Today’s topic is for the scenario when a customer is adamant about a particular way of working.

As the expert in onboarding your product, you will have a proven way of successfully onboarding a customer.

We usually reiterate this to customers throughout the onboarding phase but sometimes they can be set in their ways.

This is usually because they have experienced poor onboarding with a previous vendor and don’t want to repeat the same painful process.

This, is a valid concern.

Communication of the context of YOUR particular onboarding process is important.

If this doesn’t reassure them completely then sometimes you may need to meet in the middle.

The steps below are how I suggest you navigate it for a strong ongoing partnership.

Meet me in the middle? I’ll write it, you implement it? ↓

🧪 The Project: Strategic Redirect

This framework transforms potential conflict into collaborative problem-solving. Use it to navigate scenarios where the customer pushes back on your standard process.

Step 1: Time machine question

Don’t immediately counter their idea. Why not entertain it to find out more?

Ask something like:

This does 3 things:

• Shifts focus from tactics to outcomes

• Reveals their actual goals (often different from their stated ones)

• Creates space for you to align their vision with reality