The Customer-First Toolkit: How I meet 500+ customers a year as a CEO

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Setup

Get started with the toolkit in 4 steps.

The Customer-First toolkit has two users: an executive + contributors across the company. Each user will need to go through a separate setup process (see below).

If you haven’t already, copy this doc, then share the doc with the person who will be sending the ghost notes (if that’s not you). This is usually an executive, like the CEO. Then, ask the executive to follow the instructions below.

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Copy this doc
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Executive setup

Step 1 connects your Gmail account with this doc, which is needed for the

Ghost Notes⁠

and

10 customer centers⁠

portions of the toolkit. Steps 2-3 set up your Google Calendar pack so you can calculate your

Client-time score⁠

. Ready to get set up? Expand the three steps below:

Time to complete: 20 minutes.

Step 1: ✉️ Ghost note setup

Right click on the words “Create draft” right above the red button below 👇.

Select Button options

Under Account, your email may appear if you connected to Gmail when you copied the doc. If an email other than your own is listed, select + Add another account. Sign in to your Gmail and complete the setup.

Now right click on “Create draft” again and go back to Button options. Double check that your account is listed.

Okay, now you’re ready to test it out. Click the green Apply template button, then click the red Create draft button. You’ll know the ghost notes setup is complete when you get a dummy ghost note in your Gmail

drafts folder⁠

with the subject Gainsight CEO Connect *.

Apply template

Create draft

Reset

No results from filter

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Did the ghost note show up in your Drafts folder? Woohoo - you’re ready to use the toolkit! 🚀

If you got stuck, no worries - click the question mark in the bottom right of the screen to get free help from a Coda expert.

Step 2: 📆 Client-time score: categories

Before you sync in your Google Calendar events, you’ll want to establish your calendar color categories. We’ll use these colors in the next step to categorize your events. Here’s how to set up your categories:

👇 Rename categories. Match calendar colors with event categories by renaming the Category Name column below.

If you already color your calendar, rename the categories below to match your own color system.

If you don’t color you calendar, take a few minutes to think of the most common reasons for your meetings (e.g. client meeting, travel, etc.). Assign each of those categories to a color. It’s okay if you don’t have a category for each color, but make sure you have a “client” category included.

✔️ Identify client categories. Once you’ve set up your color categories, check the box next to the category (or categories) that best represents your “client” meetings. For example, if you have a category called “sales calls”, that would count as a client category. Any category where you’re meeting with customers counts towards your

Client-time score⁠

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Clear examples

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Color Name

Category Name

Count as client meetings

Banana

Client

Peacock

Internal

Tomato

Travel

Sage

Event

Grape

Alone

Tangerine

Biz Dev

Graphite

Personal

Flamingo

Misc 1

Lavender

Misc 2

Basil

Misc 3

Blueberry

Misc 4

There are no rows in this table

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Did you rename your categories and identify your “client” meetings? Great work - you’re ready to move on to the next step below 🙌.

Step 3: 📆 Client-time score: sync events

a) Now it’s time to sync your Google Calendar events into this doc so you can calculate a client-time score. Did your calendar automatically sync into the table below 👇 when you copied the doc? Expand your answer for next steps:

Yes, my calendar events successfully synced when I copied the doc.

Awesome! Move on to Step B below.

No, my calendar events did not sync when I copied the doc.

No worries! You just need to manually sync your events. Hover over the table below, then click Options (appears at the top right of the table) → Google Calendar Events → Account. Sign in to your Google Account and sync your events.

That worked! 😀 Move on to Step B below.

That didn’t work 😞 - I need more help

Try re-copying the doc. After copying, you should be prompted to connect with your Google Calendar.

Still stuck? You can chat with a Coda expert, for free, who can help you get it set up. Just click the question mark in the bottom right of the screen.

b) Do you already color your calendar? Expand your answer for next steps.

Yes, I typically color my calendar.

Great! When you copied the doc, it should have automatically categorized your calendar events based on the event color. You should see the events below colored to match your Google Calendar. You’re ready to move on to Step 3.

No, I don’t typically color my calendar.

