In today’s episode, Tara provides insight into how to keep customers even when they leave. An effective Offboarding strategy is just as important as onboarding a new customer. Do you spend time on this process? It will greatly improve the lifetime value of your current, old and new prospective customers. Check out the episode for more!
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Transcript
Hey, everybody, it's Tara, Bryan, and you are listening to
Speaker:the course building secrets podcast. Whether you're a coach
Speaker:or a CEO, the success of your team and clients is based on
Speaker:your ability to deliver a consistent experience and guide
Speaker:them on the fastest path to results. This podcast will give
Speaker:you practical real life tips that you can use today to build
Speaker:your online experiences that get results and create raving fans.
Speaker:Why? So you can monetize your expertise and serve more people
Speaker:without adding more time or team to your business? If you're
Speaker:looking to uncover your million dollar framework, package it and
Speaker:use it to scale you're in the right place. Let's dive in. Hey,
Speaker:hey, everybody, welcome to the course living secrets podcast.
Speaker:So happy that you're here today. And welcome to another week,
Speaker:welcome to September. If you're listening live, then welcome to
Speaker:September, it's fun, a fun day, most of the kids are going back
Speaker:to school. So those of us who have children are getting our
Speaker:lives back and having a little bit of quiet time, ability to
Speaker:reflect and get a little bit more planning maybe in our day
Speaker:than we had prior to this moment. Today, I want to talk
Speaker:about onboarding. So we talk a lot about onboarding when we
Speaker:talk about the customer experience. So what happens from
Speaker:the time that they purchase to the time that you start working
Speaker:with them is that you want to be really intentional about helping
Speaker:them decide like, well, I made the right choice, I am in the
Speaker:right place, this is where I belong. And you get them
Speaker:oriented, you get them organized, you help them
Speaker:understand like, where all the things are, right? If you're
Speaker:doing a course in person, or you're working with somebody
Speaker:live, you're going to help them like here are the logistics,
Speaker:here's how to find the bathroom, here's how the day is going to
Speaker:go. All of those things are normal things that we do when
Speaker:people come to us, either in a training environment or in a
Speaker:client environment is that we kind of give them a lay of the
Speaker:land. I think that most of the time that's intuitive to people.
Speaker:Although I will say that when you move online, a lot of times
Speaker:people forget that, right? They forget Oh, well, normally, I
Speaker:would walk them through how it's gonna work and what the
Speaker:expectations were and where to find the exits and all the all
Speaker:the things that they need to know about before something
Speaker:starts. When people move their programs online, for some
Speaker:reason, they sort of forget that right. And so it's a, it's an
Speaker:essential component to starting the relationship. Alright, so
Speaker:we've talked about that, in the past, what we haven't talked
Speaker:about is off boarding. So let me just explain what that is.
Speaker:Because it's also just as important. So your goal in
Speaker:acquiring a customer is to be able to help them fulfill on
Speaker:whatever the problem or result is that they're looking for.
Speaker:Right? That's why they're hiring you is that they trust that you
Speaker:are the one who can take them from where they are to where
Speaker:they want to go. But there are times when people need to go a
Speaker:different direction, or you know, something has come up in
Speaker:their life, and they need to pivot and do something
Speaker:different. So they may need to exit the relationship that they
Speaker:mean may need to exit your program, in one way, shape, or
Speaker:form. And especially if you're doing a continuity program, this
Speaker:is common, right? There's other things that come up, people feel
Speaker:that they are either getting their needs met or need to get
Speaker:their needs met differently. So you have to have a process for
Speaker:onboarding your clients, either clients who are leaving sort of
Speaker:in the middle, or you know, at a time that you wouldn't
Speaker:necessarily, you know, naturally end the relationship, or once
Speaker:the relationship is over, right, once your program is over, once
Speaker:they've achieved their results, how are you helping them, you
Speaker:know, determine and know what the next steps are? Right? So
Speaker:offboarding is super important. So let me just tackle both of
Speaker:those because they're a little bit different. So the first one
Speaker:is when somebody leaves when you're not expecting it, how do
Speaker:you maintain a professional sort of exit strategy and keep the
Speaker:door open for the future? Because here's the reality is
Speaker:most of the time people aren't leaving, because they don't like
Speaker:you, or they don't like the program, or it's not meeting
Speaker:some sort of need that they have, right. Most of the time.
Speaker:There's a different decision that's driving that not all the
Speaker:time, but most of the time. And so if you just cut off the
Speaker:relationship, you disconnect their access. You tell them you
Speaker:know, thanks so much. Bye bye. You're severing that
Speaker:relationship. You're not keeping the door open for working with
Speaker:them in the future. Right and so they're ending the relationship
Speaker:but like, there's no reason that you also have to cut off and the
Speaker:relationship. So how do you ask board.
