4 Ways to Stop Conversations From Going Off Track in Customer Onboarding

When calls get derailed because someone goes on a tangent, have the tools ready to bring it back to the task at hand, without pissing anyone off!

Clare Knight
July 17, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes

If you’re responsible for onboarding, you’ll likely have a process and structure for your customer calls.

You know exactly what needs to happen to keep their project on track.

But then you realise, you’ve got a talker on your hands.

A real talker.

You find yourself 20 minutes into a story about their previous vendor's catastrophic onboarding while your carefully timed agenda fades away.

These expeditions off track can derail an otherwise impactful call.

That’s why it’s important to be ready for this scenario.

Below are easy techniques you can implement today, will you give it a try?

Shhh… I’m talking. 😉 ↓

When customers derail your carefully planned onboarding calls, here's how to regain control without causing offence.

Talkative customers can give you valuable information but they also disrupt momentum.

Aim to get the balance of insights while keeping things on track.

Try this in your next call:

Find the natural pause - Try not to interrupt mid-sentence, wait for them to take a breath or think.

Acknowledge their input - "That's really valuable context..." or "I can see why that's important..."

Bridge to your agenda - "...and what I'm hearing is that we need to focus on X first"

This content is free, but you must be subscribed to The Onboarding Lab to continue reading.

Already a subscriber?Sign in.Not now