Kaleb Medel

CSM, get out of the hamster wheel before you burn out. ❌ Stop fire-fighting ❌ Stop with check-in calls ❌ Stop reacting to your inbox ❌ Stop taking support queries ❌ Stop ineffective repetitive tasks ❌ Stop solving for this month's number ❌ Stop emailing unresponsive contacts ❌ Stop only prioritising in-month renewals ❌ Stop manually doing what should be automated A ton of hard work. Very little to show for it. You'll never get out of the rat race if you keep working this way. Here's a different and better way of CSM-ing: ✅ Establish your customers' expected outcomes ✅ Build a Success Plan from day one ✅ Ensure they have the right set-up ✅ Hold customers accountable ✅ Report on and share results ✅ Ask if they intend to renew ✅ Monitor leading indicators ✅ Pick up the phone ✅ Multi-thread Proactive, strategic and consultative. 1000x better. If reading this makes you feel ashamed because you don't know where to start or overwhelmed because your current work situation is too chaotic to create the time for this, you're not alone. Thousands of CSMs feel exactly the same way. I know what you're thinking: -> You can't afford to stop right now -> You don't have time to make changes -> You only need to weather the storm and things will get better I've been there too. But these are the excuses that are holding you back. Nobody is coming to save you. You need to save yourself. So here's my advice: 🛑 Stop everything 🛑 Book 2 days "OOO" in your calendar. And do these 3 exercises: 1- Create a Calendar Blueprint: Set up a separate calendar from your current one. You'll use this to design a new calendar blueprint for yourself. You should add every single thing you need to do proactively in this calendar, it's the baseline for you to start changing the make-up of your working day. 📆 I'll link the one I designed for CSMs in the comments. 2- Book of Business Review: Do a full review of your customers and place them into one of the 4 buckets of priority. This way you can decide which customers to pay attention to and which ones to de-prioritise at this time. 🧰 Engagement prioritisation framework linked in the comments. 3- Calendar Planning Book or delete meetings based on customers you need to prioritise over the coming 6-8 weeks. Craft unique messages to send to these customers with compelling reasons why they should attend. 🤖 Use the T.A.V.U method I shared in the newsletter a few weeks ago + ChatGPT can help you be efficient here. Do these 3 things and I promise you that you'll: - get better results - transform your work-life - improve your mental health Create the space. 📥 If you're interested in improving your Customer Success skills, consider joining 10k+ CS Professionals who read my weekly newsletter on how to build and scale a CS Team [sign up in the comments section]. #csm #customersuccess #customerexperience #revops #saas

554

61 Comments

Love these tips from Daphne to stop CSM’s being reactive and start being proactive

9

1 Comment

What the heck does being "a strategic CSM" mean? Let's decode it together. 🧐 Vague job descriptions and generic training often leave us with buzzwords like "strategic advisor." But without practical steps, this advice is unhelpful. Let’s break "strategic" down into 7 actionable components: 1. Understand Your Customer’s Goals. Know why they bought your product and how it benefits their business. 2. Connect Goals to Your Solution Guide them on using your product to achieve their objectives. 3. Drive Adoption and Change New systems require new habits. Help your customers adapt smoothly. 4. Communicate Persuasively Influence action by speaking in a way that resonates with your customers. 5. Create Win-Win Scenarios Balance your company's needs with those of the customer. 6. Prioritise Effectively Invest your time where it yields the best returns. 7. Multi-threading Establish connections with multiple contacts at different levels within the customer’s organisation. Master these 7 skills and you won’t just be "strategic. You'll be a top-performing CSM, advancing your career and boosting your earnings. Ready to elevate your CSM game? 🚀 Join 11K+ Customer Success Professionals who read my weekly newsletter for insights on building and scaling a CS team. 📩 [Sign up in the comments] #csm #customersuccess #customerexperience #CX #revops

511

40 Comments

Stop settling for bad CS jobs—ask these questions! Just because they say it’s CS doesn’t mean it is. Last week, I interviewed a CSM currently at a startup that does everything wrong when it comes to CS. Everything, we talk about here on LI every day until we're sick of it 🤢 This CSM was desperate for a way out, but afraid to quit because of the shaky job market. 😬 Sound familiar? My skin crawls knowing that in 2024, companies like this still exist. But here’s the harsh reality: they do. Some companies out there are posting CS roles that are support positions disguised as something they’re not. They talk a big game, act like they’ve got a "well-oiled" CS department, but behind the scenes? 🚨 It's a chaotic mess.🚨 𝗧𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗻𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲: ✋🏽 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗱! You deserve better. You deserve to work for a company that respects CS and sets you up for success, not failure. Here’s the good news: not every company is like that. ✅ There are CEOs and leaders who “get” Customer Success. 🙌🏽 To you, I say: THANK YOU! Your efforts are what’s driving this industry forward. You understand that CS isn’t just a “nice-to-have,” it’s a business growth engine. ❌ To those that don't? Well, you’re not just hurting your company; you’re damaging your brand and reputation. But let's get back to YOU, the job seeker. You don’t have to fall into this trap again. 👇🏽 Here are some questions you can ask during your next interview to suss out if a company knows their stuff: How many accounts does a CSM handle? • Who does the CS team report to? • How do you invest in the growth of your CS team? • How does CS, Product, and Engineering collaborate? • How does your company define the role of Customer Success? • What happens when a customer isn’t a good fit for your product? • What indicator do you look at to see that your CS team is performing? • Give an example of how a CSM helped shape or influence company strategy? • Describe a time when CS had to push back on Sales for overpromising to a customer? • What’s your customer churn rate, and what’s being done to improve it? • How are customer feedback and issues escalated and resolved? • Walk me through your CS process from onboarding to retention? • What tools are in place to support the CS team’s work? • What is the average tenure of a CS team member? • How do you measure the success of your CSMs? Ask these, and you'll quickly know if you're walking into a well-structured CS department or a dumpster fire. 🚒🔥 👉🏽 What’s the worst CS experience you’ve ever had at a company? What other questions can you ask to test the CS maturity level? Drop it in the comments! #customersuccess #saas #startups #careercoaching  #CS #CSM #SuccessHacks #customersuccessmanager #lessonsfromanewvp  

88

11 Comments

People that care about UX and productivity for sales people: SDR Managers (god bless you wonderful folks). I do find that most direct managers in Sales aren't polling their employees--especially AE's to find out what's not working, what they are putting up with and not complaining about. There are tons of tools that sales folks are buying on their own dime like Scratchpad, Superhuman, etc. We all care about "giving developers the right tools to stay in flow".. but your revenue team? Sure, leaders need our forecasting tools and enablement systems (maybe)--but ask your team "what sucks about this CRM layout, how does thing work on your mobile device, what things are getting in your way, how much time do you spend clicking around poorly designed tooling interfaces---and what would move the needle for you". As an AE-centric leader, i'm working to put things in place that sure--make folks more productive--but that they don't hate using. What say you? whats sucks in your world? what tools do you buy on your own to deal with your day? or even how should the world work for a day-to-day SDR/AE/Account Manager, etc

18

6 Comments

Oliver got laid off in January, lost a 6 figure CSM job, a role we put him in. But then: We got him a 6 figure CSM role (again) within 3 months. Here’s how: Oliver was a former client of mine. 10 months ago we worked to get him a CSM role. He got the dream gig: -Remote -6 Figures -Cool company The things dreams are made of. But this ended in January 2024. He called me while I was walking on a beach in Mexico. “dude I need you again, we all got laid off today” It was time to go to work. So we sounded the FIRE framework alarm. And got moving. -Updated his resume with newest accomplishments. -Talked through his recent stories and success. -Collaborated on 5 different task assignments. -Got his confidence back The rejections came flooding in. But this is part of the game. Oliver knew this and he’s built up the resilience to keep going So like we always do, we keep it moving. -Auto applying -Submit resume daily -No networking antics (do people still believe that?) Then we did it. We got a job offer. But it wasn’t the money we wanted. Why settle? So we kept looking. Then it came. From a SaaS company EVERYONE knows He got it again: -The remote role -The 6 figures -The unlimited PTO -The day 1 benefits. 3 months from start to finish. I’m grateful we were able to do this once again with Oliver. P.S. if you're trying to land a CSM role but: you're not getting any interviews you're not able get the offer you're getting overlooked you're sick of networking And you're ready to invest $ and take action. DM me "CSM" and I'll get you details ASAP. P.P.S: I now have 24 month payment plans for USA and Canadian clients.

113

8 Comments

🕒 A Day in the Life of a CSM (Because We Make It Look Easy... But It’s Not) 8:00 AM – Inbox Battle Royale Wake to a burn fire. Reply to emails. Respond to the same question… for the 5th time this month. ("Yes, you can find that in the Help Center!"). Inbox zero? Not even close. 9:00 AM – Firefighter Mode Urgent escalation. The customer suddenly remembers their renewal is next week, and now it’s an “emergency.” Cue panic mode. Remember to breath! 10:00 AM – 3rd Internal Meeting of the Day Discuss KPIs and dashboards with teams that use a completely different set of metrics. Translation mode: activated. 11:00 AM – Reporting Overload Your CRM is somehow missing 50% of the data you need. The spreadsheet is missing the other 50%. Guess who's combining them manually? 12:00 PM – Lunch... or Not You thought you had 30 minutes to eat. Wrong. Surprise meeting with the product team to discuss why Feature X isn’t working for customers in 3 different time zones. Bye, sandwich 🥪. 1:00 PM – Customer Sync Call Walk the customer through a roadmap that’s 90% wishlist and 10% reality. Smile and nod while they ask for features that won’t be released until 2027. 2:00 PM – CRM Admin Black Hole Update your customer records, health scores, and next steps. Find out half the data is outdated, and none of it matches what your customer actually said on the call. 3:00 PM – Renewal Strategy Meeting Plot the customer’s renewal. Build a case for expansion. Then find out they’ve been secretly trialling a competitor for weeks. Fun times. 4:00 PM – Post-Fire Drill Damage Control The customer escalation from 9 AM? Still on fire 🔥. You're now a therapist, product expert, and contract negotiator all at once. 5:00 PM – Last-Minute Follow-Ups Send out 3 follow-up emails, fix a PowerPoint deck, and add 6 more tasks to tomorrow’s to-do list. Oh, and you’ll still have to smile while doing it all again. It’s 8 hours of chaos, spreadsheets, and deep breaths—and somehow, we still make it look easy. 😅 Ready for a better way of CSM-ing? 🚀 Join 11K+ Customer Success Professionals who read my weekly newsletter for insights on how to skip the rat race and focus on delivering value for customers. [link below] #DayInTheLife #CSM #RevOps #CustomerSuccess #CustomerRetention

397

49 Comments

I couldn’t agree more with this post, and its painful truth highlights a critical issue: the widespread misconception between Customer Service and Customer Success. This misunderstanding is a common organizational misstep that can significantly harm the customer experience. Every moment spent firefighting, resolving overpromised commitments made during the sales cycle, acting as a customer support representative, or addressing churn that is already far advanced, detracts from the true purpose and value of a Customer Success Manager (CSM). These distractions prevent CSMs from focusing on their primary role: driving growth and maximizing the customer’s success with the product or service. If your perception of your CSM team is simply that they "talk to customers and keep them happy," you are undervaluing and underutilizing their potential. This mindset not only hinders your team's effectiveness but also impacts both the company and the customer experience. CSMs should not be bogged down with manual or miscellaneous tasks. Instead, they should be empowered as subject matter experts and product specialists. Misplaced focus on low-value activities leads to missed opportunities for growth and improvement. Supporting and developing a CSM team that exemplifies the true characteristics of the role will naturally reduce the need for reactive tasks. Organizations must shift away from a "cart before the horse" mentality, where immediate issues overshadow the long-term strategic purpose of Customer Success. By prioritizing and properly supporting the team responsible for shaping the customer experience, businesses can create a ripple effect of positive outcomes across the organization.

14

Even if you’re not a CSM, you probably have a lot of meetings on your plate. 😅 As a Customer Success Manager, I’m often juggling kickoffs, trainings, internal meetings, etc. Thankfully, early in my career, I discovered that color-coding my calendar was a game changer. At a glance, I can easily see how my time is spread out each week and the prep time needed to be successful for each call. If you're using Outlook, it's easy to set up. Just right-click, create a new category, and assign a color to different meeting types. Keep repeating this until you have a color key for your various meetings. And if you find this tip helpful, thank my buddy Romina P. who inspired this post! 😜❣️

3

If I had a magic wand as a CSM, here’s what I’d do: I’d make all the filters in our relationships disappear—both with customers and internal teams. If you don’t understand what your customers are saying, tell them. If your customers aren’t doing the right thing, let them know. If your product isn’t adding value, they should feel free to tell you. If your knowledge about the product or industry is lacking, they should be able to point it out. Honest and candid conversations show that you care about the team and the people involved. That’s why you’re being straightforward instead of leaving things unsaid. Do you practice candor in your daily work? How do you do it? I’d love to hear your thoughts. ------------------ ▶️ Want to see more content like this and also connect with other CS & SaaS enthusiasts? You should join Tidbits. We do short round-ups a few times a week to help you learn what it takes to be a top-notch customer success professional. Join 1591+ community members! 💥 [link in the comments section]

34

5 Comments

Last month, my CSM client (almost) got job scammed on LinkedIn -3 rounds of interviews -Negotiated her salary -Felt so excited But something was off. They wanted her passport. What employer asks for a passport? The scammers screwed up, thankfully. This is why I tell people to be cautious Use a job board that is vetted with verified roles and companies and updated often. That’s why I created the No BS CSM Job Boards: -Updated Daily -Can search by company -Jobs are directly from company pages -USA, Canada, and UK -Remote, Hybrid, and In-person roles. It costs less than A Big Mac Meal (and it won’t kill you) Get it here: https://lnkd.in/dUYXuMYG

43

8 Comments

😇 New CSM: I say yes to every request from my accounts because that is what it means to be a good CSM. 🙃 Intermediate CSM: I will diplomatically avoid saying no by framing negatives as positives to help my customer sentiment. 😎 Experienced CSM: I get invited to calls by other CSMs just to tell clients ‘No’ to their faces. Your clients can handle a ‘no’. What they don’t like is a ‘no, and here is why I won’t do anything about it.’ Or ‘no, and I am not willing to explore other solutions with you’. You have to be willing to say no to some things to get to the things that are worth doing. As your colleagues in sales are fond of saying, no isn’t the end of a conversation, it’s the start of one. Which CSM are you?

