You just signed with Growth, you are excited, and you also have that tiny voice saying: “Okay… so what happens first?”
That’s exactly what our kickoff call is for. It’s the moment we move from “sales process understanding” to “working plan, clear owners, real momentum.” It sets the tone for the whole project, so we treat it like the foundation, not a formality.
Below is what our kickoff call includes, what you can expect from us, what we will need from you, and why this first meeting tends to feel different with Growth.
The Point of the Kickoff Call
A strong kickoff does three big things:
- Aligns everyone on scope, objectives, and timeline
- Establishes roles, communication norms, and working rhythm
- Reduces risk early by surfacing constraints, pitfalls, and hidden drivers
It also tends to be your first “date” with the delivery team, so it’s our first chance to show you how we run projects day-to-day.
Before the Kickoff: What We Prepare
We come to kickoff with a plan already in motion. Internally, the team reviews and aligns on what was sold, what success looks like, and what to watch out for.
Here’s the kind of prep we do before you ever join:
- Review the SOW and confirm objectives, scope boundaries, and known risks
- Finalize a project roadmap with milestones so you can see what happens when
- Prepare the kickoff deck
- Set up the project docs and tracking so the project starts organized
- Send an intro email that:
- Introduces your Growth team
- Confirms the kickoff details and who should attend
- Shares any pre-work expectations, if relevant (access steps, stakeholder info, etc.)
What Happens During the Kickoff Call
A kickoff call is structured, but it stays interactive. You will hear us ask questions, pause for discussion, and make space for your stakeholders to weigh in.
1) Who’s who, and what we are here to do
We level-set a few basics so everyone in the room starts on the same page:
- Introductions and roles (Growth and your team)
- The project purpose in plain language
- What “success” means to you, not just to the implementation plan
This matters because kickoff attendees often include people who joined after the sales process. We make sure nobody has to guess what Growth does versus what HubSpot does, and how a partner engagement works in practice.
2) Scope alignment: what’s in, what’s out, and what’s “later”
We walk through what is included in your scope, what sits outside of scope, and a “parking lot” for ideas that are valuable, just not part of this phase.
3) Roadmap and timeline: what happens when
You will leave the call with clarity on:
- Project stages and milestones
- The pace and cadence of working sessions
- Where we plan parallel workstreams (for example, implementation plus an integration effort)
A roadmap also helps you plan your internal participation. When you can see “sales focus weeks” vs “marketing focus weeks,” you can pull the right people in at the right time.
4) Communication norms and expectations
We align on how we work together day-to-day, including:
- Your preferred communication method (often email, and sometimes Slack in Growth’s workspace)
- Meeting cadence (typically weekly, with additional sessions as needed)
- Response expectations and how to handle quick questions vs bigger decisions
The goal: fewer bottlenecks, fewer “who owns this?” moments, more steady progress.
5) Risk and reality checks: the stuff that derails projects
We bring up common pitfalls early so they feel normal to discuss, including:
- Competing deadlines (events, migrations, internal launches)
- Stakeholder availability (vacations, leave, bandwidth constraints)
- Technical constraints and dependencies that affect sequencing
We also ask questions designed to surface the “unspoken drivers,” like leadership pressure, internal sensitivities, or deadlines that have not been mentioned yet.
6) Open-ended discovery questions, early
Even though deep discovery comes after kickoff, we start listening right away. You may hear questions like:
- “What does success look like for you after go-live?”
- “Who feels the impact most from this change?”
- “Any internal constraints or sensitivities we should plan around?”
- “If you could wave a magic wand and have HubSpot do exactly what you want, what would it do?”
Those questions help us tailor discovery, prioritize intelligently, and anticipate change management needs.
7) Momentum: meetings scheduled, access secured, next steps assigned
This part is where a good kickoff becomes an actual launchpad.
Before the call ends, we aim to lock in:
- Recurring weekly meetings
- Key working sessions (discovery workshops, user interviews, demos, etc.)
- Access to the HubSpot portal (via partner admin access)
- Next steps with who / what / when clearly defined
Owners + due dates create accountability and keep the project moving immediately.
After the Kickoff: What You Receive
You will get a kickoff recap that includes:
- Recording and summary (so stakeholders can catch up fast)
- Confirmed objectives, scope boundaries, and timeline
- Links to relevant project resources
- Action items with owners and due dates
The principle is simple: written agreements prevent drift.
Why Growth Kickoff Calls Feel Different
Plenty of teams “do” kickoff calls. Our approach is designed to make kickoff a trust-building milestone and a momentum event.
Here’s what sets it apart, based on how we train and run them:
- We treat kickoff as a critical project moment, not admin. Alignment, credibility, and pace all start here.
- We come prepared with a roadmap and a project system. You see structure early, and you get a blueprint you can plan around.
- We actively reduce risk upfront. We surface constraints early, and we normalize talking about pitfalls before they become fires.
- We keep it interactive. A kickoff becomes a conversation, so questions surface in the room instead of after the call.
- We end with clear next steps. Meetings scheduled, access planned, and action items assigned with owners and dates.
Making the Kickoff Work for You
The kickoff call is about alignment, clarity, and starting strong together.
The more context we share early, the better decisions we can make as a team. That includes things like internal deadlines, upcoming events, team availability, system constraints, or even areas where there is internal pressure to show progress quickly. None of that is unusual. Surfacing it early helps us plan realistically and protect momentum.
A few simple things consistently lead to the strongest kickoff outcomes:
- Bring the people who influence decisions, not just the person managing logistics
- Share what success looks like for your business, not just what you want built
- Call out known constraints early so we can plan around them, not discover them late
- Ask questions in the moment. The kickoff is designed to be a conversation, not a presentation
When that happens, the kickoff becomes more than a meeting. It becomes a shared understanding of what we are building, why it matters, and how we will work together to get there.
That is the standard we aim for at Growth: Not a rushed handoff, not a checklist meeting, but a clear, confident start that sets the tone for the rest of the engagement.
