Overview

Welcome to the Adoption Curve. Your guide to modern learning and enablement strategies — new stories every fortnight. Brought to you by iorad.

Today’s episode is a special collaboration with SaaS Therapy, featuring Todd Kirk, Engagement Advisor at BrainStorm Inc., and Sean Adams, CRO at iorad. Together, they explore what most SaaS vendors get wrong about value—and how to fix it.

In This Episode 

✅  Features don’t sell—outcomes do.

✅  Adoption isn't luck—it’s a strategy.

✅  Buyers care more about friction than functionality.

The Value Happens After the Sale

Background context: You can’t fake adoption. And you can’t buy loyalty. You have to earn both—with clarity, simplicity, and execution.

Todd and Sean share real-world lessons from years in SaaS—on both sides of the buyer/seller table. Their biggest insight? Most vendors stop too early. Selling the license isn’t the win. Sustained usage is.

🎤 “The metric isn’t go-live. It’s return visits, real usage, and visible results.” — Todd Kirk

Key Insight #1: Outcomes Not Options

Buyers don’t want to hear what your product could do. They want to know exactly how it will help them win.

Start with outcomes tied to business value. Build trust with examples, templates, and proof—not pitch decks.

🎤  “You could do a million things with our tool. But what people want is the 50% answer they can customize—not a blank slate.” — Sean Adams

Key Insight #2: Implementation Isn't the End

Rolling out a product isn’t the same as changing behavior. Most “adopted” tools collect dust unless teams push past initial activation.

What to do instead:

• Run short adoption sprints post-onboarding

• Use in-app prompts + “just enough” training

• Create fast win campaigns to reinforce value

 🎤 "I don’t care if it’s deployed. I care if it’s making someone better at their job.” — Todd Kirk

Free Adoption Template: The Proactive Post-Sale Playbook

The Problem: Most SaaS teams celebrate launch—but forget to enable real-world usage. The result? Low adoption, high churn, and frustrated champions.

The Solution: 

1. Map the user journey from purchase to outcome
2. List common friction points by stage (IT, training, behavior, support).
3. Build “here’s how” plays for each: templates, emails, nudges, walkthroughs.
4. Equip champions with success kits and check-in cadences.
5. Measure adoption milestones, not just access or logins.

🎤  “If they don’t use it, you didn’t really sell it. The playbook bridges that gap.” — Sean Adams

More Episodes

Get access to all the past episodes of Adoption Curve for free! Includes all downloadable workbooks and contact information for guest speakers.