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Zero-Touch Onboarding, Done the Vertical-SaaS Way

Automated where it matters, human where it counts — 50% live on Day 0.

Jonathan Anderson
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Zero-Touch Onboarding, Done the Vertical-SaaS Way
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2-Page Onboarding Flow with Testimonials Template
Personalized onboarding journey
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What do gyms, dental clinics, and auto-repair shops have in common?

Their power users are working the front-desk.
Give them an account that’s already half-built and they’ll never leave.

Meet Stephanie: When Your User Works the Front Desk

Reality Onboarding Implication
Lives with customers face to face Limited time to demonstrate value—onboarding must show an immediate win.
Steps away from the desk = lost revenue Setup must finish before the next customer arrives; avoid multi-page wizards.
Dreads CSVs & “wizard fatigue” Pre-load smart defaults so she can confirm, not create.

Stephanie isn’t a product-led-growth superuser—she just wants today’s shift to run on time. Build for her and you’ll outsell any competitor.

Why Listen to Dan Henig?

Dan Henig smiling in a collared shirt
Dan Henig | Operator, Advisor,
Vertical-SaaS Whisperer
  • SurveyMonkey — Cut his teeth in horizontal PLG, learned why churn creeps in when users start from zero.
  • Glofox (gyms) — Helped frontline staff configure apps for businesses and members.
  • Shopmonkey (auto-repair) — Proved the first 10 days of onboarding are crucial for shop owners.
  • Archy (dentists) — Sees patient-record imports turn clinics into lifelong customers.

“Get customers 50 % live on Day 0—they’ll happily finish the rest on Day 14.”

Five Lessons That Drive Stickiness

  1. Confirm, don’t create – Defaults beat drag-and-drop.
  2. 50% on Day 0 > 80% on Day 14 – Momentum > perfection.
  3. High touch for only the hard stuff – Automate the simple configurations to focus on data migration.
  4. Time away from the counter is a problem – Pause/resume flows without lost state.
  5. Sticky after go-live – Once appointments are booked, medical codes flow, or real payments process, churn plummets.

The 50-80-30 Framework 🛠

1. Listen

Capture the sales (or discovery) call with Fathom or Gong → auto-map answers to config fields.

2. Auto-Config Goal: 50-80% ready before first login

Match the account to a best-fit template (operating hours, membership packages, labor rates) and pre-load demo data.

3. Strategic Assist One 30-min low-touch session

Move the gnarly bits—credit-card vaults, x-ray files, 12 k VINs—then hand Stephanie the keys.

Vertical Cheat Sheets 📋

Gyms

Gym POS — Low-Touch Setup

  • Template: “Class-Based POS”
  • Defaults: Membership tiers, locker fees
  • Heavy lift: Stripe token migration
Dental

Dental Software — Low-Touch Setup

  • Template: “7-Chair Practice”
  • Defaults: CDT codes, insurance carriers
  • Heavy lift: X-ray & patient file import
Auto

Auto-Repair CRM — Low-Touch Setup

  • Template: “VIN Service Desk”
  • Defaults: Common services, tax rates
  • Heavy lift: 12 k-VIN CSV upload

See It in Action 💻

Infographic: the Zero-Touch Onboarding flow—Listen, Match, Confirm, 30-min Call, Go Live—showing how sales-call data becomes an 80% configured account.
Infographic: Zero-Touch Onboarding in 5 Clicks (and One Call)

Vertical-SaaS onboarding doesn’t need a 30-step wizard. It needs a progressive, Toast-style flow that keeps Stephanie in her lane, shows one decision at a time, and never kicks her off the front desk. Here’s how the five clicks break down:

Putting it all together: Zero-Touch Onboarding

Step Front-End (Stephanie) Behind the Scenes
1 · Welcome Card “We matched you with FitHub Gym (83 %) — ready to review?” LLM classifies the sales call ➜ Candu drops the account in gym-2-locations segment and loads the matching template.
2 · Signup Survey 3 quick questions (locker rentals, gift cards, # trainers) 📝 Answers fire an outgoing webhook to /config/profile; segment updates in real-time.
3 · Live App Walk-Through Progress drawer shows “Membership tiers” → “Weekly schedule” — edits inline. updateConfig() writes to your API; template rule auto-duplicates the calendar when locations > 1.
4 · Stripe Settings “Migrate saved cards now or later?” Buttons: Now / Later Choosing Later triggers cardMigrationChoice ➜ webhook books a Calendly slot & flags migration_pending=true.
5 · Finish & Book Migration Calendly picker appears; progress hits 100 %. onboardingComplete sets awaiting_migration; first live payment event flips customer to “Sticky risk: Low.”

FAQs

Does “zero-touch” mean no sales call at all?
No. Candu automates about 80 % of setup; then a single 30-minute kickoff call handles sensitive imports like credit-card vaults or VIN records.
Will my engineers still have to build migration scripts?
Nope. Our no-code templates and built-in import connectors push data into your backend via outgoing webhooks—engineers stay focused on roadmap work.
How long does it take to launch a zero-touch template?
Most vertical-SaaS teams spin up a first template in < 1 week and cut go-live time by roughly 60 %.

Next Step → Book a Zero-Touch Audit

We’ll review one recent sales call, show you how to turn it into a 50%-ready account, and send you the template—free.

Zero-touch onboarding doesn’t end at sign-up—it begins there. Candu turns the conversation you just had with a prospect into an 80 %-configured live account</strong>, no engineers or drag-and-drop builders required. Our template-driven UI blocks render inside your product so front-desk power users like Stephanie simply confirm smart defaults, tweak a price or two, and start taking payments in minutes. See how Candu’s no-code onboarding templates can cut go-live time by 60% for gym, dental, and auto-repair platforms.

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About the author: Jonathan loves product onboarding so much he cofounded Candu.
Special thanks to Dan Henig (operator, advisor, vertical-SaaS whisperer) for sharing his experience.

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