First off, I highly encourage coloring your calendar. If you want an easy way (and a lecture on why), check out:

The Color-What-Matters Calendar Guide⁠

But in the meantime: If you don’t already color your calendar, manually select a category for each event below. Remember, you can copy and paste just like you would in a spreadsheet.

💡 Looking for a shortcut?

The thought of categorizing every single event in the table below might feel overwhelming. Don’t worry! You can take a shortcut.

Instead of categorizing every single event, just categorize events that are most likely to be with clients. Because most client meetings include external attendees and are typically non-recurring, you can use the filters 🔍 below to show narrow the list to events that are most likely to be “client” meetings.

This works because you only need to know what % of your time was spent with clients to calculate your your

Client-time score⁠

. The other categories don’t matter as much for the score.

⚡ Optional: Apply colors to your calendar so it matches the table

Once you’ve categorized your events, click Update to color your Google Calendar events to match the categories. Perhaps it will convince you to keep coloring your meetings?

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Update all event colors

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Filters 🔍

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Only show meetings with external attendees

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Only show non-recurring meetings

Color

Event Title

Start

Duration

Attendee domains

Recurrence

Set category

Update calendar color

Team dinner

Thu, Sep 2, 2:00 PM

1 hr

codadoc.io

Recurring

Daily standup

Thu, Sep 2, 9:00 AM

30 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Meeting with TJ

Thu, Sep 2, 8:00 AM

1 hr

codadoc.io

Recurring

Lunch & Learn

Wed, Sep 1, 9:30 AM

1 hr 30 mins

codadoc.iogolddex.complusstrip.com

Recurring

Daily standup

Wed, Sep 1, 9:00 AM

30 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Product review

Tue, Aug 31, 11:00 AM

1 hr 15 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Daily standup

Tue, Aug 31, 9:00 AM

30 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Strategy session

Tue, Aug 31, 8:00 AM

1 hr

codadoc.io

Recurring

Alan / Joel

Mon, Aug 30, 11:00 AM

30 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Weekly Kick Off

Mon, Aug 30, 10:00 AM

1 hr

codadoc.io

Recurring

Daily standup

Mon, Aug 30, 9:00 AM

30 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Coffee with Lola

Mon, Aug 30, 8:00 AM

1 hr

codadoc.io

Recurring

Friday demos

Fri, Aug 27, 11:00 AM

1 hr

codadoc.io

Recurring

Daily standup

Fri, Aug 27, 9:00 AM

30 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Team dinner

Thu, Aug 26, 2:00 PM

1 hr

codadoc.io

Recurring

Daily standup

Thu, Aug 26, 9:00 AM

30 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Meeting with TJ

Thu, Aug 26, 8:00 AM

1 hr

codadoc.io

Recurring

Lunch & Learn

Wed, Aug 25, 9:30 AM

1 hr 30 mins

codadoc.iogolddex.complusstrip.com

Recurring

Daily standup

Wed, Aug 25, 9:00 AM

30 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Product review

Tue, Aug 24, 11:00 AM

1 hr 15 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Daily standup

Tue, Aug 24, 9:00 AM

30 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Strategy session

Tue, Aug 24, 8:00 AM

1 hr

codadoc.io

Recurring

Alan / Joel

Mon, Aug 23, 11:00 AM

30 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Weekly Kick Off

Mon, Aug 23, 10:00 AM

1 hr

codadoc.io

Recurring

Daily standup

Mon, Aug 23, 9:00 AM

30 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Coffee with Lola

Mon, Aug 23, 8:00 AM

1 hr

codadoc.io

Recurring

Friday demos

Fri, Aug 20, 11:00 AM

1 hr

codadoc.io

Recurring

Daily standup

Fri, Aug 20, 9:00 AM

30 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Team dinner

Thu, Aug 19, 2:00 PM

1 hr

codadoc.io

Recurring

Daily standup

Thu, Aug 19, 9:00 AM

30 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Meeting with TJ

Thu, Aug 19, 8:00 AM

1 hr

