Haydar Al-Saad’s Post

I've managed 100s of #CSMs over the years. Here are 10 things I would do if I was a CSM today: 1️⃣ Make sure I work somewhere where I have revenue responsibility (GRR, NRR). CS is becoming the revenue engine, work somewhere that views it that way and where you can be part of the journey and impact. 2️⃣ Have a portfolio plan for the year, quota plan for the quarter, pacing plan for the month, and execution plan for the week. A good CSM is strategic, which does not only mean in how they communicate customer-value, but also how they run their own work. Analyze, plan, execute. 3️⃣ Segment my portfolio so I can allocate my time, resources and focus accordingly and with intention. Don't get lost in running to the fires or after the loudest (internal or external) voice. Understand your business (portfolio) and work on the right customers, the right way and at the right time. 4️⃣ Have a clear idea of my career plan so I can communicate that to and with my manager, and have a mutual plan to achieve it. Crystalize your career plan and potential steps so you both have something to work towards and know what skills to develop to be ready when it is your time. 5️⃣ Map out my internal stakeholders and build deeper relationships so I can maximize the impact I can have for my customers & myself. You will not be at your best in a silo. Create relationship outside your CS team, vid #RevOps, #Sales, #Product, #leadership etc. It will serve you well. 6️⃣ Listen to a lot of podcasts and read a lot of books about business and the spaces I and my customers operate in. Educate yourself. Not just about your role or CS, but also about business in general, your industry and the main ones of your top customers. 7️⃣ Join communities like CxXchange, Customer Success Collective, Gain Grow Retain to surround myself with other perspectives. Learn from others outside of your own organization. More and broader perspectives will only help you accelerate your learnings & skills. 8️⃣ Proactively help my fellow CSMs to be viewed as an internal resource and value-add. This will help you create trust and buy-in from your colleagues, which will serve you and the team well in both the short and long run. 9️⃣ Be proactive and intentional about finding ways to be a positive culture impact on my team. Whenever you take that next step, maybe into management, being a great teammate and a cultural pillar will only help you succeed. 🔟 Learn and understand how everything in CS is connected and impacts each other. Everything in CS is connected, and when you figure out that Rubik's Cube, you are well on your way to mastering CS. What else would you CSM and CS exports add? *** 🛎️ If you enjoy my content, follow me for more ♻️ Repost to share with your network #CSM #customersuccess #accountmanagement #b2b #saas #revsetter

It’s great to see another CEO that is so intune with CSMs and the impact their role has. I think 1️⃣ is so important. Too many companies I talk with overlook this and it’s detrimental to their end of year numbers. Setting up a retention comp. plan can not only be extremely motivating but also provide tangible deliverable expectations for everyone. #csm #saas #b2b #customersuccess

IT'S MAYYY!!💐 This week's article is from CS Insider Contributor Arjun Menon who shares "What to Do When You Don't Know What to Do as a CSM."❓❓❓ This is all perfectly fine, and it's going to be ok! Arjun shares that the trick here isn't about having all the right answers, it's about how you handle the questions you can't answer right away.🤔 Arjun will provide you with actionable strategies (10) to help navigate your role's complexities confidently. Get comfortable being uncomfortable, stay curious, and turn every customer challenge into an opportunity for growth!🙌 Click on the below article link to grab the secret sauce for being an exceptional CSM. Discover how you can master this art! You got this! 👏 Check out Arjun's article here 👉 https://lnkd.in/exGCjDx5 #customersuccess #csm #growth #productivity

For years now we have all been reading on what the ideal Customer Success role should be, what a CSM should & shouldn't do. But let's get real - it is next to impossible to do these things we read & hear as a Customer Success Manager. Most designations just have "Manager" to manage the chaos, but without any real manager authority to make changes. Perhaps we should be called Success Firefighters instead! It is even more difficult to be "strategic/ proactive" when everything & everyone around you screams "tactics", you are constantly expected to "manage", and are always expected to "collaborate". In all this chaos the real role gets lost, sometimes it gets defined incorrectly or worse most don't even bother to define it! Cause well what's the point?! KPI metrics on the other hand are easy. Just add a base of GRR & NRR, for the seasoning some NPS & CSAT & garnish it with reviews & success stories. The CSMs are doomed because these amazing blanket metrics now cover everything in the organization! So basically if a CSM has to excel - they just need to start marketing, selling, implementing, supporting, creating success strategies, building the right product ...etc. That's all! (I suggest opening a tea stall instead - more control, peace of mind & even money!) Anything breaks in the customer flow, it falls directly on the CSM's head like a hot boiling pot of oil, either today or tomorrow. CSMs cannot change this - some things are Top Down. Till the organization's leadership/ management change, nothing will. But I have a small hack for CSMs - ask questions, get clarity from all stakeholders. This will at least give you the visibility of what is the real protein & what is just a decorative flower on the plate. Instead of thinking WHAT think WHY for everything you do. Keep asking the WHY till you reach the root cause. Ensure you communicate & document the root cause to all relevant stakeholders. P.S. Don't blame me for all the food examples, just watching a reality culinary show on Netflix! Block 1:1 https://lnkd.in/gjQxGq7f for coaching/mentoring or guidance on structuring CS playbooks/ team/ tech. in your org. #Collaboration #CustomerSuccess #B2B #SaaS #RASCI #CSM #Responsibility #Accountability #Challenges #RoleClarity #CSLeaders #Founders #CustomerSuccessManager

