It’s easy to feel weird name-dropping.

But in customer onboarding you’re not name-dropping for your ego.

It’s a tactical move that leads to successful outcomes for your customer.

When deployed at the right moments, the right name or relatable scenario can transform sceptical stakeholders into enthusiastic advocates.

The opportunity is to turn your professional network into an onboarding acceleration engine that provides peer credibility when vendor expertise feels pushy.

Thousands of people read this newsletter each week, I wish I could name drop you all. ↓

Transform your network into an onboarding asset that builds trust, overcomes resistance, and accelerates customer success.

We often deal with multiple personas during onboarding.

It’s common for one or more of them to be unsure if this new purchase was worth it.

Even if the sales process was impeccable, if a stakeholder wasn’t involved in it, it’s possible you will need to “win them over”.

There are many ways to do this. One way is to use peer validation.

It can carry more weight than vendor promises when convincing internal sceptics.

If you can find mutual contacts to highlight your point, that’s ideal.

If you don’t have an obvious mutual contact, talk about a very similar customer in a very similar situation and industry. The closer the better.

Technical teams often resist new implementations because they've been burned before.

You are just one new tool or service being added to the rotation of seemingly never ending solutions.

If this arises, name drop a connection who has navigated similar technical challenges.

If you have a successful customer that would be willing to speak on these challenges with a new customer, that is pure gold.

Be sure to use this early on, not when frustrations are high.

Internal resistance often peaks when team members realise their daily routines will change.

I’ve talked about change management before, if you want to take a look:

Bring in an example of a customer who had the exact same challenge and concerns.

Show that you understand the hesitation.

Then show how you helped a previous customer not only tackle those concerns but excel through them.

When customers hit major onboarding milestones, reinforce their progress with social proof.

This can work as both motivation to get moving as well as praise for achievements.

If you showcase where a customer stands with their onboarding in regards to others in their industry (and if you are brave, even their competitors) this helps to boost action.

You may have realised that all of these moments need specific examples.

You can’t magic them up on the spot.

Get your team together to document all of the best customer examples who have been the most successful, specifically through challenges.

Then have a senior leader reach out to ask if the customers would be willing every now and again to speak to a new customer who may be facing a similar challenge to them.

What to expect by making these changes: