Best practices and timelines for effective post-SOW customer engagement

Navigating the period after a customer signs a statement of work (SOW) can be a balancing act. Getting the timing right for resource assignments while managing non-billable activities can make or break a project's success. 

How quickly should you finalize resource assignments to avoid delays? And how do you handle the non-billable time spent on pre-engagement tasks without impacting profitability? 

Brandon Goldman, a senior technical PM at Contentful, recently raised these crucial questions in a discussion with the  Rocketlane Preflight community.

 In this blog post, we’ll explore expert strategies on how to tackle these challenges. Drawing from real-world experiences, these insights are both practical and actionable, helping teams balance customer engagement with internal resource management and effective use of billable time.

Post-SOW hurdles: Tackling resource assignment and non-billable time

Determining the right timeline for assigning resources after a customer signs an SOW is tricky. Assigning resources too soon can result in downtime while waiting too long risks project delays. Managing the non-billable time spent on pre-engagement activities adds another layer of complexity, as it can impact both efficiency and profitability. Here’s what the Preflight community recommends:

1. Pre-contract resource engagement

Alice P from the Preflight community highlights the value of early and proactive planning. “In my previous roles, we arranged the necessary resources and team members before the contract was finalized,” she says. The onboarding process often starts informally, with a Customer Success Manager (CSM) engaging early to ensure internal alignment before technical team members take over during implementation.

Alice notes that this typically occurs within the first month. By having a structured approach to onboarding and resource assignment, her team can expedite the process and prevent delays that might impact customer relationships.

Recommendation: Begin informal onboarding as early as possible. Involving key resources like CSMs before the contract is signed helps smooth the transition and prevents future bottlenecks.

2. Differentiated approaches for large and small clients

Srikrishnan Ganesan, CEO of Rocketlane, underscores the need for adapting resource assignment timelines to client size. “For large customers, we involve implementation managers (IMs) even before the contract is signed,” he explains. This proactive approach ensures resources are prepared and ready immediately after the contract is finalized.

For smaller clients, the Rocketlane team adjusts resource assignments to align with the final stages of the sales process, facilitating a smooth transition post-signature.

Recommendation: Tailor your resource assignment strategy based on client size. For large clients, involve resources earlier in the process, while for smaller clients, a more flexible, final-stage approach may be more effective.

3. Setting quotas and realistic expectations for non-billable time

Tracking non-billable time before customer onboarding can be a major challenge for professional services teams. Srikrishnan Ganesan highlights that his team sets specific quotas for non-billable activities. “We typically allow for one or two calls per account that are non-billable but still productive,” he notes. By aiming for utilization rates in the 75-85% range, the Rocketlane team manages to balance non-billable work with profitability.

Recommendation: Implement clear quotas or caps for non-billable time per project or resource. This helps ensure that non-billable activities are kept in check and do not disproportionately affect overall profitability.

4. Tracking non-billable time and measuring its impact on customer health

Alice explains that her team used to carefully track non-billable time, especially when compensating service hours to maintain customer relationships. “We tracked comped service hours in a separate CRM field labeled for internal use by Customer Success and Services. We calculated this time by project and made notes on CSAT ratings in a separate document. Our director would then measure the free time against potential revenue and customer health scores,” she says. This data-driven approach helped her team make informed decisions about managing non-billable work.

Recommendations:

• Set up dedicated CRM fields: Track non-billable hours separately from billable ones in your CRM or project management software. This allows you to monitor and analyze pre-signature activities effectively.
• Measure impact on customer health: Use a combination of data points, such as time spent, potential revenue, and customer health scores, to assess the impact of non-billable work. This will help you determine when such efforts are worthwhile and when they should be minimized.

5. Personalizing customer introductions

After finalizing internal resource assignments, personalized customer introductions are vital. These introductions typically happen within 2 to 4 weeks post-SOW signing, allowing thorough preparation and ensuring that all team members are well-briefed on the client's needs and expectations. 

Tailoring these introductions to include relevant background information about each team member's role and how they will contribute to the project can significantly enhance the customer experience. For example, sharing brief bios, specific areas of expertise, and how each team member's work will impact the project's success can provide customers with a clear understanding of who to contact and why. 

Recommendation: Ensure that the introductions are well-prepared, including detailed information about each team member's role and responsibilities. This preparation helps in avoiding confusion and sets clear expectations for the client. Personal touches, such as sharing previous success stories or demonstrating an understanding of the client's industry challenges, can create a positive first impression.

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