How Merj takes a prospect from inquiry through the sale and into live execution in 45 days — with hard gates, clear owners, and safeguards that stop onboarding from bleeding into a multi-month project.
Onboarding is the single highest-risk phase of any Merj engagement. It's where scope is loosest, the client is most anxious, and cash is going out before value is visible. Our full Strategy phase is 69 one-time tasks across 12 phases — extraordinary depth, and exactly the kind of process that quietly stretches from six weeks into six months. This playbook exists to deliver that depth on a fixed 45-day clock. Every rule here serves one goal: get to live, on time, without cutting the quality that makes us Merj.
Why onboarding balloons — and the three structural decisions that keep ours contained.
Depth is a feature. Our 12-phase strategy is why clients trust us to run their whole marketing operation. But an unbounded process punishes everyone: the client loses momentum and starts questioning the retainer they're paying, the team context-switches endlessly across half-finished decks, and "just one more revision" becomes the norm. Left alone, a rich process defaults to slow.
We reject the false choice between thorough and fast. We get both by making three structural decisions up front:
Onboarding doesn't start cold. It's the back half of a longer journey — and the 45-day clock only starts once the deal is Won. Here's the whole path, front to back.
Lead captured & qualified — source tagged, lead scored, basic fit confirmed.
The discovery call. Explore needs, goals, budget & timeline; identify the right service model. Notes feed the proposal.
Proposal built from template, sent & negotiated. Verbal yes → contract out → signed → Deal marked Won.
Align, audit, and collect access. Brand foundation + competitor audit begin.
Build the strategy deck across all in-scope service lines. Internal review.
Record walkthrough, client Q&A, one revision round, sign-off.
Claude drafts a 12-month runway; team reviews & approves. Dashboard on, Month-1 live.
Between the sale and the client-facing kickoff sits a lightweight Stage 0 — the Sales→Delivery handoff and workspace setup — that runs the moment the deal is marked Won, so Day 1 starts clean. From there the four onboarding stages are sequential; the gate between them is a hard checkpoint. You do not proceed to the next stage until the prior gate's Definition of Done is met (Section 10).
One accountable owner per outcome. No diffusion of responsibility.
The Chief of Operations is the Onboarding DRI — the single directly-responsible individual who owns the 45-day clock, runs the weekly onboarding standup, reports RAG status, and is the one person who can say "we are on track" or "we are slipping, here's why." Karina carries this alongside her standing operations mandate and the client relationship itself — Basecamp setup, gate governance, escalation, timeline integrity, and all client-facing comms, access, and approvals live in the same hands. Sam carries the front-end sales funnel (inquiry, discovery, proposal) up to the Won handoff. Everyone else owns their lane; the DRI owns the finish line.
| Person | Onboarding role | Owns |
|---|---|---|
| Karina Murray | Chief of Operations — Onboarding DRI | The 45-day clock, weekly RAG status, Client-Responsibility Clock, Basecamp setup, gate governance, escalation, timeline integrity — plus client comms, access collection, approvals, and client-facing coordination |
| Sam Morquecho | Chief of Strategy | The sales funnel through the Won handoff (inquiry, discovery call, proposal), the strategy deck build, walkthrough recording, and client strategy calls |
| Christian Stryder | Chief of Content | Creative direction, content & visual strategy, first-content build, internal deck review |
| Nancy Garcia | Client Manager | Execution-ramp support and first-month production coordination alongside the Content Producer |
| Content Producer | Content Producer (supports Christian) | Shoot planning, first-month asset production, and hands-on content creation alongside the Chief of Content |
| Activity | Karina (Ops/DRI) | Sam (Strat) | Christian (Content) | Nancy (Client Mgr) | Content Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-onboarding — inquiry → sale | I | A | I | I | I |
| Stage 0 — Handoff & setup | A | R | I | I | I |
| Stage 1 — Kickoff & foundation | A | R | C | I | I |
| Stage 2 — Strategy build | A | R | C | I | C |
| Stage 3 — Walkthrough & approval | A | R | C | I | I |
| Stage 4 — Execution ramp | A | R | R | R | R |
| Gate sign-off | A | C | I | R | I |
R Responsible (does the work) A Accountable (owns the outcome) C Consulted I Informed. Because the DRI, Ops, and client-facing roles now sit with the same person, gate sign-off is co-signed by the DRI (Karina) and the Client Manager (Nancy) — two different people, so no single person can wave a gate through.
The line between "must be done before we can launch" and "deepens while we run."