2

Underrated CSM Skill: Internal Collaborator 🤝 Aka: willing to think beyond just the CSM perspective. We all agree that customers' success (and the company's for that matter) relies on way more than the Customer Success team. And the best CSMs and CS leaders know how to operationalize that fact by being strong internal collaborators. They don't just look out for what the Customer Success team is accountable for or able to influence. They expand their horizons and look at the big picture of how other teams influence customer outcomes. And when they see those other teams as real people and vital to customers' success, they're willing to collaborate with other teams even on things that don't immediately "benefit" Customer Success but help the big picture of the company. Doing this leads to stronger outcomes for customers. And bonus points? It also makes the CS team more pleasant to work with and more likely to be able to call in favors from other teams as well. How do teams practically get better at collaborating? How can you improve in this area 1. ASK It sounds super obvious, but a great starting point is to ask other teams if there's something they're working on that your team can help move the needle on. You don't know what you don't know, so starting a conversation is one of the best ways to learn. 2. CAN I MENTALITY We often operate professionally with a "Must I" mentality that asks if we have to do certain things. "That's not Customer Success's job" "I don't think that's in my KPIs" etc. Now let me be clear: healthy boundaries and clear delineation of responsibilities are EXTREMELY important. If you've got a coworker or company trying to take advantage of you or just playing hot potato and the blame game, that isn't healthy. And that absolutely should be addressed. But when you're in a healthy culture, adopting a "Can I" mentality carries you far with internal collaboration. You begin to approach challenges with curiosity and ask "Can I be a part of improving outcomes?" instead of "Must I be a part of this?" That sort of curiosity builds towards a type of collaboration that strengthens teams, and leads to stronger outcomes. ________________________________ Don't be the CSM or CS team that is only focused on your small niche of the business. That's a good way to miss out on growth opportunities and limit customer outcomes. But I want to hear from you! How do you go about improving internal collaboration on your teams? #CustomerSuccess #Collaboration #Leadership

84

17 Comments

The biggest reason you aren’t getting CSM job interviews: Your resume, linkedin, and cover letter. 3 more reasons you’re not getting interviews: 1. You aren’t telling the company WHY you are valuable to them.     2. You also aren’t even showing off everything you’ve accomplished in your career.     3. You haven’t shown how you were valuable to your last employer Every single client i’ve worked with gets: -A hand-written customized resume -A cover letter -LinkedIn Feedback This is done by a 10 year SaaS tech recruiter (not outsourced to a resume company like some “others” 🫢) The results? 75+ people have secured roles using our 1 method that WORKS. And I'm tired of keeping this method a secret. So I had a thought... I'm thinking of hosting a group training session on Zoom next week and sharing all my secrets. And we’re giving it all to you. We'll cover: • All the insider tips/ tricks for crafting an ATS resume • What recruiters want to see (and hear) on a resume • The biggest resume mistakes that drive recruiters nuts • What a cover letter should and should not be • Why your LinkedIn is critical to success You’ll also get personalised feedback on your resume, my CSM resume, and a few other goodies we’re working on. If you're interested, DM me now with the code word "ATS". I'm only going to do it if I get 10 people interested, so I'll let the audience decide. This could be the turning point that takes your CSM job hunt to the next level. Ready to smash those resumes out of the park? Let me know in the DM’s.

25

16 Comments

What's a fair salary for a CSM? Last week Noah Little blew the CS corner of the internet with a hot take that CSMs should be paid like sales reps. Needless to say, when it comes to money, the more the merrier. 🤑 But should CSMs and Sales Reps be paid in the same "structure"? Probably not... Different roles and different tasks, therefore different comp structures. So instead of comparing ourselves to sales, we need to be able to: 1- compare ourselves to the rest of the industry 2- align the comp of the CSM to the revenue it generates That's how we fight for more of the pie. The issue is that if you are in Europe, it's really hard to get good salary data to even start this process. That's why I partnered with some of the top CS brands in Europe to collate a survey that helps us understand our local salary landscape. The report will help: - Leaders design fair and equitable compensation packages - CS Professionals benchmark their offers and salaries Link to answer the survey is in the comments section! #csm #customersuccess #salary #compensation #growthmindset

