How much do you truly analyse success metrics expressed by your customers?

What if this is what you are hearing?

CEO: "We need 20% efficiency improvement across operations."

IT: "We need seamless integration with existing systems."

End User: "We need something that doesn't crash every Tuesday. Please!"

In reality none of these definitions of success will actually drive the outcomes they need.

Customers are terrible at defining their own success during onboarding!

This is where your genius comes into play!

Guide them toward success definitions that actually drive business value and set up natural expansion pathways.

So, do you want to be just a product delivery service, or a strategic partner?

(Psst, the answer is the latter!) ↓

This will guide customers toward success definitions that not only drive retention, expansion, and referrals, but also allow them to excel with your product.

If you only engage with a primary contact, you miss the broader ecosystem of decision-makers.

Create a simple stakeholder map for every new customer and identify what success looks like to each.

Don't assume your main contact understands everyone's priorities.

They rarely do.

If you ask "What does success look like?" you will get a generic answer that may be hard to decipher and truly deliver upon.

Try asking “What if” questions, like this:

This shifts conversations from problem-solving to opportunity creation.

It puts the customer in a forward thinking mindset, rather than thinking about their existing problems.

Not all success metrics are created equal.

Help your customer understand that some success metrics have more weight attached to them than others.

This is incredibly useful to manage their focus.

Sometimes, customers can get fixated on a metric that won’t truly move the needle.

Utilise this concept:

Show customers how their current success definitions may focus on only one of these areas.

Explain that the trifecta will deliver success across all stakeholders.

Schedule time with all key stakeholders to align on success definitions before onboarding begins.

This is a luxury not all of us have access to, but if you do, make use of it.

Try an agenda like this:

This prevents the derailing of an onboarding and potential long term customer because stakeholders weren’t aligned.

This is a skillset to work on.

You will need to be able to think critically, recognise and analyse tone, read between the lines, and dig deeper from the surface level answers given.

And all of it in real time.

I have written steps for all of these in previous newsletters, have a browse here.

Success metrics set during onboarding create a direct line to every revenue stream in your business.

When customers define success too narrowly, they limit their own potential while constraining your expansion opportunities.

What to expect by making these changes: