Customer Success and Account Manager foundations checklist

5 days to complete

Account setup

1. Enable baseline settings in Outreach to configure your instance and utilize all Outreach has to offer.

   • Sync your email so your Outreach communications from your mailbox
   • Sync your calendar to seamlessly book and hold meetings
   • Install the Outreach Everywhere plugin to unlock Outreach functionality from your inbox
   • Enable Universal TaskFlow to execute tasks more efficiently on top of Salesforce, LinkedIn, or other websites
   • Set up Outreach Voice to make and receive dials directly through your phone or computer
   • Configure your Kaia settings (if applicable) and enable auto-join to improve the customer experience on your customer calls and meetings
   • Configure your email signature to personalize and brand your email communications
   • Review the Content tab to familiarize yourself with content types your team has built within Outreach to save time on customer communications

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2. Set up the Accounts tab to efficiently manage your book of business and identify important insights to effectively monitor account health and manage renewals.

   • Familiarize yourself with the following columns, which you’ll use to research your accounts and prioritize where you need to take action:
     • Use Sequences and Emails to check-in on account engagement and identify where you can improve account penetration
     • Use Status to keep a pulse on your account’s ongoing development by reviewing upcoming activity and deal health
     • Sort by Last contact date to ensure you’re maintaining regular touchpoints with your account
   • Improve efficiency when using the Accounts page by applying filters and configuring the page layout to create saved views. We recommend you create the following saved views:
     • Accounts assigned to you
     • Upcoming renewals, expansions, or upsell opportunities

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Days 1-180

Core workflows and features

Account onboarding

Set new accounts up for success on day one with a seamless hand-off and knowledge transfer from sales.

1. Review your account’s Smart Account Plans to understand your customers big picture strategy and priorities and to see the dynamics between stakeholders within their organization.

   • Review Strategic Initiatives & Outcomes to understand your account’s unique needs and goals
   • Use the Relationship Map to acquaint yourself with key account stakeholders and review insights to understand org structure and influence
   • Review Key Takeaways and Next Steps in the Engagement Timeline to get up to speed quickly on your account’s history
   • Use Smart Account Assist to rapidly familiarize yourself with the account and fill in any knowledge gaps
   • If your team uses SFDC, use Account Teams to review the implementation team of internal stakeholders

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2. Prior to your kickoff call, use Success Plans to understand critical account initiatives and begin creating a shared plan for driving success towards desired outcomes.

   • Get fully up to speed on the deal by reviewing each Success Criteria’s goals, problems, outcomes, and internal notes from the sales process 
   • Review the Timeline to understand key implementation milestones or add your own
   • Use Subtasks to begin mapping the path to successful implementation within each milestone
   • Use Comments to sync with your internal team to coordinate efforts

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Customer lifecycle and renewal

Drive engagement and value throughout the customer lifecycle to boost account penetration and improve retention.

1. Become a trusted advisor to key stakeholders using insights from your Accounts page and Smart Account Plan to maintain regular customer touchpoints.

   • Review insights on the Accounts page to identify which of your accounts needs more attention
   • Use the Prospect Relationship Map to identify the right contacts to engage at the right time
   • Use Assist to quickly get up to speed on your account and guide your engagement strategy
   • Reach out to prospects with a personalized message informed by your account review to maintain strong customer relationships

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2. Schedule and host meetings and calls in Outreach to increase credibility with customers with a streamlined scheduling, preparation, and follow-up experience.

   Schedule and host meetings in Outreach:

   • Use auto-populated meeting types to capture important details and efficiently schedule meetings
   • Prepare for the meeting by reviewing the Smart Account Plan and Success Plan associated with your account
   • Invite Kaia to join your meetings so you can be more productive on calls
   • Use Kaia’s AI-generated real-time content cards to handle objections
   • Gauge customer engagement and course correct in real-time with Kaia’s real-time call analytics

   Improve your follow-up experience with Kaia:

   • Review auto-generated summaries for action items, key talking points, and next steps
   • Ask Assist questions for detailed insight and deep links on what was discussed during the meeting
   • Use Assist to send a highly tailored follow-up with clear, specific, and actionable next steps in just one click
   • Improve your performance by reviewing your Kaia Coach card for feedback from your manager

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3. Align on success and consistently demonstrate value throughout the customer lifecycle by engaging customers within your Success Plan.

   • Reference your Success Plan at the beginning and end of every customer meeting
   • Update the Success Plan to stay aligned on key outcomes that drive adoption and impact renewal
   • Attach resources relevant to your customer’s goals and objectives to centralize information
   • Add relevant stakeholders via Teams so the entire buying committee has access to the mutual action plan and has visibility into progress and next steps
   • Interact with buyers using phases, tasks, and comments to align and advance throughout the customer journey

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4. Save time when communicating with customers using Outreach's integrated email experience to access content directly in your inbox.

   • Use Sequences to schedule an automated follow-up to keep customers engaged and ensure threads stay active
   • Use an email bump to get a reminder when a customer hasn’t responded
   • Use Templates and Snippets to insert pre-written content in just two clicks
   • Use Assist to reply to customers in under a minute with generative AI
   • Use Meetings to insert your meeting availability so customers can automatically book time on your calendar

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Customer health and churn mitigation

Protect renewals and reduce churn, contraction, and competitive risk by reviewing critical health insights that help you proactively pinpoint and address concerns.

1. Identify and flag at-risk accounts using the Opportunities page and dig into each opportunity's unique health insights to strategize on your next step.

   • Use Health column to understand when renewal or expansion opportunities require your attention or escalation
   • Update the Deal Grid to improve internal visibility on your renewal or expansions Close date, Amount, and Stage
   • Add Notes to escalate risk when executive action is needed to save renewals or expansions
   • Dig into an opportunities Health Insights to review what’s going well, where to focus, and recommended actions

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2. When you identify an at-risk account, use the Account overview page to dig into specific churn factors and build a strategy to proactively mitigate risk.

   • Review the side panel and Engagement Timeline of your Smart Account Plan to understand account health and customer insights
   • Use Assist to pinpoint risk and opportunity within your account
   • In the Kaia tab review previous calls and meetings using features like the Transcript and Analytics to pinpoint specific customer concerns and insights
   • Use the Purchases tab to review details on the products your account has purchased. Use findings to create a strategy for competitive takeouts, potential integrations, or co-selling efforts.

   TIP: See if your team has created triggers based on purchase information to automate the renewal and health check experience

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3. Create alerts to be notified when a customer mentions a competitor so you can proactively address risk.

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Upsell and cross-sell

Surface customer buying signals and utilize automation to create upsell and cross-sell opportunities at exactly the right time

1. Track your account's product purchases and relevant data to identify retention and expansion opportunities and run coordinated plays to increase the lifetime value of your account.

   • Add information of internal, competitor, or complementary products your account has purchased to keep tabs on critical indicators for retention and expansion
   • Review product details to identify expansion, upsell, or retention opportunities
   • Use insights to run coordinated plays using Outreach features like trigger tasks and Retention and Expansion Sequence Blueprints

   TIP: See if your team has created triggers based on purchase information to automate the renewal and health check experience

   Try it in Outreach

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