Speaker:So there are a couple of different ways to do that,
Speaker:right? One is to, you know, send a message in whatever way you
Speaker:like to video or email or some other way, where it just says,
Speaker:Hey, you know, sounds like, you know, you need to go a different
Speaker:direction, no problem, here is kind of your next steps, right,
Speaker:we're going to, you know, cut off your access, we're going to
Speaker:stop the billing, we're going to do all the things. And, you
Speaker:know, we'd love to be able to check in after a certain period
Speaker:of time to see how you're doing, does that work for you, blah,
Speaker:blah, blah, right. So you want to plant the seeds and, and just
Speaker:save a soft, thank you and goodbye, while maintaining a
Speaker:professional attitude. And, you know, really being able to keep
Speaker:the door open for the future, you know, happy to welcome you
Speaker:back whenever you're ready. doors are always open those
Speaker:kinds of messages. It's a soft landing for somebody so they
Speaker:feel comfortable, they maybe have some feelings about, you
Speaker:know, ending, or, you know, the relationship or what's going to
Speaker:happen in the future. And it gives them a soft landing so
Speaker:they can continue forward, they know that the door is open, that
Speaker:they can come back, or be involved with things that you're
Speaker:doing without feeling like they're severing the
Speaker:relationship. Okay, so that's off boarding when you're not
Speaker:expecting it. And you can automate that, right doesn't
Speaker:have to be something that you have to reach and be like, Oh my
Speaker:gosh, like, you're quitting, I feel terrible. I need you to
Speaker:stay on. I'm losing money, like whatever, right? Like, it
Speaker:doesn't have to be an emotional you know, message, right? It's
Speaker:just literally, uh, thanks so much. It's, you know, we'd love
Speaker:to have you stay, but certainly understand life circumstances
Speaker:come up. Here's some, you know, here's sort of the next steps,
Speaker:here's what's going to happen over the next, you know, 30
Speaker:days, right, you have access until this point, and then it
Speaker:will cut off and blah, blah, blah, all those things. And, you
Speaker:know, like, I would literally be intentional about what does that
Speaker:look like. And then, you know, here, here, we're gonna follow
Speaker:up over time, which is also automated. And then, you know,
Speaker:we'd love to keep the door open, have you come back, when it
Speaker:suits you when it's something that that you know, that you're
Speaker:ready for at that time, super soft landing, nice place to not
Speaker:only have them leave feeling confident and comfortable that
Speaker:they can come back. But if somebody else was asking you
Speaker:about the program, it may not be the right fit for them right
Speaker:now. But they would then keep referring that business back to
Speaker:you, because they had such a great experience. And they were
Speaker:able to do what they needed to do to move on without kind of
Speaker:that sort of strange, you know, breakup, if you will. Okay, so
Speaker:that's an unexpected, then the the second part of this is how
Speaker:do you off board clients when they're finished with your
Speaker:relationship that you have, right? So you have a 90 day
Speaker:implementation program, it ends up that 90 days, they're not
Speaker:paying you anymore? Does that mean that you're severing the
Speaker:cord? And you're done? And you've never talked to them?
Speaker:Again? Know, right, you want to continue that relationship? What
Speaker:does that look like? It really depends on your business model,
Speaker:right, you may determine that you want to work with them for
Speaker:90 days, and then over time, they come back for another 90
Speaker:day sprint, or, you know, there's sort of a plan for when
Speaker:they're going to need you again, as time goes on. What you want
Speaker:to do is map that out and plan for it ahead of time. So you're
Speaker:planting seeds throughout that first iteration or first
Speaker:relationship that you have for them to say, and here's what
Speaker:happens after,
Speaker:here's, you know, when we're doing this after the 90 days, as
Speaker:this continues past 90 days, or you're going to need another
Speaker:session, every quarter, or every, you know, twice a year or
Speaker:once a year or whatever you're teeing up that relationship and
Speaker:continuing that relationship within the first, you know,
Speaker:sprint that you're doing or program that you're doing, or
Speaker:whatever it is that you're doing, right. And so they know
Speaker:what to expect, on you know, the last day, that's the very first
Speaker:thing is make sure that you've kind of mapped that out ahead of
Speaker:time. And if you haven't, do it, do it throughout the process. So
Speaker:you understand, like, what do they need after what's the next
Speaker:step for them? Because they're on a journey. Most of the time
Speaker:when people are learning something or they're taking a
Speaker:course or they're taking a program and they want to get to
Speaker:a result. What that does is it they get the result and then it
Speaker:opens up the next challenge the next question that they're gonna
Speaker:have, and so your job is to be able to be there for them. I'm
Speaker:at that time, so you can help them through the next challenge.
Speaker:And then, you know, as they're growing and, and continuing
Speaker:forward, that's how you create a sustainable business as you
Speaker:have, you know, the various steps along the journey. And
Speaker:you're able to help them through that. Now, I do know some people
Speaker:who just want to do that the one transaction, and then they're
Speaker:done. And that's, you know, that's what they do. They just
Speaker:keep selling that one transaction to more and more
Speaker:people. And that's totally fine. But just know that what are you
Speaker:going to do on the back end of that, when they're finished?
