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Running a Kickoff Call

Note: The video covers material not in the guide below — please watch in full.

Action Step

Complete this before moving on.

Watch the video in full, then go watch the kickoff call video examples referenced at the end. As you watch those examples, pay attention to how the architect sets the stage, moves through the agenda quickly, and drives into top priorities and next steps. Take note of the key objectives of the kickoff call and how the team builds momentum from minute one.

What the Kickoff Call Is Really About​

The kickoff call picks up right where the customer onboarding process left off. All the prep work — the diagnostic, the roadmap, the project prioritization — has already happened during the sales process. The kickoff is about setting the stage for how the engagement will actually run day to day.

The real emphasis is hyping the team up. During the sales process, LeanScale takes a backseat compared to the diagnostic and roadmap work. The customer has likely forgotten the specifics of how they will engage with LeanScale and the rhythms they will be in. The kickoff resets that context and gets everyone aligned on what working together looks like.

The Typical Agenda​

This is a 30-minute meeting, and the agenda rarely changes. You want to fly through it and land on next steps. Here is what it covers:

  • Team introductions — your dedicated engineer will be there, along with partner representation (Jake, Cam, or another partner) for strategic sponsorship on the engagement.
  • Collaboration areas — Slack channel, shared drive, and Teamwork client or projects. You have likely started setting these up before the kickoff, but if any customer stakeholders on the call do not have access yet, flag it. Send the kickoff deck after the call so everyone can click through to the links for their specific setup.
  • Tool access — Call out anything you still need access to. If conversations from the sales process or the diagnostic intake form surfaced tools the customer uses, and you do not have access yet, raise it early. Especially anything tied to projects on the roadmap.

Setting the Operating Cadence​

Walk the customer through what they can expect from the engagement rhythm:

  • Sprint meetings — Propose specific times in the customer's time zone. Schedule the sprint call for a Monday, or at absolute worst a Tuesday. You are likely having the kickoff on a Monday (that is when customer cohorts start), so the first sprint meeting would be the following week. Get it on the books during the kickoff.
  • Weekly recaps — Let them know they will receive written AI recaps each week.
  • First QBR — Schedule it right there on the call, 90 days out. Getting this on the books during the kickoff plants a flag in the ground: in 90 days, you will run another diagnostic and reassess priorities and projects for the next quarter. Even if the roadmap has projects looking past 90 days, having dedicated time set aside signals accountability.

Driving Into Top Priorities​

After the formalities, get right into the work. Call out the three or four big projects you know you are starting with in the first 90 days. For each one, lay out the next step — whether that is a discovery meeting, a piece of documentation to review, or key alignment points you need from the customer's side.

Outline clear goals for week one. Is it project discovery? Quick wins you know you can knock out right away? Anything the customer is feeling pain on that you can fix immediately? Show urgency. Week one is where you make a brilliant first impression, and that first impression sets you up for the rest of the engagement.

Leaving Them With the Full Picture​

If you have the customer's instance connected to Vasco, walk through those pieces. Then close by reminding them of the full project catalog. Even if some of those projects are not on the immediate roadmap, leaving the customer with a view of everything LeanScale can help with gives them inspiration for what to plan down the road.

The most important takeaway from the kickoff: the customer should walk away feeling that they have the right partner on board to support their future growth. Everything in the meeting builds toward that.