Customer Success Executive | Delivering Growth through Renewals, Engagement, & Long-Term Loyalty
What do you look for in a Customer Success Manager hire? I get asked this question a lot, and my answer is always the same: It depends. What kind of company am I hiring for? How is the CS team incentivized? What are the goals of the organization as a whole? In my view, there is a CSM skillset spectrum with "pure problem solver" on one end and "salesperson" on the other. In today’s world, we’re seeing more CSMs closer to the sales end of that spectrum being hired - that’s the reality of where we are. In SaaS, we’re focused on maximizing revenue, and getting renewals isn’t enough. We need to sell more, and what better place to do that than with our existing customers? However, there is still a strong need for hands-on, subject matter experts who love nothing more than to help a customer solve a problem or get something done quickly. Companies that assign the responsibility of upselling to a different team, or perhaps to the original salesperson who made the deal, are still out there, and the "helpers" still have a home. At the end of the day, every company is different and usually falls somewhere on this spectrum. As a hiring manager, you have to look for a mix of skills based on where your company is on this spectrum. The most important thing is to have this understanding from the top down. Alignment on "who we are" is crucial. The last thing you want is to hire a team of helpers when, in reality, you have a boss and executive team focused on revenue growth. Where is your team on this spectrum? Is it aligned with where your executive team thinks it should be?
Entrepreneur, Owner Little Hands Academy
5moEmotional intelligence