TRUE OR FALSE? The most important moment in your customer relationship is the moment they hit the buy button or say yes in a sales conversation.

You might have heard internet marketers and business coaches say that again and again but just because you hear something more than once, doesn’t make it true.

So, I’m here to tell you that the most important moment in a customer relationship is NOT the moment they buy, but the moment right after they buy. 

Why? Because it’s the moment of truth. It’s the moment of delivery.

It’s the moment when your customer decides if you kept your promises or broke them. 

And you can make this magical moment happen when you understand exactly how to craft a powerful onboarding sequence.

The Make It or Break It Moment…

An onboarding sequence basically includes the messages, actions, videos and anything else that you share with your customers immediately after they purchase your product, program or service.

And when you do it right, your onboarding sequence can build momentum and motivate your new customers into action from Moment 1 of Day 1… and have them keep taking action all the way to the finish line.

Unfortunately, that rarely happens!

So let me tell you what typically takes place when a customer buys an online course, program or training…

She hits the buy button and feels the thrilling sense of excitement and possibility. She’s enthusiastic and optimistic when she thinks about how things are going to get SO much better and she can’t wait to dig in.

Then, in the space of a day or two — sometimes a couple of hours or even minutes — that “sunshine and rainbows” feeling starts to wear off.

She realizes she’s just invested a ton of money but she’s either not sure what to do next or the next step feels boring or overwhelming…

Procrastination enters the picture and fear, doubt and uncertainty creep in.

She starts thinking, “Crap! Did I just throw money down the toilet? Is this actually going to work?”

I call this the Downward Death Spiral.

It kicks in after that first hit of adrenaline — that thrill we get — when we buy a new course or program and it takes root when we feel like we’re not making progress… and we’re not winning.

The worst part is that most online courses don’t give people a clear focus or direction and it’s not clear how the videos and exercises in the program will get them the results they’re looking for.

And so most people stick around and work through a few worksheets but sooner or later overwhelm, confusion and frustration take over. 

This causes them to check out mentally and emotionally and eventually they quit… and who can blame them?

If it feels like you’re never going to get to where you want to go, why bother trying? 

BUT it’s not all gloom and doom.

There is a smart, effective way around all of this…

You can protect your customers and clients from the Downward Death Spiral with something I like to call Experience Escalation.

Creating an Onboarding Experience, They Won’t Forget

So you want the moment after your customer buys to be memorable in all the right ways. 

You want them to feel valued, celebrated and most importantly…

You want to get them hooked on taking action so they’ll stick with your program to see the results they’re looking for.

So, with new students who come into our bestselling, signature program — the Experience Product Masterclass or EPM — we create an awesome “moment after they buy” experience that:

1. Values, celebrates and honors their decision to purchase the program 
2. Introduces them to how it’s going to work
3. Sets them up for a quick win that leads to the next win and the next
4. Which starts to create Experience Escalation or the unstoppable momentum that will propel them through the program and across the finish line 

We do all of this with a series of powerful touchpoints in video format — a Celebration Video, a Welcome Video and a Quick Win Video.

This works like gangbusters for our students and we have an unbelievable track record to prove it: 
>> Over 5,000 students have come through EPM in just 6 years
>> 97.7% engage in the program
>> The average student completes 79% of the program
>> 37% of our students smash the Graduation or Mission Accomplished button (and submit their success story)
>> Leading to 2,034 honest & unedited testimonials from students who are beyond thrilled with their EPM experience 🙂

And if you want to compare this to the industry average —  97% of people who buy online programs don’t even complete them! — you’ll see that this stuff works?

Learning By Example

Okay so let’s get into what our onboarding sequence looks like for a brand new EPM student.

When someone registers on our sales page, they’re immediately taken to a Celebration Video — it’s the first thing they see after they purchase the program.

Next up in our onboarding sequence is the Welcome Video, which is fairly comprehensive and runs for just under 6 minutes. 

I created it to show students how EPM is going to work and what they need to do next. 

New students get to watch the Welcome Video right there on the confirmation page, immediately after they purchase. 

This means they don’t have to go to their email to watch (let’s face it the inbox is where we lose ourselves in a tsunami of distractions!) or log on to the EPM membership site to gain access to the video.

We want our new students to have zero barriers to entry for EPM, we want them consuming content and more importantly —  taking action — right away, within minutes of signing up.

So when you watch the Welcome Video, you’ll see that it’s about celebrating their purchase and giving them a clear picture of what to expect over the next 12 weeks, in the program.

I also embed all of the key principles of the EPM Experience Escalation formula in the video.

You might have noticed we have a big gray, arrow encouraging students to take the immediate next step, which is to watch their first micro-training.

This is the Quick Win video and it’s the 3rd video in our onboarding sequence. The reason this training is special is because:

>> I get them to take action within minutes of registering (without having to go to their email inbox or log-on to the EPM membership site)

>> It’s super duper easy and anyone can do it 🙂  I create templates for setting their minimum, target and stretch goals so they can quickly complete the training and get their first win

>> It reinforces their mission in EPM and creates a powerful future self vision (of money in their pocket 🙂 )

Together these 3 videos form a series of touchpoints that takes our students into higher and higher states of excitement and commitment to complete our program. 

Make Them Feel Good About Choosing You and Your Offer

So there are basically 2 things people are immediately looking for when they buy an online program:

#1 Validation that they made the right choice 

OR

#2 A reason to opt-out so they can give up on their new, scary commitment and return to the way things were — before they signed up

So with EPM, we put all of our energy and focus into crafting an onboarding sequence that gives people that 100% validation.

We honor our new students with a Celebration Video, dissolve overwhelm and uncertainty by showing them the ropes with a Welcome Video…

And then we motivate them to take immediate action and collect their first win with a Quick Win video.

This gets our students feeling confident about the whole training process in EPM because we’ve set them up for success from the get go. 

And a BIG reason why we have one of the highest completion rates of any online program, anywhere is because this Experience Escalation happens from Moment 1 of Day 1 during the onboarding sequence AND continues throughout the program — to the very end. 🙂

Our students are 10x more likely to stick with us and get their money’s worth by achieving their goals and getting the results that motivated them to join in the first place. 

So when you’re crafting your own powerhouse onboarding sequence, focus on creating an “after they buy” experience that gets them into action from Moment 1 of Day 1. 

Think about how you can introduce them to how things are going to work and don’t forget to celebrate them from the very beginning so they’ll feel good about choosing you and your offer.

Thanks for reading!

Now your turn…

What’s a “moment after purchase” experience you’d like to create for your customers? Something that will have them feeling confident and happy that they made the right choice buying your product or program?

Don’t be shy… share in the comments below, I’d love to know 🙂 

And if you’re ready to create an online course or program that generates the impact and income you desire — I’ve got a FREE Course Creation Masterclass called How to Use Your Knowledge, Skills or Passions to Create a High-Impact Online Course. 

During our time together, you’ll discover:

• How over 6,278 have been able to create a life on their own terms thanks to an online course or program
• Some of the unexpected topics people are using right now to sell online courses
• How to test your course idea using the same progress my students use to generate income before they even launch their course!

So go ahead and choose your day and time and I’ll see you there!