How you introduce yourself as a CSM can set unrealistic expectations. Here's why: Intros seem so damn simple and innocent. At first glance, nothing seems off with saying something like: "Hi, my name is Diana, and I'm your CSM. If you need anything, I'm your go-to person." But there's a lot that's unclear here and would leave a client feeling confused: ❌ What exactly is a "CSM"? We all know CS is different from company to company, so what does a CSM do at your company? And we're also assuming here that the stakeholder has worked with a CSM before. ❌ What qualifies as "anything"? This one here can be incredibly harmful to the relationship. "Anything" is broad, and because of that, you're putting the responsibility on the client to fill in the blanks about what it means, which results in them making assumptions. A perfect example is the support questions hitting your inbox even though there's a support team. --- Let's clarify what we do so that we set proper expectations and don't leave our clients guessing. ✅ What do you do as a CSM? ✅ How are you different from other teams they'll be working with? ✅ What can they expect going forward with you? I left you an intro template you can swipe – make it yours! --- I'd love to hear from you, CSMs. What do you include in your intros with clients? Let's learn from each other! -- #Customersuccess #csm P.S. If you like this type of content, you'll also enjoy my newsletter, Evolve 😎 check it out!

Stuck Services One of the hardest things to do is improve a service whilst it is still open for business and drowning in customer and workforce issues. Often there is no change capacity, expertise, confidence or additional resources. I have also found that the service lead frequently cannot imagine a way out and even seems to resist change, despite being hard-working people with integrity. Attempts to break the status quo typically include performance management, blaming the workforce, increasing resources, new IT, coaching, restructuring and sometimes capability discussions. Yet the service performance stubbornly doesn’t improve. It is not easy at all, but it is possible with people who have been through this before and have the experience and expertise. Using approaches like double-loop learning that challenge the logic and thinking that underpin your decision-making. Whether it’s me or other passionate management consultants, think about trying something different and don’t let a good crisis go to waste!

My Dear #CCOs, There are 3 things you can do daily to improve your team's performance. 1. Personalized Check-ins: Connect with each team member daily, not just to assign tasks, but to understand their motivations, challenges, and aspirations. This personal touch fosters trust, boosts morale, and fuels productivity. 2. Embrace Continuous Learning: Make learning a daily priority for yourself and your team. Stay updated on industry trends and technologies. Encourage your team to learn daily, fostering adaptability and excellence. 3. Cultivate a Growth Mindset: Encourage your team to embrace challenges, learn from failures, and continuously improve.Cultivate a culture of resilience and innovation for exceptional results. Until next time, share what you are doing. What's working for you and what's not working? ……………………………………. First time seeing my posts? I’m on a mission to empower Customer Success. I post regularly about: ✅ Proactive Customer Success Mindset ✅ Customer Success Leadership ✅ Ways to Improve CS Operations 🔔Hit the bell to not miss a post 👩🏽🏫Want to improve your CS operations?- click the link in my profile #cco  #customersuccess #customerretention

If you’re a CS leader in 2024, you’ve probably spotted signs of stress among your CSMs over the last 24 months. You might be feeling the pressure too. Take a breath, and get to know: 🔎 Where you can make the biggest difference as a manager. 🧭 Why you need to tackle priorities before productivity. 💪 How to encourage your team when things don’t go their way. https://lnkd.in/eN2qNybV

To-Do vs. Today List ⏳ Time management is the hardest thing to do as a CSM. It is something every single one of my coachees comes to me for help on. To be more strategic, unlock revenue from your customers, and keep increasing your NRR, you need to manage your time well. You will need to strategically decide which customers to help first or which meetings take priority. 🙅♀️ This is no easy task. 🎟 This is why I share my tips, tricks, and best practices on how to set up priorities as a CSM to unlock revenue. I am going to be hosting a FREE 1-hour masterclass webinar in 2 weeks (sign up for the waitlist in the comments) where I feature my biggest secret on managing your time as a CSM so that you can spend your limited energy on the tasks that generate revenue. ☀ I always start my day with my today list. Just to be clear, I have a todo list, but it is a totally different list. My today list is everything in my calendar for the day but also everything I plan on tackling that day to move the needle forward with my customers. This list is not everything that I have to accomplish to be successful in my role as a CSM, but rather a list of what needs to be done today to unlock revenue. The key tip here - this list is always focused on revenue. 🔪 I have multiple lists, but this is the one I brutally triage to make sure I focus on what is needed for the day. ✍ My secret tip, I physically write down my today's list with pen and paper. Yes, I have it saved digitally, but there is a proven science that when you write something down you are more likely to do it or remember it! How do you time manage as a CSM? 🎟 Sign up to the FREE CSM RevUP Masterclass in the comments. ✍️ Would love to hear your thoughts. ♻️ Reshare if this helped you. 📨 Check out my newsletter if you want this content monthly.