What does a head of client success do in a coaching company?

Owns the client success rate for the whole offer and leads the team behind it: client success managers and coaches. They hire and train, and keep the client board and SOPs current. They work with sales on the promise, run proof and refunds, and flag clients for the next offer. They report through live numbers and Looms.

Is head of client success the same as head of fulfillment?

In most coaching companies, yes. Both titles mean the person who owns whether clients get the promised result and who leads the people delivering it. Pick the title your market searches for. What matters is the one number at the top of the post: the client success rate.

What KPIs should a head of client success have?

Client success rate, on-track rate, time to value and proof per winner. Then refund requests per 100 new clients, and the share of clients who buy the next offer. Track each over time as well as live. A rate measured only this month never shows whether the program got better.

Should my best coach become head of client success?

Usually not. Coaching and client success are different jobs. A coach is paid for what they know, on calls. The head of client success works the board, the team and the numbers every day. Hire for calm, communication and reading data, and keep your best coach coaching.

Head of client success job description for a coaching company.

Head of client success (head of fulfillment) job description for a coaching company. What the role owns, the KPIs, who to hire, how to screen.

Out of about 30 Loom applications for a client success role, we meet one or two. A head of client success should pass the same filter.

Some companies post this role as head of fulfillment. The job is the same: one person owns whether clients get the result, and leads everyone who works on it. Below is the description we would use. Copy it and change the program name.

What does a head of client success own?

One number and everything behind it. The number is the client success rate: the share of clients who reach the promised result. Behind it sit the client success managers and coaches, the client board, the SOPs and the video training.

This is a different job from coaching. A coach is paid for what they know, on calls, and most are fractional. The head of client success works the system every day. Your best coach is rarely the right person for it.

What does a head of client success do?

These are the responsibilities we would put in the post. Each one serves the number above; if a task does not, cut it.

Own the client success rate, on-track rate and time to value for every client in the offer.
Hire client success managers and coaches, and let go of anyone who is there for no reason.
Train the team: a worksheet per role, the SOPs, Loom recordings, regular trainings on the offer and the client path.
Keep an SOP for every touchpoint, from onboarding to the last day.
Keep the client board accurate: every client on track or overdue, every milestone logged the day it happens.
Work with sales on the promise and the handover, so delivery matches what was sold.
Own the refund process: a call before any refund, every decision confirmed in writing.
Run the proof system, so winners give testimonials, reviews and success interviews.
Flag clients for the next offer at least 60 days before their end date, and pass what clients ask for to the founder.
Fix the stage where clients get stuck, in the training or the check-ins.
Keep fulfillment lean: a couple of tools, no complex software, no random hires.

Which KPIs is a head of client success measured on?

The back-end numbers, tracked over time as well as live. A head of client success who only sees this month never sees whether the program got better.

KPI	What it counts	Reference
Client success rate	Share of clients who reach the promised result	15 to 50% once tracked, around 20% typical
On-track rate	Share of clients on time against their milestone	Counted per stage to find the friction zone
Time to value	Days to the first win	Inside one to two weeks, 30 days at the latest
Proof per winner	Winners who give a testimonial, review or interview	Every third, ideally every second
Refund requests	Requests per 100 new clients	Two or three; under five is a good rate
Upgrades	Clients who buy the next offer	Up to 30% of all clients when the offer is relevant

Reference points from the offers we run. They depend on the promise and the offer; use them to read your own baseline. · Source: The seven back-end KPIs of a coaching business

Who should you hire as head of client success?

Someone calm and confident who communicates well and reads people. Having worked for a big offer means nothing on its own. They also need to read data, because the job runs on the board.

They need to say hard things without being disrespectful. Telling a founder a stage of the program is broken, or that someone on the team is not doing the work. That is part of the job.

And they should keep the founder out of meetings. A good operator takes care of the founder and does not create meetings. Updates come as Looms, and the founder checks the live numbers any time.

How do you screen candidates?

Loom first, meeting second. No interview until the candidate sends a Loom of themselves. In the Loom you read the person more than the track record.

I hire very few people and take a long time. There is no meeting until they send a Loom of themselves, and in the Loom you read the person more than the track record. Working for a big offer means nothing. Emotional intelligence, calm, confidence and communication are what matter. Out of about 30 Looms I meet one or two.

Diego Miescher

Founder

Then ask about the person, not the résumé. What was the biggest challenge in your life, and how did you get through it? Then one situation: a client says they want to quit the program today. What do you do?

When does a coaching company need one?

When the founder can no longer hold client success alone. Under about 50 clients the founder usually delivers with part-time support. One client success manager carries up to 200 to 300 clients. Once there are several, plus coaches, someone has to lead them who is not the founder.

No KPIs in the new head's first month. Every person has a learning curve. Give them the board, the SOPs and the offer, check in regularly, and start the numbers in month two.

Note. The other route is a fulfillment partner. Our Performance-Based Fulfillment™ brings the team, the board and the SOPs on day one. Part of our fee is tied to what we retain and resell. The comparison page sets out both.

Further reading: Your best coach is not your head of client success · Fulfillment partner vs a head of client success

This week. Write the role's one number at the top of the post: the client success rate. Ask every applicant for a Loom before anything else. Read the first 30 before you book a single call.