Robert Grootjen

GTM Engineer @ Revnome

[Robert Grootjen @RobertGrootjen]

Your onboarding is broken if it takes 2 weeks to show results.

Get your client a win in 24 hours.

Even if you have to cheat.

[Robert Grootjen @RobertGrootjen]

Onboarding success comes down to 3 things:

Speed → how fast users get value
Friction → how easy it is to get there
Data → whether your system actually works

If one breaks, onboarding breaks.

Most SaaS struggle with all three.

[Robert Grootjen @RobertGrootjen]

Your onboarding isn’t slow because of your product.

It’s slow because you overcomplicate it.

Too many steps.
Too many calls.
Too much friction.

First value > everything else.

If they don’t win fast, they churn.

[Robert Grootjen @RobertGrootjen]

Most SaaS companies delay value by weeks.

Fix: force the first win in <48h.

Get on a call. Do it live.

• First campaign sent
• First workflow runs
• First insight visible

Don’t educate customers. Show them value.

[Robert Grootjen @RobertGrootjen]

Practical tips to reduce churn

1. Let Customer Success join the last 1 or 2 sales meetings/calls to absorb as much context as possible.

2. Let sales and customer success define what "success" looks like for this customer.

They have to work as 1.

[Robert Grootjen @RobertGrootjen]

"HANDOFF" should not exist between sales and customer success.

You have to close this gap and make it 1 unified system.

Why?

The gap between sales and onboarding is where 23-40% of your churn come from.

[Robert Grootjen @RobertGrootjen]

Types of onboarding:

1. Low touch

Mostly automation with minimal human intervention.

-> Used for 1-10k USD a year SaaS subscription

2. Tech touch

100% product does 100% the onboarding, no human calls at all.

-> User for SaaS under $1k USD a year subscription

3. High touch (white glove)

The account gets a dedicated customer success or implementation manager.

-> Used for SaaS enterprise between 20-100k USD a year subscription

4. Concierge (Done for you)

Customer Success does the actual setup for you.

-> Highly recommended only for enterprise accounts above $100k USD a year

[Robert Grootjen @RobertGrootjen]

Strong product
Strong onboarding
Strong customer lifecycle

To get to revenue expansion make sure you have all of these optimized.

[Robert Grootjen @RobertGrootjen]

Why does it all boil down to "time to value" in SaaS?

The faster your "time to value", the faster they will trust you, less risk they will churn, higher possibility they will refer someone, and higher chance of upsell and revenue expansion.

Fix your time to value!

[Robert Grootjen @RobertGrootjen]

Customer Success isn’t about being proactive.

It’s about expanding revenue.

The best know the difference.

[Robert Grootjen @RobertGrootjen]

Stop educating your users.

Start getting them results.

Education before results increases churn.

Results first → they’ll beg to learn more.

[Robert Grootjen @RobertGrootjen]

@elonmusk Just beautifully done.

[Robert Grootjen @RobertGrootjen]

If your product sucks, Customer Success is firefighting, chasing people, saving churn.

If it’s good, Customer Success guides users to results.

If it’s great, Customer Success amplifies wins and expands accounts.

[Robert Grootjen @RobertGrootjen]

Marketing gets attention.

Sales gets decisions.

Customer success keeps them.

The better the product, the less force each one needs.

Thoughts?

[Robert Grootjen @RobertGrootjen]

"You're doing sales because you failed at marketing.

You're doing marketing because you failed at product."

- Naval Ravikant

Agree?

[Robert Grootjen @RobertGrootjen]

The best upsell doesn’t feel like an upsell.

It’s product-led expansion.

Customers upgrade because they want more, not because you asked.

[Robert Grootjen @RobertGrootjen]

Motivation does not build habits; systems do.

[Robert Grootjen @RobertGrootjen]

Most clients churn in the first 30 days.

Is it bad onboarding… or a bad product?

[Robert Grootjen @RobertGrootjen]

@TTrimoreau Long term? Building a better product.

[Robert Grootjen @RobertGrootjen]

Customer Success isn’t support.

It’s a revenue system.