The problem: implementation quality at SMB volume

Sellsy serves more than 50,000 customers across Europe. Unit economics don't support a human on every setup call. But the configuration work the customer needs to complete is identical: connecting email, setting up signatures, syncing calendars, building first templates.

"We had already invested in automated onboarding tools, but wanted to do even better," says Marie Odile Carrus, Lead Acquisition & Growth at Sellsy. "Our SMB customers needed guidance through complex configuration, but traditional approaches weren't getting them to value fast enough."

Sidney Ouarzazi, VP of Marketing, set the goal: deliver implementation-team quality to the SMB tail without expanding the team. Every day shaved off configuration directly impacted retention.

Impact

• 40% reduction in time-to-value, A/B tested against their previous solution

• +18% lift in customers reaching key implementation milestones

• 3-10x higher engagement than traditional onboarding tools

• Under one week to deploy, minimal engineering involvement

The solution: an agent that runs implementation alongside the team

Sellsy deployed Tandem in under a week. The agent sits inside the product and runs setup with each new SMB customer at signup. The implementation team stays focused on the mid-market and ETI accounts that need their direct attention.

"Tandem understands when customers actually need help," says Carrus. "It's not about forcing them through flows. It's about being there at the exact moment they're ready to configure, so they reach value faster."

The old playbook for SMB onboarding was to force every new customer through a rigid setup tour the moment they signed up. Most weren't ready. They'd skip the tour, get stuck later, then either submit a ticket or churn. Sellsy's approach with Tandem is different.

What Tandem actually does

Runs configuration with the customer

A new SMB customer signs up. Tandem offers a guided setup. If the customer accepts, the agent walks them through email connection, signature configuration, calendar sync, and template creation. Step by step, in context, with explanations at each decision point.

If the customer skips it or drops off mid-flow, Tandem doesn't keep pushing. It quietly waits.

Catches customers at the moment of intent

When the customer comes back and tries to actually use a feature, like sending their first email, Tandem reappears. "I notice you haven't set up your email signature yet. Want me to help you set it up now? Takes 30 seconds."

The configuration gets done right there, in the context of what the customer was trying to do. The implementation team doesn't need to be in the room. The customer hits their value moment.

Answers configuration questions in context

Customers ask Tandem things they would have asked an implementation manager:

• "What is a variable?" (while creating an email template)

• "Why do I need to connect my calendar?"

• "Can you help me create my first email template?"

Tandem answers in real time and keeps the customer moving. Questions that used to generate tickets get resolved before they ever leave the product.

What changed

Sellsy A/B tested Tandem against their existing automated solution. Five days of setup, then four weeks of head-to-head testing with a 50/50 traffic split.

The Tandem cohort reached value 40% faster. 18% more customers hit key implementation milestones. Setup completion rates climbed across the board.

"We went from good automation to great automation," says Carrus. "Tandem transformed implementation for our SMB tail into a genuine competitive advantage. Customers complete configuration before they ever have a chance to second-guess the product."

Three things changed for the team:

Configuration stopped being a bottleneck for the SMB segment. Customers got through setup faster, reaching the parts of the product that earn renewals sooner.

Support load dropped. Tickets on setup flows fell significantly. The team stopped answering the same configuration questions every day.

The team's focus sharpened. Implementation managers stayed focused on the mid-market and ETI accounts that need direct attention. Bandwidth that used to leak into SMB ticket-resolution shifted to the strategic work that actually grows those accounts.

What's next

With SMB implementation running on Tandem, Sellsy is expanding the agent across the product. Christophe Pecquerie, CPO at Sellsy, is leading the next initiatives:

• Feature discovery to compress time-to-value on advanced workflows

• Revenue expansion through timely upgrade prompts

• Proactive support deflection in the parts of the product that still generate tickets

"We believe in detecting customer intent and offering help at the perfect moment," says Pecquerie. "It's the future of how SaaS implementation should work. Intelligent, helpful, and relentlessly focused on getting customers to value."

The bottom line

Sellsy's implementation works because every customer gets the same quality of configuration help, regardless of which segment they're in. The mid-market gets the human team. The SMB tail gets Tandem. Both run in the product, at the right moment, for every customer. And the team built that without adding headcount.

"We went from good automation to great automation. Customers complete configuration before they ever have a chance to second-guess the product." — Marie Odile Carrus, Lead Acquisition & Growth, Sellsy