We looked at the behaviors of users who converted. One thing stood out: trialers who booked a session within their first 7 days converted at over 80 percent. Seemed promising. But when we looked closer, that signal fell apart. These weren't new clinicians. They already had active practices and were testing us with real clients. It was survivorship bias.
That forced us to rethink how we measured early value. Instead of looking at final actions like booking, we mapped the entire trial journey and looked for repeatable steps that correlated with conversion before a client ever showed up.
After digging through 90 days of onboarding data and user interviews, working closely with our data science team and marketing analytics, three patterns stood out. Trialers who did all three were much more likely to convert:
Basic information that helped them feel established, even before their first client.
Gave structure to their client interactions and helped them prepare for sessions.
Deep dive into this project hereOne-click publish that made them look professional to potential clients.
Each of these gave structure to their business, even if they weren't seeing clients yet. It wasn't about pushing users faster. It was about helping them feel like a real practice.
We focused the flow around those actions. Min-maxing high value actions while ensuring we got out of the clinician’s way and let them do what they do best: help patients.
We ran an A/B test on ~12,000 trialers. The control group kept the old checklist. The test group got the new flow.
Old checklist approach
Guided setup flow
We measured impact using logged product events, changes in survey responses, and tagged support issues. We ran significance testing to confirm each result before reporting it. These numbers shaped pricing strategy and onboarding headcount. All metrics were pulled directly from our data stack and validated by the product and marketing data teams.
Before rebuilding onboarding, we ran structured research across both quantitative and qualitative channels. The goal was to understand not just what users did, but why they hesitated.
"What's stopping you from creating your first appointment?"
12 moderated interviews (45–60 min each) with new solo practitioners who signed up but didn't create an appointment
Mix of therapists, counselors, and social workers, mostly early-career or launching a private practice
We surfaced the right forms earlier, previewed what clients would see, made the experience linear without being rigid, and built subtle safeguards into the process.
The changes gave new clinicians a clearer path. Within 30 days, more felt in control, understood the platform, and used it with confidence.
Time to first appointment dropped by 50%, from 6.4 days to just over 3. This helped trialers reach a moment of clarity: "This platform works."
NPS among new users climbed from 30 to 65 in 90 days. We weren't just converting more—we were creating advocates.
I specialize in product-led growth strategies that drive real conversion improvements. Let's discuss how systematic experimentation and user-focused design can unlock your product's potential.
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