Tips for Conducting Kickoff Meetings with Clients

I improved retention and onboarding success by making a change to the first step in the onboarding process. A few years (and a few companies) ago, I made a small tweak to the way we onboarded new customers—a tweak that ended up making all the difference. We stopped diving headfirst into the technical implementation. Instead, we started with what I called a Partnership Kickoff. This one shift transformed the customer experience, boosting retention and improving onboarding success rates. Here’s why: The Partnership Kickoff brought intention to the relationship right from day one. Instead of rushing to “get things done,” we: 1️⃣ Engaged all the key stakeholders in the partnership 2️⃣ Discussed goals and confirmed success criteria upfront 3️⃣ Set proper expectations on BOTH sides 4️⃣ Clarified roles and responsibilities for onboarding and beyond 5️⃣ Created space to ask questions and address concerns This wasn’t just a feel-good meeting. It was about getting ahead of risks, ensuring alignment, and setting the stage for success. Here’s the secret sauce: ⚫️ Set expectations early Sales aligned on the importance of this meeting, and CSMs communicated the who, what, and why in their first email. ⚫️ Use a New Customer Intake Form We asked customers to provide key information upfront—no assumptions or overreliance on Sales handoffs. ⚫️ Prep the right way Sending the kickoff deck in advance meant our meeting focused on conversation, not presentations. ⚫️ Lead with goals and expectations Capturing customer goals was the priority, setting the tone for how we’d measure success. ⚫️ Clarify next steps We left every kickoff aligned on what happens next and who’s doing what. The result? Customers felt heard, understood, and set up for success. It wasn’t magic, but it sure felt like it. That small change? It delivered BIG impact—the kind every CS leader dreams about. Are you being intentional about how you’re starting your partnerships? If not, maybe it’s time to rethink step one. ________ 📣 If you liked my post, you’ll love my newsletter. Every week I share my learning, advice and strategies from my experience going from a CSM to CCO. Join 12k+ subscribers of The Journey and turn insights into action. Sign up on my profile.

You want your client’s vision. Not their Slack notifications. Every agency owner runs into this moment: The client says they want to “stay out of the weeds.” Then they show up with 47 comments on a Figma file… at 11:42pm. 😅 So what do you do? You can’t ghost them. But you can’t let them run your process either. Here’s how I keep clients in the right lane: ✅ Set roles on day one → “You own vision and high-level priorities. We own execution and delivery.” Put that in writing. Put it in the kickoff. Say it out loud. ✅ Use structured check-ins → No open-ended Slack chaos. Weekly 30-min calls with a clear agenda: → Strategy updates → Roadblocks → Decisions needed That’s it. ✅ Pre-frame the process → “There will be times when you’ll want to jump in. That’s normal. But it’s my job to protect your time and our progress. Deal?” Clients respect this more than you’d think. ✅ Let them lead the why, not the how → Ask for context, goals, and constraints—not step-by-step instructions. Most client relationships break because boundaries are vague. But boundaries aren’t restrictive they’re productive. If you want clients to act like visionaries, you have to train them to stay out of the engine room. That’s how you protect your process and their results.

Early in my project management career: Kickoff meetings felt like one-sided lectures with me laying everything out. Now: They are a two-way dialogue. Here's how I transformed kickoff meetings to make them more interactive: Pre-Meeting Prep: I ask team members to come up with lessons learned from other projects that could impact this one. Strengths & Support: I ask team members to share what they expect to contribute to the project and what they need from others to be successful. Room to Grow: I state from the onset that not everything is clearly defined yet, and that's normal at the beginning. Questions Upfront: I leave dedicated time for questions and track them in a log for future reference. What are your key strategies for fostering collaboration in kickoff calls? Join the conversation in the comments below. #leadership #collaboration #communication #projectmanagement