a business process automation expert. ⚡️ These tips I share every Tuesday are drawn from real-world projects we've worked on with our clients at Flow Digital. We help businesses unlock the power of automation with customized solutions so they can run better, faster and smarter — and we can help you too! #automationtiptuesday #automation #workflow #efficiency

Your project kickoff call isn't just a formality It sets the tone for your whole project. Too many PMs treat the kickoff call as a checked box. Quick introductions. Vague timelines/next steps. "We're excited to work with you." Then they wonder why alignment unravels two weeks later. The truth is, your kickoff call is one of the most high-leverage moments in your project. It's your chance to: ✅ Set expectations Who owns what? How do decisions get made? What's in vs out of scope? Make it painfully clear NOW, not midway through. ✅ Establish communication norms Weekly sync-ups? Email? IM? Decision logs? Align on how you're going to communicate and when early or you'll deal with chaos quickly. ✅ Spot misalignment early If goals or success metrics don't match, you'll hear it in the kickoff. But you have to be listening for it. Grab that confusion and pull on it until you get more information. Then facilitate shared understanding and align appropriate messaging. A kickoff isn't just a meeting, it's your project's foundation. If it's rushed or unclear, your project will follow suit. Set the tone. Own the room. Start strong. PS: what's something you ALWAYS include in your kickoff calls? 🤙