This is the mechanism that lets execution begin at Day 36 instead of Day 90. Not every one of the 69 strategy tasks must be finished before the first post goes out. We split the 12 phases into two tiers — the tasks that block launch, and the tasks that don't:
| Blocker Tasks — required before Gate 3 (launch) | Rolling Tasks — completed during first 90 days |
|---|---|
|
Brand foundation, voice & personas (Ph. 1) Competitor audit — top 5 (Ph. 2) Content pillars & content mix (Ph. 3) Channel plan & posting cadence (Ph. 4) Keyword + local SEO/GBP basics (Ph. 5) Paid budget model & primary campaign (Ph. 6, if in scope) KPI framework & dashboard-template mapping (Ph. 11) Reporting cadence (Ph. 11) |
Full GEO & schema strategy (Ph. 5) Complete automation flow library (Ph. 7) Full ORM response library — beyond core templates (Ph. 8) Deep CRO audit & user-journey mapping (Ph. 9) Full video/creative style system (Ph. 10) Advanced attribution & multi-touch modeling (Ph. 9/11) Secondary-campaign build-out (Ph. 6) |
A client can go live once every blocker task is complete and approved — even if rolling tasks are still in progress. Rolling tasks are scheduled as dated tasks in the first three monthly cycles, not held as onboarding blockers. This is scoped and stated to the client so "rolling" never reads as "unfinished." The blocker list is set per engagement — a Starter tier's blocker list is lighter than Full Service.
Triggered automatically when the deal is marked Won. Goal: Day 1 starts with zero cold-start friction.
The most common onboarding stall happens before the clock even starts — a fuzzy handoff from Sales to Delivery where context is lost and the first week is spent re-discovering what the discovery call already surfaced. Stage 0 closes that gap with a live Sales → Onboarding transfer meeting that walks the discovery notes and deal context straight into delivery.
| Step | Owner | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Sales → Onboarding transfer meeting | Sam + Karina | Live handoff covering discovery-call notes, deal context, scope sold, tier/blocker level, promises made, red flags, and decision-maker |
| Confirm scope, DRI & delivery team from the transfer meeting | Karina | Karina is DRI; line up Sam, Christian, Nancy, and the Content Producer for the Stage 1 project build |
| Send welcome packet + questionnaire + access checklist | Karina | Onboarding Hub link, Kickoff Questionnaire† (client completes before the kickoff call), Assets & Access Checklist |
| Schedule kickoff call (within 5 business days) | Karina | Book Day 1–3; hold only once the questionnaire is returned; put on the Basecamp schedule |
† The Kickoff Questionnaire is the companion intake document (Client Kickoff Questionnaire — Merj_Client_Kickoff_Questionnaire.html) covering the client's business, audience & personas, goals/KPIs, brand voice, competitors, and in-scope service lines. It is the post-sale onboarding intake — distinct from, and deeper than, the pre-sale discovery call.
The post-sale deep-dive — distinct from the pre-sale discovery call. The client completes the kickoff questionnaire before the kickoff call, so we walk in already briefed. Then we align on goals, audit the current state, and collect every access we need. Front-loading access is the highest-leverage move of the entire 45 days.
| Task | Owner | By day |
|---|---|---|
| Confirm kickoff questionnaire returned & reviewed (prerequisite to the kickoff call) | Karina | Day 0–1 |
| Open the client's Basecamp project from the matching service-line template(s) & assign the team (scope is already known from the sale) | Karina | Day 1 |
| Kickoff call — goals, expectations, timeline walkthrough (held once the questionnaire is in) | Karina + Sam | Day 1–3 |
| Brand positioning audit + personas + voice framework (Ph. 1) | Sam | Day 3–6 |
| Digital Presence Audit (existing template) | Sam | Day 3–5 |
| Competitor audit — top 5 (Ph. 2, existing template) | Sam | Day 4–7 |
| Collect all access via Assets & Access Checklist | Karina | Day 1–7 |
| Set up ad accounts under the client's owned emails + add billing/credit card & grant access (client-dependent — start early) — if Paid in scope | Karina + Sam | Day 1–7 |
| Gate 1 review | Karina + Nancy | Day 7 |
If critical access (website, social, GBP, ad accounts) isn't in hand by Day 7, the DRI starts the Client-Responsibility Clock (Safeguard 3) and logs it. This is exactly why ad-account setup and billing live here in Week 1, not later — creating accounts under the client's owned emails and getting a credit card added always depends on the client, so we start chasing it on day one. Do not let a missing login or unpaid ad account quietly push the whole timeline while we absorb the blame. Karina chases daily in Week 1; escalate to Sam by Day 5 if silent.
The core build. Three weeks to assemble the strategy deck across every in-scope service line, then an internal review by leadership. This is where time-boxing matters most.
