<aside> 📋 Frequency: Trigger-Based | Time: 45 min | Trigger: When engagement end date is confirmed

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Most consultants let engagements end with a handshake and a final invoice — and leave the next engagement, the case study, and the referral on the table. The Client Offboarding Process closes the engagement at every layer: operationally, commercially, and relationally. Skip it and you end the relationship with silence instead of closure that generates your next client.

Prerequisites

• Signed SOW or engagement agreement with confirmed end date
• Final deliverable or project milestone list — confirmed complete
• Client contact record in your CRM or pipeline tracker
• Access to engagement notes or session logs for the closure summary
• SOP reference: Re-Engagement Outreach SOP (for future dormant-client outreach at the 90-day mark)

Procedure

1. Pull the engagement record and confirm all deliverables are marked complete against the original SOW.
2. Run the Engagement Closure Summary skill with the engagement scope, key milestones, and measurable outcomes as input. Review for accuracy — this becomes the client-facing closure document.
3. Send the closure summary to the client with a brief note confirming the engagement is complete and capturing any open items for their records.
4. Run the Referral Ask Builder skill with the client's engagement context and outcomes. Use the output within 5 business days of sending the closure summary — the relationship is warmest immediately post-delivery.
5. If the engagement generated a strong outcome, run the Case Study Builder skill with the engagement summary as input. Flag the client record for follow-up if client approval is needed before publishing.
6. Update the client's record in your pipeline tracker: mark engagement as closed, note referral status, flag for Re-Engagement Outreach at the 90-day mark.

Expected Outcome

You'll have a sent closure summary, a referral ask sent or logged as declined, and a pipeline record updated with engagement-closed status and a re-engagement date trigger. If applicable, a draft case study is in your queue.

<aside> ⚠️ Common mistakes:

— Sending the final invoice as the only closing communication — signals the relationship was transactional. The closure summary is what makes clients describe you to their peers.

— Timing the referral ask too late — referrals have a shelf life. Waiting until the client has moved on drops your conversion rate significantly.

— Skipping the case study step when you're busy — the outcome is freshest immediately post-engagement. A 10-minute capture now saves hours reconstructing it later.

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