109

9 Comments

How Dave, an underpaid CSM secured a remote CSM role in 3 weeks (without networking): Dave was a: • Underpaid CSM • Told there was no $ to get a raise • Fighting fires instead of giving value So he started to look for his next CSM role. But things were tough. He hadn’t interviewed in years His resume was a complete mess He didn’t know the market of 2024 So he reached out and we got to work with the F.I.R.E Framework 🔥: 1. Leveraged my 2 job boards to conserve energy 2. Used an automated apply tool to apply for him 3. New resume written by a tech SaaS recruiter 4. Overhauled his LinkedIn to stand out 5. New cover letter to be concise 6. My 10 task assignments 7. My 20 QBR templates 8. A new mindset It didn’t take long for him to get traction. One of my fastest clients to date. Typically it takes 2-3 months. He did it in 3 weeks! He got what he was looking for. • 95K role • Remote Job • Bonus payout • Growth opportunities • Build out the CSM organization Grateful I was able to help Dave get to where he wanted to go. So if you are a CSM who: • Want to find their next CSM job • Think networking is a waste of time • No growth at your current company • Unable to gain traction in this job market • Want help from an enterprise CSM and Tech SaaS recruiter • Need guidance from someone who’s helped 83 CSM’s find their next role Fill out my application form in my featured section and we’ll see if we’re a fit to work together. Or, you can DM me the word “DAVE” 2/4 spots in September left.

276

81 Comments

How I deal with CSM job hunting when it feels lonely AF: We go through a loop that looks like: I check job alerts. I send in applications. I check my email I check job alerts. I send in applications. I check my email But I felt alone. (And it might be your current reality). The only thing this lonely place confirms for you is: • You’re actually stuck in isolation • Which triggers more negative thoughts • That feeds back into a spiral of discouragement … and you’re back in the loop. There are 2 ways you can go about it: A/ Keep going at it solo Scroll LinkedIn, get lost in a sea of layoffs, RIFs, and return-to-office demands, all while telling yourself to push harder despite feeling overwhelmed. (You’re fighting the battle alone, and you know it.) B/ What’s worked for me 1/ Just fcking accept my situation (emotionally).* I had to face the fact that job hunting is isolating. It felt lonely, even with support. So instead of ignoring that feeling, I leaned into it and let myself fully feel it. Running away just made things worse. Facing it helped me see it for what it was, without letting it drag me down. 2/ Create a new environment of support From that place, I knew I needed something different. That’s when I built the Success Squad, a space where positivity thrives and job seekers encourage one another. If you’re surrounded by negativity, create or find a space where people lift each other up instead of dragging each other down. That's what I did. In a community like the Success Squad, you surround yourself with energy that moves you forward. You stop acting from a place of isolation and start building momentum through collective support. I’m no guru, or Top 100 CSM Influencer... But if you take these steps, you’ll kick loneliness out the door and replace it with a real sense of progress. Whether you seek a job, encouragement, or clarity, the steps are the same. Follow 1 & 2, and don’t walk this path alone. We have three spots left for October in the Success Squad. If you’re tired of going at it solo, check out my featured section in my profile to sign up to get your next CSM job.

363

165 Comments

Every CSM has that ONE customer. The one you KNOW could succeed... If only they had the right resources. Here's what their reality looks like: → Their implementation team is stretched thin → Their engineers have other top priorities → Their budget was cut last quarter → Their admin is doing 3 other jobs → They can't hire a data scientist → Their champion just left Fast forward nine months. Still no working system. Renewal is only three months away. What’s a CSM to do? Here’s your action plan: 1️⃣ Remind them of their initial vision: “In April, you aimed to boost marketing leads to sales by 20%.” 2️⃣ Seek confirmation: “Is this still a priority?” 3️⃣ Address current challenges: “We planned to launch three initiatives: Social Media, a newsletter, and dynamic forms. None have taken off.” 4️⃣ Identify gaps: “Without in-house content creation, execution will continue to stall.” 5️⃣ Offer solutions: “Many clients face this. Partnering with an agency could fill the gap. Are you open to exploring this?” A yes" can be a breakthrough. A "no" opens new paths, like prioritising one initiative. Either way, it's a win. So don't avoid this conversation just because it's highlighting gaps in usage and value. This is what true leadership looks like! - 🤔 Got a resource-strapped customer? Join 12.5K CS professionals learning how to engineer success by subscribing to my newsletter today. (link below) #CustomerSuccess #RevOps #CustomerExperience #CSM #SaaS

216

19 Comments