Speaker:What does that look like? Is it a graduation? Is it a handoff to
Speaker:someone else? Is it you know, that they have all the tools
Speaker:that they need to move forward? What is the end game? And how do
Speaker:you want to end that relationship? Because let's be
Speaker:honest, it's a relationship, right, it's an opportunity for
Speaker:you to have a customer for life, to have a customer that comes
Speaker:back to you over and over again. Or if you don't want that, it's
Speaker:an opportunity for you to be able to hand them off to someone
Speaker:else, maybe who gives you a kickback to that or whatever
Speaker:else. So, so think through that long term strategy, but
Speaker:offboarding in that case, means you're helping them determine
Speaker:what the next step is, or you're helping them celebrate the
Speaker:success that they had in that part of the program. And then
Speaker:then, you know, teaming up when they need you, maybe they only
Speaker:need you once a year, maybe they only need you when they're doing
Speaker:a new launch or a new part of the process. And and then you
Speaker:invite them to come back. Maybe you just want to celebrate their
Speaker:success along the path, where, you know, you're working with
Speaker:them for 90 days. And then six months later, you follow up with
Speaker:them just to see how things are going and where they are, you
Speaker:know, in their their progress. Maybe you want to do a
Speaker:continuity program on the back end, where you pop them into
Speaker:something that's a longer term, build and relationship, there
Speaker:are a lot of different ways to do that. Have it fit within your
Speaker:business model. But know that like, nobody wants an abrupt
Speaker:stop. Regardless, if they're stopping in the middle, they're
Speaker:stopping at the end, right? Like, what's the thing that
Speaker:you're going to do to either end the relationship with a soft
Speaker:landing, or help them continue along the path. So they continue
Speaker:to purchase from you, which is really where you get the most of
Speaker:your long term revenue, right is in repeat, business and
Speaker:referrals. And really looking at that lifetime value of a
Speaker:customer. That's really where you start building a sustainable
Speaker:business.
Speaker:But either way, you know if it if it's somebody that you want
Speaker:to work with them four times a year, if you want to work with
Speaker:them once a year, then how are you putting things into place
Speaker:that helps to continue and build that relationship. And so that
Speaker:is my secret and and tip for you today, is really think about
Speaker:that onboarding process as much as you think about onboarding,
Speaker:right? As much as you think about getting the customer? How
Speaker:what are you doing at the end of the transactional element, or
Speaker:the end of the first sort of relationship point with a
Speaker:customer because it does matter? It does shape how they're going
Speaker:to refer other people to you, it does shape what decisions
Speaker:they're going to make in the future. Because if you're the
Speaker:right person, for them to come back to six months later, and
Speaker:you haven't provided a an open door, soft landing for them in
Speaker:terms of exiting, then they're not going to come back, they're
Speaker:going to go find somebody else, right? So how do you determine
Speaker:how do you continue to, to build that relationship, and I'm going
Speaker:to tell you doing an exit and then continuing to send nurture
Speaker:emails. Without that soft landing is not going to work for
Speaker:you, right, they're going to unsubscribe, they're not going
Speaker:to read your messages, and they're not going to keep going
Speaker:it has to be some type of specific message to them on the
Speaker:back end that that helps them feel supported through whatever
Speaker:decision they're making. If it's, you know, the decision to
Speaker:work with you or decision to not work with you. makes a huge
Speaker:difference. Right? Think about just as a quick illustration,
Speaker:before I jump off is think about, like, if you're returning
Speaker:something to a store, and they make a big stink about you
Speaker:returning something to the store. It maybe it doesn't fit,
Speaker:maybe there's something wrong with it. Maybe you've bought it
Speaker:for your kid and they don't want it anymore, right? Like if they
Speaker:make a huge stink around that. Are you going to come back and
Speaker:buy something? No, because you're like, Oh, that was a
Speaker:terrible process. Right? Like, oh, that made me feel gross. I
Speaker:don't want to go back to that place because As they made a big
Speaker:deal about, you know, my returning this one thing I was
Speaker:actually returning it like, for me I go to target, right I
Speaker:return something at Target. If they were to give me a big stink
Speaker:about returning something at Target. Here's the other side of
Speaker:that is I'm returning something and then I'm going right back
Speaker:into the store and probably spending three times more than
Speaker:that return I just did. But if they make a big stink at that
Speaker:return, I'm going to walk out of the store, I am not going to go
Speaker:into the store and buy all the things that I need, I'll go
Speaker:somewhere else. So think about that. Because it's no different
Speaker:than that experience that you're creating for somebody and
Speaker:especially if it's a higher ticket option. You really want
Speaker:to help them feel supported. You have no idea why they're making
Speaker:the decision that they're making. Don't make it personal.
Speaker:Have a way to onboard them. Alright, there you go. That is