Shaju Kumar

There’s an obvious but common trap that many SDRs fall into: sticking to just one channel. Good with emails? They just email. Comfortable with calls? They just dial. Initially, it might seem efficient, but here’s the catch: the world doesn’t stand still. Think of Suresh Raina. Unstoppable on Indian pitches but often bounced out on tracks abroad. A specialist who thrived in one scenario but struggled when conditions changed. For SDRs, the story is no different. What happens when your email deliverability takes a hit? Or when you’re tasked with a new geo where calling conversions are different? The smart ones know this: adaptability wins. They invest in learning, experimenting with different channels, and building resilience across the board. Because the best SDRs aren’t just great at one thing—they’re ready for anything. So the question is: are you a specialist or a learner?

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#foodforthought Sales is not about what you want to sell. It is about what your customer wants to buy. Make the buying experience more lucrative for your customer. #sales #enterprisesales #b2bsales #buyingexperience #customer

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Connect - Rinkey Gupta Profile: - Product and Content specialist Domain – SAAS Experience: - 2-5Years Education – MBA Notice: - Immediate Joiner to 30 Days Requirement: - Develop and execute the product strategy aligned with the company's vision and business goals. · Define and prioritize product features and enhancements based on market research, customer feedback, and competitive analysis. · Create and maintain a product roadmap to ensure timely delivery of key milestones. Collaborate with cross-functional teams including engineering, design, marketing, and sales to drive product initiatives. 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬, 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐕 𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥𝟑@𝐦𝐧𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.𝐢𝐧 #ProductSpecialist #ContentSpecialist #ProductManagement #ContentCreation #ProductDevelopment #ContentStrategy #Marketing #DigitalMarketing #ContentMarketing #ProductLaunch #SEO #Copywriting #UserExperience #ContentOptimization #ContentPlanning #ProductResearch #ProductStrategy

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Customer Success Managers(CSM) are just a renamed support agent. Let's clear that up! For SaaS providers, CSMs are essential for fostering client growth and driving long-term success—not just solving immediate issues. Here’s how they add real value beyond traditional support: 1. While customer support helps with specific issues, CSMs go further by staying proactive. They don’t wait for problems to arise; instead, they regularly check in, understanding your clients’ goals and helping align the product to meet them. 2. A CSM conducts regular business reviews, showing clients exactly how your SaaS product supports their objectives. This builds a roadmap for their success and keeps them engaged and informed, preventing churn. 3. CSMs don’t just aim to solve problems—they look for growth opportunities, too. They spot where new features, upgrades, or add-ons could bring more value, creating upsell and cross-sell opportunities that benefit both your client and your bottom line. 4. With a data-driven approach, CSMs make a strong business case for each recommendation, backed by ROI and tangible benefits. They help clients make decisions confidently, ensuring long-term alignment with your SaaS solution. So, the next time you think of CSMs, think of a strategic partner will turnyour product into an indispensable asset for your clients, driving shared success, and building relationships that last. 🤔How do your CSMs currently help drive growth for your clients? Just meeting me? My name is Roseline Eleng, I help busy professionals turn their administrative challenges into strategic advantages. I help SAAS providers heighten their gains by creating unparalleled customer journeys. #customersuccess #lifelonglearning #cx #saas #customerretention #businessGrowth #TheALXEffect #FoundMyPlace

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🎙️ What is it like to be acquired? Anubhav Srivastava shares an honest, behind-the-scenes look at the acquisition journey—from mixed emotions to his unique approach to running a lean, profitable SaaS company. 💡 Key takeaway: Anubhav prioritized customer satisfaction above all else, investing $0 in sales and relying on word-of-mouth and referrals. With razor-sharp focus on profitability and SaaS margins, he turned less than $2M in capital raised into a success story. Hosted by Peter Walker, The Data Minute brings you real stories and actionable insights from leaders shaping the private market. 🎧 Full episode out today on YouTube and all podcast platforms to hear more about the power of keeping customers happy. #acquisition #founderjourney #tactyc #carta