Sam leads the build against the 12-phase framework, working to the blocker line — blocker tasks are non-negotiable for this stage; rolling tasks are scheduled but not launch blockers. Christian owns the content, visual, and creative phases. The three weeks are structured, not open-ended:
| Week | Focus (blocker priority) | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Week 2 · Days 8–14 | Content strategy & pillars (Ph. 3), social plan (Ph. 4), SEO/GBP + keywords (Ph. 5 core) | Sam + Christian |
| Week 3 · Days 15–21 | Paid media model (Ph. 6), email core (Ph. 7), ORM core templates (Ph. 8), website priorities (Ph. 9) | Sam |
| Week 4 · Days 22–28 | KPI framework + map KPIs into the dashboard template (Ph. 11), assemble full deck, internal review | Sam + Leadership |
Each phase gets its allotted window and a "good enough to govern execution" bar — not "perfect." Perfection is the enemy of Day 45. If a phase threatens to overrun, the DRI decides: is this a blocker task (protect it, pull time from a rolling task) or a rolling task (park it, schedule it post-launch)? That decision is made in the weekly standup, in writing — never by silent drift.
Deliver the strategy, answer questions, revise once, and lock it. This stage is where onboarding most often dies by a thousand revisions — the One-Revision Rule prevents that.
| Task | Owner | By day |
|---|---|---|
| Record strategy walkthrough video (Ph. 12) | Sam | Day 29–30 |
| Send deck + recording to client — as a Replay link for time-marked comments | Karina | Day 30 |
| Client review window (defined, not open-ended) | Client | Day 30–33 |
| Live Q&A / revision call | Sam + Karina | Day 33–34 |
| One consolidated revision round | Sam | Day 34–35 |
| Client sign-off + archive approved strategy | Karina | Day 35 |
The deck and walkthrough go out as a Replay link, not a flat file — the client leaves time-marked comments on the exact sections and moments they're reacting to. We review those comments before the Q&A / revision call, so we walk in already knowing where the questions are and the live call is spent resolving them, not surfacing them. Anchoring feedback to specific timestamps also keeps it concrete and consolidated — which is what makes the One-Revision Rule below hold.
Unlimited revisions are the number-one killer of onboarding timelines. We include one consolidated revision round: the client submits all feedback at once, we address it in one pass, and we lock. Further changes after sign-off are welcome — through the standard quarterly strategy review or as a scoped change order — not as an open loop that stalls launch. Set this expectation at kickoff and when the deck is delivered.
Turn the approved strategy into a 12-month runway — not just a first month. This is where we put Claude to work: it drafts a full year of outlines, calendars, and written assets from the approved Strategy, so the team's recurring job shrinks to review, refine, approve, and publish. The heavier the front-load here, the lighter every month that follows.
Not every client buys every service line — scope is set at the sale and carried in the transfer meeting. Each Claude build-out below runs only if that service is in the client's signed agreement: a Starter client might be Social + Blog + Reporting, while a Full Service client gets all eight. Skip any line that doesn't apply — Gate 4's Definition of Done flexes to the in-scope set.
| Task | Owner | By day |
|---|---|---|
| Update Service Cards in Client Basecamp Project with Details | Karina | Day 36 |
| Claude builds the 12-month Social Media Content Outline from the Strategy — if Social in scope | Claude → Christian | Day 36–40 |
| Claude builds the 12-month Blog calendar & drafts all 12 months of SEO/GEO blog posts — if Blog/Content in scope | Claude → Sam | Day 36–43 |
| Claude builds the Content Strategy & Asset Library plan (shot lists, content matrix, repurposing map) — if Content in scope | Claude → Christian + CP | Day 37–41 |
| Claude builds the 12-month Email & SMS calendar + reusable email outline templates for team review — if Email/SMS in scope | Claude → Nancy | Day 37–41 |
| Claude builds the ORM plan — review-response library, review-generation sequences & GBP optimization plan — if ORM in scope | Claude → Nancy | Day 37–41 |
| Claude builds the 12-month Website & SEO/GEO plan — keyword-mapped page updates, schema plan, local SEO/GBP — if Website/SEO in scope | Claude → Sam | Day 38–42 |
| Claude drafts the Paid Media plan, ad copy & creative briefs for the year — if Paid in scope | Claude → Sam | Day 38–42 |
| Deploy the Merj Client KPI Dashboard from the replicable template (on Merj Client Dashboards) | Sam | Day 38–42 |
| Launch the primary paid campaign (ad accounts already set up in Stage 1) — if Paid in scope | Sam | Day 40–44 |
| Team reviews & client approves the Month-1 batch across all in-scope lines | Karina | Day 43–44 |
| Gate 4 — Month-1 live, 12-month runway queued, dashboard on | Karina + Nancy | Day 45 |
A gate is a hard checkpoint with objective exit criteria. "Almost done" does not pass a gate. If a gate's DoD isn't met on its date, the DRI logs the reason (internal slip vs. client-caused) and the standup decides the recovery path — you never drift past a gate silently.
