Why A Good Offboarding Process Is Wildly Underrated

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Something dawned on me this last week.

Good marketing doesn’t only attract; it also reminds.

That means it doesn’t stop once you’ve acquired the customer — it penetrates every facet of the customer journey. It subtly (and sometimes explicitly) reminds them of the pain they once had and the feelings they want to feel.

After all, emotion and psychology are huge factors in business.

This is why a good offboarding process is wildly underrated.

Remember how I told you recent events skew your judgment? 

Well, the offboarding process taps into this recency bias (in a super beneficial way).

Offboarding is not limited to a formal process.

While a six-month project has a natural spot for it, you can still create a mini-process for any interaction (even a single Zoom coaching call or a freelancing gig can have an offboarding process).

For offboarding to work in your favor, make sure the process does these 3 things well:

• highlight the wins

• remind them why (you worked together)

• signal closure to “this” project (while creating an opening to “that” opportunity)

Let’s explore these points further.

1 — Highlight the wins

Look…in business, “the end” is not a farewell; it’s time to plant a memory dividend.

To be clear, this isn’t deceptive psychology; it’s marketing. As founders and owners (who sell services), you pour your attention and energy into every project, so why let those final moments slip away?

Here’s a tip: Create a simple template summarizing key project achievements to share during your offboarding call.

2 — Remind them why (you worked together)

There’s a reason a customer engaged with you.

It could be tangible and specific (e.g., to kickstart profits) or because of a shared principle (you’re both mission-driven). The point is to remind them why.

It gives them the words to use when they inevitably talk about it to someone in their network.

Here’s a tip: Develop imagery, phrases, or anecdotes that make describing your service simple and easy (e.g., I like to say I’ll be your “flashlight in the dark” to help you find profit your business is missing)

3 — Signal closure to “this” project (while creating an opening to “that” opportunity)

The brain loves it when you close a loop.

Nothing is worse than an open loop that should be closed.

Are we done? What’s left? You don't want to create that feeling of impatience.

Instead, communicate explicitly that this is the end of this project, but leave a slight opening for a more expansive working relationship (e.g., referral partner, affiliate, strategic partner).

But only if you want to work with them in this way.

Tip: Use the phrase “What’s the chance…?” such as: “What’s the chance you know someone who’d benefit from the same process we just went through?” or “What’s the chance we can do something bigger together down the road?”

Last impressions > first impressions

Thank you for reading.

See you next week.

— Peter

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