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“What’s the point of purchasing a product if you’ll vanish right after?” Asked a CSM, Who’s wondering why some customers churn right after onboarding?🤷🏻‍♀️ Sometimes, It’s not always about the product itself but the experience they have from the very beginning—onboarding. The onboarding phase is the ‘Make-or-Break’ phase and can be likened to the popular saying, ‘First Impression Matters’. When a customer first starts using a product, they’re looking for quick wins—immediate value that solves their problems. And if the onboarding process is clunky, confusing, or overly complex, their excitement can quickly turn into frustration. Let’s do some quick imagination: Imagine a customer who just bought a new high-tech treadmill, excited to kickstart their fitness journey. They unpack it, ready to run, but there’s a problem. The setup instructions are vague, the parts are confusing, and the online support is virtually non-existent. Frustration builds, and the treadmill, full of potential, ends up collecting dust in the corner. This is what poor onboarding feels like for a customer. Just as the fictional treadmill user was ready to commit but faced hurdles, so do many customers. Their initial excitement can quickly turn to disappointment right away if they hit barriers – complex setup, poor communication or guidance, delayed time to value. And so, onboarding is a crucial first step for every CSM and every customer. Optimizing this process isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s highly essential for accelerating time to value. When customers see the benefits of your product quickly, they’re more likely to stick around. This not only improves retention rates but also turns your customers into advocates. Remember, customers purchase your product to solve a specific problem. Your goal as a Customer Success Manager is to make certain they realize that value as swiftly as possible by ensuring the onboarding process is smooth, supportive, and tailored to each customer’s needs. #CustomerSuccess #Onboarding #SaaS #B2B

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Jay Makarov : 108 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐁2𝐁 𝐒𝐚𝐚𝐒 & 432 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 How to transform your Customer Success performance from point A to point B? What are the benchmarks and how to get there? We spent 3 weeks, interviewed 10+ experts and prepared a comprehensive guide on how to measure and improve outcomes in post-sales. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 7 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 - Onboarding - Adoption - Support - Renewal - Expansion - Advocacy - Operations 𝐄𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐬 15 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: 𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔:   - Post-sales Stage   - Metric Name   - Description   - Why is it Important   - Formula   - Priority   - Frequency   - Benchmark   - Exceptions 𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 (𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑩𝑩𝑩𝑩 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒆𝒔):   - Roles responsible (CS Leader, CSM, AM, …)   - Buy (what experience and CS Archetype to hire)   - Bot (what tools to use)   - Build (how to upskill)   - Borrow (which experts to involve) We've crafted this guide for our startup Talentway, but we're excited to share and develop it with the Customer Success community. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞: 1️⃣ Just leave any comment below 2️⃣ Send me a connect request ...so I can share the link via DM 📩 #b2b #saas #CS

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Sales folks: No extra credit for being a solo hero❗ Early on when I was put on an enterprise deal, I learned that going it alone in enterprise sales (or for that matter B2B sales) is a recipe for missed opportunities. I was working on a deal with an Indian marketplace for furniture and home décor. Our initial demo call? Complete disaster. The client tore through our pitch, and I quickly realized this wasn’t a one-person job. Here’s how we turned it around: ❇ Team Up for Success: We pulled in Product, Marketing, and Operations for fresh perspectives. They pointed out blind spots We hadn’t even considered. ❇ Leadership Stepped In: Our leadership team didn’t just support, they lifted much of the weight, guiding us with strategic insights and resources to turn this deal around. ❇ Presented a Unified Solution: With everyone’s input, we refined our approach. On our follow-up call, the client saw a solution that was better aligned with their needs, and… We won the deal! 💥 Key Takeaways: ✅ Collaboration is a Winning Strategy: Product, Engineering, Marketing, and leadership have unique insights that can transform a deal. ✅ Leadership in Sales Matters: When leaders get involved, it signals commitment and brings the guidance that can make all the difference. ✅ Sales isn’t a Solo Game: The best results come when we win as a team. #SalesTeamwork #LeadershipInSales #EnterpriseSales #Collaboration

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Remembering talk tracks and selling the micro-problems for each buyer personas is the glaring problem sales folks face everyday. This is the era of buyer lead sales where needing to draw a common consensus is critical skills. In the modern sales methodology, the lack of understanding personality traits and the preferences can kill the deal. LeadLabs App curated personal-signals and Icebreakers based on the activities of prospects on LI to bring context and relevance. However, sales folks still struggled to connect the dots, map relevance and context in the messaging. We felt like abandoning the ship before it reaches to shore. LeadLabs App 2.0 was the solution sales folks needed to bring the A game. Check out the 4 mins video for a quick sneak peek and ask yourself "Would I risk not using this to increase the positive response rate?"

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Common misconceptions about RevOps – RevOps tasks only need to be done once – This one RevOps task is quick and easy – RevOps is only about increasing sales – RevOps is for large organizations – RevOps is a standalone function – RevOps is only about data analysis – RevOps is only about technology – RevOps is only about reporting – RevOps is only about data – RevOps is a cost-center What would you add? 