Ten rules, each targeting a specific way onboarding slips. Together they are the immune system that keeps a 45-day process from becoming a 5-month one.
The calendar is set at Stage 0 and does not stretch to accommodate scope. Each gate has a date and objective exit criteria.
The Chief of Operations owns the clock end to end. One throat to choke, one person reporting status. Responsibility isn't shared into oblivion.
When a delay is caused by the client (late access, late approvals, missed calls), the DRI pauses the timeline in writing and shifts the finish date by the delay. Protects Merj from owning a slip we didn't cause — and makes the cost of client inaction visible to the client.
Execution begins once the blocker tasks are done (Section 4). Rolling tasks deepen after launch. We never hold go-live hostage to 100% strategy completion.
One consolidated revision round on the strategy deck. Additional changes route to the quarterly review or a scoped change order.
Onboarding delivers the strategy deck and the first execution cycle — nothing more. Any new request during onboarding is logged to a "Future Requests" list, not absorbed into the sprint.
A 20-minute weekly standup where the DRI reports Red / Amber / Green against the gates. Amber triggers a recovery plan; Red triggers leadership escalation.
Every audit, brief, and checklist is a pre-built template (Digital Presence Audit, Competitor Audit, Creative Brief, Assets & Access, Kickoff Questionnaire, project instructions). Strategists fill in, they don't invent from scratch.
The Basecamp template ships with every onboarding task pre-dated against the 45-day schedule. Overdue tasks surface automatically; nothing lives without a due date.
The Onboarding Hub tells the client exactly what's expected of them and by when — including the questionnaire due before kickoff. Shared responsibility, set on day one, means delays are a joint conversation — not a surprise fight.
Everything runs in Basecamp — the sales funnel, onboarding, and recurring delivery. The client's Basecamp project is opened at the start of Stage 1 from Merj's service-line project templates, so every client starts from a proven structure matched to what they actually bought.
Opened by Karina at the start of Stage 1 from the matching service-line template(s) and renamed to the client. Because the sold scope defines the service lines, the right template opens immediately, carrying both the onboarding stage lists and the ongoing service-line lists. (Stage 0's few pre-project steps — the transfer meeting, welcome send, and kickoff scheduling — are tracked in Merj's internal Ops space until the client project opens.) Structure:
| Basecamp tool | Used for |
|---|---|
| To-Do Lists (one per stage) | Stage 0–4 checklists, every item pre-assigned and pre-dated (see Section 13) |
| Schedule | Sales → Onboarding transfer meeting, kickoff call, walkthrough call, and the four gate dates as milestone events |
| Docs & Files | Onboarding Hub link, Kickoff Questionnaire, all four audit templates, the strategy deck, signed approval |
| Message Board | Weekly RAG status posts; gate pass/fail announcements; Client-Responsibility Clock logs |
| Card Table | Optional: the 12 strategy phases as cards moving Not Started → In Progress → Internal Review → Done |
| Automatic Check-ins | A recurring "Onboarding RAG status?" question to the DRI every Monday during onboarding |
There's no second tool and no migration. The same Basecamp project the client is onboarded in becomes their delivery workspace — the onboarding stage lists are completed and archived at Gate 4, and the service-line lists (Strategy, Social, Content, Email, Paid, ORM, Website, Reporting) opened from the template in Stage 1 simply switch from build mode to the recurring monthly rhythm. Nothing gets rebuilt or handed across systems.
The full 45-day checklist, ready to become your Basecamp to-do lists. Every item carries an owner; in Basecamp, add the due date from the day range shown.
Onboarding ends the moment Gate 4 passes. A clean handoff keeps the momentum we just built from leaking.
At Gate 4, the Onboarding DRI runs a 30-minute internal handoff to the recurring account team (which may be the same people in different roles). The handoff transfers:
Book the first monthly report and the first monthly strategy touchpoint before closing the onboarding project. A client who feels momentum stall right after a great onboarding is a churn risk. The handoff isn't an ending — it's the baton pass into the operating rhythm defined in the Services SOP.
This SOP pairs with the client-facing Onboarding Hub, the Client Kickoff Questionnaire (completed before the kickoff call), and the four existing Basecamp templates (Digital Presence Audit, Competitor Audit, Assets & Access Checklist, Creative Brief). Together they are the complete onboarding system. Review this SOP quarterly and after every onboarding retro — the process should get sharper each cycle. Keep Learning.