codadoc.io

Recurring

Lunch & Learn

Wed, Aug 18, 9:30 AM

1 hr 30 mins

codadoc.iogolddex.complusstrip.com

Recurring

Daily standup

Wed, Aug 18, 9:00 AM

30 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Product review

Tue, Aug 17, 11:00 AM

1 hr 15 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Daily standup

Tue, Aug 17, 9:00 AM

30 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Strategy session

Tue, Aug 17, 8:00 AM

1 hr

codadoc.io

Recurring

Alan / Joel

Mon, Aug 16, 11:00 AM

30 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Weekly Kick Off

Mon, Aug 16, 10:00 AM

1 hr

codadoc.io

Recurring

Daily standup

Mon, Aug 16, 9:00 AM

30 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Coffee with Lola

Mon, Aug 16, 8:00 AM

1 hr

codadoc.io

Recurring

Friday demos

Fri, Aug 13, 11:00 AM

1 hr

codadoc.io

Recurring

Daily standup

Fri, Aug 13, 9:00 AM

30 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Team dinner

Thu, Aug 12, 2:00 PM

1 hr

codadoc.ioblackzim.com

Recurring

Daily standup

Thu, Aug 12, 9:00 AM

30 mins

codadoc.ioopentech.comrantouch.comdambase.comblackzim.comy-corporation.com

Recurring

Meeting with TJ

Thu, Aug 12, 8:00 AM

1 hr

codadoc.io

Recurring

Lunch & Learn

Wed, Aug 11, 9:30 AM

1 hr 30 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Daily standup

Wed, Aug 11, 9:00 AM

30 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Product review

Tue, Aug 10, 11:00 AM

1 hr 15 mins

codadoc.iodonware.comy-corporation.comfinhigh.comcancity.comzoomit.com

Recurring

Daily standup

Tue, Aug 10, 9:00 AM

30 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Strategy session

Tue, Aug 10, 8:00 AM

1 hr

codadoc.io

Recurring

Alan / Joel

Mon, Aug 9, 11:00 AM

30 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Weekly Kick Off

Mon, Aug 9, 10:00 AM

1 hr

codadoc.io

Recurring

Daily standup

Mon, Aug 9, 9:00 AM

30 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Coffee with Lola

Mon, Aug 9, 8:00 AM

1 hr

codadoc.io

Recurring

Friday demos

Fri, Aug 6, 11:00 AM

1 hr

codadoc.io

Recurring

Daily standup

Fri, Aug 6, 9:00 AM

30 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Team dinner

Thu, Aug 5, 2:00 PM

1 hr

codadoc.io

Recurring

Daily standup

Thu, Aug 5, 9:00 AM

30 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Meeting with TJ

Thu, Aug 5, 8:00 AM

1 hr

codadoc.io

Recurring

Lunch & Learn

Wed, Aug 4, 9:30 AM

1 hr 30 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Daily standup

Wed, Aug 4, 9:00 AM

30 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Product review

Tue, Aug 3, 11:00 AM

1 hr 15 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Daily standup

Tue, Aug 3, 9:00 AM

30 mins

codadoc.io

Recurring

Strategy session

Tue, Aug 3, 8:00 AM

1 hr

codadoc.io

Recurring

There are no rows in this table

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Are your calendar events categorized/colored? Fantastic - move on to the next step 👏.

Contributor setup

If you’re a contributor on this doc, your primary goal will be to draft ghost notes for the executive to send on your behalf. Your setup process is relatively straightforward:

Time to complete: 10 minutes.

Share this doc with your team so that anyone in the company can use the

Ghost Note sender⁠

Customize your

Ghost Note email templates⁠

to match your own workflows and team structure.

Check out

10 customer centers⁠

for easy starting points to source customer meetings.

And that’s it! You’re ready to start using the Customer-First Toolkit! 🎉

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Setup and ready to go? Head to
`Client-time score`⁠
⁠

Want to print your doc?
This is not the way.

Try clicking the ⋯ next to your doc name or using a keyboard shortcut (

CtrlP

) instead.

Setup

⁠Copy this doc⁠⁠

Executive setup

Step 1: ✉️ Ghost note setup

Step 2: 📆 Client-time score: categories

Step 3: 📆 Client-time score: sync events

Contributor setup

Setup and ready to go? Head to Client-time score⁠⁠

⁠
Copy this doc
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⁠

Setup and ready to go? Head to
`Client-time score`⁠
⁠