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Both Santosh Sharan, COO at Retention.com, and Mark Boothe, CMO at Domo, have posted something in common and concerning. They are both CXOs, and they don't answer any cold calls. However, they are both active on LinkedIn every day. As a sales rep, would you rather prospect them on LinkedIn with personalization than call them 10 times only to go unanswered, wasting time and burning your phone number reputation? It's high time sales reps know which prospects to email vs cold call vs LinkedIn. Yes, I mean channel validation. We all know a ton of tools that do email validation. PhoneVerify AI validates phone numbers, telling reps who are "Likely to Answer" the phone. LinkedIn validation. Is that a thing? Are there tools to tell if someone is active on LI or not? I am sure you all love to hear from the experts as well. I am tagging a few to share their thoughts on channel validation and any tools to validate LinkedIn. Links to Santosh Sharan and Mark Boothe's posts in the comments. Felix Frank ⚙️Jordan Crawford Michel Lieben 🧠 Matt Aird Scott Martinis Josh Norris John Welch James Hanzimanolis Tim Savage Benjamin Douablin Justin Michael Ronen R. Pessar Giulio Segantini Harris Kenny Hunter Deskin Florin Tatulea Saad Khan 🦾Eric Nowoslawski Elliott Garcia

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Comprehensive playbook for csms! Nice article by Arjun Menon !

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SDRs, We got your back! Companies who are not sure how much to pay for SDRs, let us simplify for you. Stop taking random advice from people on whatsapp group. Please download the benchmarking report from our website(Published last year) Rahul Wadhwa 🦄 paid INR 10 lacs in 2019 to a fresher SDR, he paid INR 12 lacs in 2022 with no B2B experience. Was paid 10.5 lacs in 2017(9 years ago) Good B2B SDR after 1 year experience should be atleast making 10-12 lacs fixed and with even standard 20% increase will cost you. Less Experience, Low Pay- You pay with Time and delay in GTM and impact on your pipeline #sales #sdr

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We closed Buffer! From demo to free trial to pilot phase to paid in two months! If you are in Sales, Product, Customer Success or even just work in SaaS, this is a read for YOU. How do we work with Albus clients? Here are 3 things - 1. Albus is a *very* technical product. Our customers don't understand GenAI, LLMs and their nuances. Even I am stunned every once in a while. That's why we established and *mantained* contact with Buffer. Right from day 1. Apoorv who leads many SaaS demos created a direct line for me and Kartik with Buffer after his very first call with them. This led to two great wins - (1) we discovered and fixed two bugs within a couple of hours, and (2) we inspired confidence in Buffer that we are here to make things work. This sign of trust has helped a lot. 2. Can't stress this enough - reduce friction. My friend runs products at a $200MN revenue company in Seattle, and she was asking me yesterday, "Sandeep, how do you get people to speak to you? My customer acquisition specialists have a hard time connecting me to my customers. They simply don't want to speak." The answer's been simple for us at Springworks - sit in their Slack, where they always are. Almost zero friction. Our contacts at Buffer constantly talked to us with problems, ideas and never looked away from asking for help. 3. Weekly calls. We speak to Buffer every two weeks to discuss pain points, expectations and success metrics. Kaneesha, who runs Success across SaaS products builds rapport and helps us discover new use cases across the company. That's how we plan to get adoption *across* the company.

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NPS takes back seat, when everyone gets short termed with quick revenue booking ! If you are looking for real long-term value creation, let NPS be priority north-star. This alone elevates repeat, retention, refferal rates and organic traffic.

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🚨 The Real CS Leadership Challenge: Responsibility Without Authority 🚨 One major obstacle killing Customer Success (CS) leadership is the “Responsibility-Authority Gap”. CS leaders are given big responsibilities—“Own everything about the customer experience”—but not the authority to make real change. Here’s what this looks like: 1. Onboarding & Enablement: CS is supposed to set customers up for success, but Product & Engineering decide on the features and timeline. CS can only react to what they’re given. 2. Adoption & Retention: CS is accountable for getting customers to use and love the product, but Sales often sets unrealistic expectations that CS must then deliver on. 3. Customer Experience: When issues arise, CS faces the customer. But Support and Engineering control the fixes, leaving CS without the tools to solve problems directly. 💡 Impact: This gap leaves CS teams burned out, customers unsatisfied, and companies struggling to retain talent. 📢 Message to Companies: Want true customer success? Empower CS leaders with real authority, not just responsibilities. True influence means a better experience for everyone. #CustomerSuccess #Leadership #Empowerment #SaaS #CustomerExperience #Authority

