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THE OFFSITE CO WAY · PHASE 01

Contracting & Activation

Confirm engagement scope, execute the appropriate client agreement, and activate the project internally.

Department: Sales → Operations

Primary Owner: Sales (Contract) → EA (Activation)

Key Contributors: Bookkeeper, COO, Director of Event Operations

Purpose: Confirm engagement scope, execute the appropriate client agreement, and activate the project internally.

Trigger: Client confirms intent to move forward with partnership.

Two engagement paths begin here:

  • Path A — Full-Service: Client engages for full event planning from the start
  • Path B — Venue Sprint: Client trials the partnership through venue sourcing only; full-service decision is made during the venue process

Step 1: Client Agreement Execution

Both Paths

Primary Owner: Sales Administrative Owner: EA

Return clients: COO leads contract setup with EA support in place of Sales. All other steps remain the same.

Key Actions:

  • Sales confirms engagement scope and path (Full-Service or Venue Sprint)
  • Sales executes the appropriate client agreement
  • EA manages signature follow-up and coordinates any revisions
  • EA provides a brief summary of any agreement revisions and the reason for each — to be passed to Venue Lead and Event Producer at handoff
  • EA confirms fully executed agreement and stores in Client Folder
  • EA updates internal tracking
  • EA notifies: COO, Director of Event Operations, Director of Onsite Operations
  • EA confirms internal team assignment:
    • Venue Lead
    • Event Producer (Path A only)

Step 2: Team Activation

Primary Owner: Director of Event Operations

Key Actions:

Path A — Full-Service:

  • Confirm Event Producer assignment
  • If full-service scope is not yet confirmed, contractor terms will be finalized during Kickoff & Venue Sprint
  • Align on contractor pay, scope, and project expectations
  • Issue and execute project-specific contractor terms

Path B — Venue Sprint:

  • Confirm Venue Lead assignment
  • No Event Producer assignment required at this stage

Step 3: Client Welcome & Project Setup

Path A — Full-Service only. If engagement begins as a Venue Sprint, this step occurs after the client commits to full-service.

Primary Owner: EA Administrative Owner: Bookkeeper

Key Actions:

  • EA sends client welcome email
  • Bookkeeper sends billing welcome communication

Step 4: Project Activation

Both Paths

Primary Owner: EA

Key Actions:

  • Schedule Kickoff call
  • Request Client Brief from Sales

Step 5: Early Relationship Momentum

Both Paths

Primary Owner: COO

Key Actions:

  • COO sends a personal note to the client POC — specific to this client, no template — acknowledging the partnership and expressing genuine excitement about what's ahead

Definition of Done

All must be true before entering Phase 02: Kickoff & Venue Sprint.

Both Paths:

  • Client agreement fully executed and stored in Client Folder
  • Contract signed before advancing — no exceptions
  • Internal team notified and appropriate members assigned
  • Kickoff call scheduled

Path A only:

  • Event Producer assigned and contractor terms executed (or timeline confirmed)
  • Client welcome complete

Tools & Templates

Tool / TemplatePurposeLocation
Contract TemplateExecute client agreement(see 2026 Offsite Co Event Agreement / Event Planning Services Agreement, extracted separately)
Contract Template (New Model)Execute agreement with walkaway clause — Venue Sprint2026 Offsite Agreement
Welcome Email TemplateClient orientationClient Onboarding Welcome Email- TOC TEMPLATE
Welcome DeckClient orientationWelcome Deck - The Offsite Co.pdf
AP Welcome Email TemplateIntroduce billing processBilling Welcome Email- TOC TEMPLATE
Client Folder DirectoryWorkspace setupClient Folder Directory- TOC TEMPLATE
Event Workbook TemplatePlanning documentation[Client] Event Workbook- TOC TEMPLATE
DashboardProject visibilityDASHBOARD
Event Producer Contractor AgreementOutline contractor scope and payEP Contractor Agreement- TOC TEMPLATE
Venue Lead Contractor AgreementOutline contractor scope and payVenue Lead Contractor Agreement- TOC TEMPLATE

Execution Checklist

Contracting & Activation Execution Checklist (extracted separately)

Note: An older/superseded version of this phase hub also exists in Drive ("01 Contracting & Activation", doc id 1TgzsHX0Mg9PAo0swx0sZROpVBovzsl53wGRj3ynyaow, last modified 2026-04-08) with a slightly different structure (references "Customer Intake Form", "Gifting Tracker", onboarding gift step). Not separately extracted — flagged here for reference since it contains a few details (onboarding gift + tracker, Customer Intake Form) not present in the canonical version above.

Internal use only — The Offsite Co