Client delivery flow

The end-to-end path a client travels — from a signed deal through onboarding into steady-state service delivery, then quarterly review, renewal, or a clean exit. One picture of the Client Engagement Playbook.

Who owns it Sales / Partner Delivery Lead Pod Lead Pod (team) Client

Read top to bottom. Diamonds are decision gates; the renewal gate loops back into delivery or branches to wind-down.

Signed dealMSA + SOW countersigned · first invoice issued

◆ Gate

First payment received, or net terms confirmed in writing?

No — hold

No kickoff until cleared

Partner + Finance chase payment. Nothing downstream starts — we don’t staff a pod against an unpaid SOW.

Yes — proceed

Engagement is live

Hand off from Sales to Delivery. Continue down the flow.

Week 0 · before kickoff

Pod assignment & handoff

Delivery LeadSales / Partner

Assign the account to a pod that has capacity.
Sales hands off cleanly — client feels no seam between “sold us” and “delivers.”
Delivery Lead introduces the Pod Lead to the client over email.

Gate: Pod Lead named · client intro sent · kickoff to be booked within 5 business days.

5 business days · onboarding

Onboarding setup

Pod LeadPod (team)

Update Attio — move the deal to Won → Onboarding (source of truth on deal status).
File MSA + SOW; build the Drive folder structure (Legal / Creative / Reporting / Notes / Access).
Spin up Slack: internal #[brand-partner]-internal (pod only) + external Connect channel #[brand-partner]-cmg (shared with the partner).
Create the Linear project and connect it to Slack so issue updates post to the channels; create the Notion client page.
Request platform access (Shopify, Meta, Google Ads, TikTok, Klaviyo, affiliate); AI Developer stands up the live dashboard.

Runs on: New client setup SOP — signed SOW to kickoff-ready in 5 days.

Week 1 · internal, then external

Kickoff — internal then external

Pod LeadPod (team)Client

Internal kickoff in #[brand-partner]-internal — walk the SOW, assign owners, lock the 14-day plan, prep the partner agenda.
External kickoff with the partner — align scope, 90-day success metrics, cadence, and the first 30 days.
Populate the shared roadmap; set the weekly recurring call.
Update Attio — deal status to Active.

Non-negotiable: kickoff recap email out within 24 hours of the external kickoff.

Weeks 1–2 · quick-win sprint

Onboarding sprint — ship something visible

Pod (team)Pod Lead

v1 growth plan signed off by the client.
First ad set live in production (small budget — signal > perfection).
First creative batch delivered; reporting dashboard self-serve for the client.
Week-2 recap email with screenshots of what shipped.

Why it matters: confidence in week 2 sets the tone for month 12.

Weeks 3 onward · steady state · providing services

Service delivery — weekly cadence

Pod (team)Pod LeadClient

Mon — pod standup (PM runs it): last week, this week, blockers.
Tue — mid-week performance review: creative kills, budget shifts, next tests.
Wed/Thu — weekly client call: performance, shipped, shipping next, asks.
Fri — weekly report email: last week · numbers · next week, always the same shape.
Daily — async updates in the client Slack channel.

The loop: this cadence repeats every week the client is engaged.

Every 90 days

Quarterly business review

Pod LeadDelivery LeadClient

The numbers: quarter vs. the success metrics set at kickoff.
What worked, what didn’t — honest, with data.
Next quarter’s top 3 bets; surface scope / renewal here, never as a surprise.

Before the QBR: Pod Lead + Delivery Lead align on renew / expand / wind-down.

◆ Gate

Renew the engagement?

Renew / expand

New SOW within 5 business days

Same scope, expanded scope, or new bets. The engagement continues.

↻ Back into weekly delivery (04)

Wind down

Plan a clean transition

Propose the transition plan in the same 5-day window — we never strand a client.

↓ wind-down path

Final 2–4 weeks · optional

Wind-down

Pod LeadPod (team)

Transition doc: account state, what’s working, what to watch, who owns what next.
Hand back all assets; transfer ad-account ownership; revoke CMG access.
Final invoice issued + paid.
30-day check-in from the Pod Lead — one short email post-CMG.

Why: graceful exits are where future referrals come from.

Graceful exitBetter than we found them · feeds the referral engine

Visual companion to the Client Engagement Playbook and the New client setup SOP. Variation by client is expected — variation by pod is a smell. If your pod runs the flow differently, raise it with the Delivery Lead.