Account Teams working with ASEs

Account Teams working with ASEs

ASE service kickoff meeting

The ASE service can be sold to an account as a standalone service or as part of a bundled offering such as SPS. In both situations, the Account Team generally facilitates a services kickoff meeting that includes Support. For the ASE service to get off to a strong start and have the best chance at long-term success, the ASEs need the Account Team’s help:

1. Please work with the ASE as an equal partner in planning the kickoff meeting:
   • selecting the date and time
   • creating the agenda
2. In the meeting, please allow us to introduce ourselves and our service:
   • it’s better for the ASE and their manager to be the ones to describe how we will work with the customers and to begin the process of setting expectations
3. Please understand that the ASE needs to have a full, hour-long meeting for the full ASE service kickoff, and so it’s our expectation that there will actually be either one or two kickoff meetings:
   1. If the ASE service was sold as a standalone, there will only be one meeting
      • The ASE will facilitate this meeting
      • The ASE will base the agenda off of the Introductory Meeting template
      • We welcome Account Team participation in the meeting so that you can stay well informed about the ASE’s work and also so that the customers can see that we really are a team.
   2. If the ASE service was bundled, there will be two kickoff meetings:
      • In the first meeting, we will introduce ourselves and the service briefly, and we will mention that there will be a second meeting
      • The second meeting will be conducted as described above, with the ASE facilitating and the agenda being based off the Introductory Meeting template

New ASE introductory meeting

When it becomes necessary to introduce a new ASE to an established ASE account, such as when the existing ASE moves into a new role, we will want to host an abbreviated kickoff-style meeting. In this meeting:

1. The new ASE will build the agenda with a focus on the first two main items in the Introductory Meeting template
2. We will ask that the CSA participate in the meeting in order to help the transition to be as smooth as possible. This also provides an opportunity for the CSA and ASE to ensure that they know the customer’s GitLab plans and internal stakeholders. Other Account Team members are welcome to attend as well.
3. The new ASE’s manager will participate in order to address any concerns the customers may have.

Day-to-day Partnership

1. Please keep ASEs informed about regular and one-off meetings you have with, or about, their customers so that they may decide which ones to attend.
2. Please get to know the ASEs who support your accounts and work with them to gain alignment on how you’ll work together. Agreeing on what and how to communicate with each other is particularly important for our mutual success. Consider scheduling a coffee chat to have an informal conversation with an ASE as well.
3. Please be careful not to label an ASE. For example, when first introducing an ASE to a customer, you might say “Tanuki is a database expert.” That labels the ASE as a database expert, and suggests that they have no other expertise.
4. When a customer is asking about what an ASE can or can’t do, or will or won’t do, please let the ASE or their manager answer that question. If it turns out from our answer that you had a different expectation, we can discuss that internally and get realigned.
5. Please trust in Support. If an ASE customer is upset about anything related to
   the ASE or the service, please listen to and document the customer’s concerns, and share your faith and trust in us. Afterward, discuss the concerns with the ASE and, if needed, their manager.

View page source - Edit this page - please contribute.