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It's tough to find the right profile for CSM hires as a company is scaling quickly. At an early stage startup, CSMs often wear multiple hats - responsible for implementation, support, QBRs, upsells, renewals, and more. As the company scales, there's a question of whether to hire more generalist CSM profiles or start specializing roles. A few thoughts on defining the right CSM profile & structure: - The Generalist Approach (Seed to Series B) Hiring CSMs with a diverse background can work well. Look for candidates that have previously juggled multiple responsibilities like: - Technical/service delivery  - Project/implementation management - Client-facing account management - Basic sales/business acumen You need CSMs that can quickly get up to speed on your product/industry, but also have the versatility to own the full customer lifecycle. We see a lot of folks with industry domain expertise being recruited into these roles. - The Segmented Approach (usually once you hit $25M ARR) You can start looking at segmenting the CSM role more: - Implementation Specialist: Focused just on flawless onboardings/launches - Renewals Manager: Nurturing expansion revenue and renewals  - Customer Success Architect: Serving as a product/technical expert Allows for deeper specialization, but obviously requires more headcount investment. Some of the soft skills you'd wanna look for include: - Process/project management - Executive presence  - Relationship building - Problem solving  - Technical aptitude As with anything else in life, there's no one size. This is just what we see most orgs doing (or trying to do).

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Hard Truths of Managing a Customer Success Team in India: Managing a Customer Success team in India is like playing cricket in monsoon – unpredictable, sometimes messy, but always interesting. Here are a few hard truths I’ve picked up along the way: 1. Expectations Are Sky-High, Budgets… Not So Much Customers often expect enterprise-level service with the budget of a chai break. You’ll find yourself delivering 5-star service while explaining (yet again) why miracles take time. 2. Contracts? What Contracts? Sometimes, contracts feel more like friendly suggestions than legal agreements. The verbal “let’s do it” often carries more weight than anything written on paper. Ever had to remind a client what they actually signed? 3. Talent Retention = Gymnastics The competition for talent is fierce, and keeping your star players is like balancing on a tightrope – one wrong move, and they’re off to the next big thing. Throw in some perks, career growth, and a culture of appreciation, and maybe, just maybe, they’ll stay longer than your last client call. 4. Work-Life Balance? We’ll Get There With 24/7 customer demands, it’s easy to lose sight of work-life balance. Add in those “urgent” client calls at odd hours, and you’ll soon understand why “weekends” in Customer Success feel more like a myth. 5. Chasing Commitments = The New Marathon Sometimes getting follow-through from customers can feel like chasing the wind. Timelines get pushed, deadlines become “guidelines,” and you find yourself running a marathon just to get a simple approval! 6. Tech Adoption? Easier Said Than Done Getting customers to adopt new technologies or processes isn’t always smooth. You’d think implementing a solution would be the hard part – nope, convincing customers to actually use it is the real challenge. 7. SaaS? More Like Saa-WHAT? The subscription model that SaaS is built on? Feels like a myth to some customers. Instead of focusing on long-term value, they’d rather treat it like a one-time purchase. Explaining the value of continuous upgrades and support? That’s a whole different conversation. 8. ROI? Nope, It’s All About Pricing The most important decisions sometimes aren’t based on ROI, but on who’s offering the lowest price. No matter how many data-backed success stories you present, the magic word is often just “discount.” In the end, these challenges keep us on our toes and make the wins even sweeter. It’s all about adapting, finding the humor in the chaos, and staying focused on driving value for our customers. What’s been the most challenging or hilarious moment you’ve faced in Customer Success? I’d love to hear your stories! #CustomerSuccess #Leadership #IndianMarket #ManagingExpectations #WorkLifeBalance #SaaSChallenges

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𝐅𝐘25 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐁𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧! 🏄‍♂️ Many CS and broader GTM teams have missed their FY24 targets, which has much to do with execution—I have seen this first-hand! 😤 That's why FY25 planning needs to be centred around execution. Execution that will not only get you kicking those FY25 targets out of the park but will also get you achieving Profitable, Efficient Growth the right way. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐨: 🌟 Get closer to your business process, data (including Product), customers and people's ways of working to ensure your customers are getting the VALUE they want and deserve so that they can renew and expand 🌟 Empower your people to bring new ideas, test and learn and own the change 🌟 New tech that will drive both in-product and out-product customer journeys, which means breaking down the silos and working cross-functionally with Product, Marketing and Sales 🌟 Executing in a structured approach focusing on the problem, testing and learning, implementation and moving into continuous improvement before moving on to the next initiative. 🌟 Coaching and mentoring your people through change 𝐄𝐗𝐄𝐂𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 is what will bring you success in FY25 📈 If you need help with execution, let's talk 👊 ! #execution #fy25 #operationalexcellence #workflowautomation #ai #currentstate #silos #collaboration #customerjourney #customercentric #peoplefirst #coaching #mentoring #change #leadership #handson #revenuegrowthfy25 #gtm #peg

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