Karthik Ananth’s Post

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

The best CSMs I know, borrow from other top performing CSMs. ✅ Someone is nailing a new KPI? ✅ Someone is smashing their numbers? ✅ Someone is kicking butt on a project? ✅ Someone is getting great feedback? They reach out and ask what that person is doing that is working for them. They learn it. They try it. They iterate it. They get better at it! 👊🏻 No complaining. No excuses. Just growth mindset, peer learning and action. 🥜 If you're interested in Customer Success, consider joining 7.5k+ CS Professionals who read my weekly newsletter on how to build and scale a CS Team [sign up in the comments section]. #customersuccess #csm #customerexperience #personaldevelopment #highperformingteams

1 CSM vs 5 CSMs vs 15 CSMs: What is the difference? Complexity of process! Don't be like the CSM being mocked by the pup :D All CSMs need the same processes, but these have to be adjusted to current maturity of your team. Founders will often start their CS teams with CSMs who have not fully mastered the CS process, which too often is doomed to fail. A great CS process is comprised of the following processes: - Customer Journey (operational process): how to successfully deliver the product - Technical process: how CS will assist in the delivery of integrations, tools and/or similar - Commercial process: how CS will forecast and deliver commercial success I have seen 1 CSM deliver great commercial outcomes and I have seen 8 fail miserably. The difference: one had clarity on all 3 processes and was great at taking decisions, the other team had none and often ended up reacting with actions instead of deciding on actions. We often tend to blame the team for being too reactive or not having a commercial mindset... 🔴 The truth: YOU do not have know-how and YOU did not hire the right experience. DON'T blame the team! Get the right CS expertise into your team and the issue will resolve itself. Reach out to me, if you want to help your team with building your CS team org and these core processes. Commercial Success is not difficult, but it is complex. ZapScale your memes are 🔥 🔥 🔥 #CommercialSuccess #CustomerSuccess #CSLeadership #Retention #expansion #ValueDelivery

Spending most of their time doing reactive work is burning CSMs out. The only question is whether it happens sooner or later as the - high pressure - long hours - angry customers - low success rates - lack of purpose are a lethal combination. 95% (opinion) of CSMs are stuck in reactive work because they are following an inside-out approach. The CSMs who are - celebrating wins with customers regularly - see personal and professional growth - backed by their company’s leadership - getting paid what they are worth have flipped the script and embody customer-centricity - uncovering customer needs - tracking customer success metrics - focused on scaling outcomes - providing solutions to valuable problems - leading customers to the promised land Life's too short to spend it doing reactive CSM. PS: Here’s the way out --> https://lnkd.in/d3Mk-wt3

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

Value Creation is the most common term tossed around in the CSM world, but it is also the term that is most misunderstood. 👉 Meeting customers with no agenda, 👉 ending meetings with no next steps,  👉 having training sessions or webinars with no defined goals, 👉 collecting feedback that can't be used by anyone all are definitely activities but not Value Creation. It's not about ticking boxes or going through the motions.; it's about achieving real, measurable results examples like 1️⃣ Streamlining their operations: 2️⃣ Reduce their hiring time. 3️⃣ Reducing their churn 4️⃣ Improving their customer process. 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

CSM leaders, you need to shield your team from foreign tasks. It does not matter where these requests are coming from. From your peers in other departments or your leadership. Saying yes to everything might help you to avoid difficult conversations. But it will backfire in the not-so-distant future. Here’s how things are going to play out: Your CSMs each spend 10+ hours per week on - chasing open invoices - running product demos - handling support tickets - … that they can’t spend on core CSM tasks like customer education and training. At a time when customer expectations have never been higher. As a consequence, customers are not receiving the help they require and eventually churn. Churn that could have easily been avoided. When you are requested to answer to your leadership what do you think will happen? A) They are understanding and praise you for your kindness B) They don’t care about your excuses (and start looking for your replacement) Ok, but how can you say no without pissing people off? By explaining these negative consequences on the company’s revenue. Revenue is the “language” your leadership understands. PS: Join 7.1k+ CS professionals and sign up for my weekly newsletter if you like this post --> https://lnkd.in/dtC7MEjP

❓ “I don’t think my customer success team has the mindset to drive NRR or generate revenue.” Does this resonate with you? You’re not alone. Many leaders face challenges aligning their CS teams with revenue-focused goals, but the root cause often goes deeper than the team itself. In fact, this very topic came up in a conversation I had with an industry leader just yesterday. In my Customer Obsession series, let’s break down why this happens and explore actionable strategies to bridge the gap. It’s time to empower CS teams to not just support customers but drive sustainable growth. 🌟 Swipe through the carousel to learn more! 👉 #CustomerObsession #CustomerSuccess #RevenueGrowth #NRR #AccountManagement #StrategicAccountManagement #B2BRelationships

CS leaders, the way your team performs is a direct reflection of your abilities and choices. - if you haven't defined the strategy and processes their approach will be purely tactical. - if you don't give them the right tools the will not qualify as a trusted advisor to their customers - if you buy courses and training teaching reactive practices that's everything they'll ever be. This is the perfect recipe to not get a seat at the leadership table - or worse. The alternative is to build a CSM operating system to lead customers to the promised land accurately and repeatedly. Here's how: 1. Decoding Customer Value ✅ Identify customer goals and how they are measured ✅ Discover their personal outcomes that are at stake ✅ Find out what keeps them from achieving their desired outcomes 2. Operationalizing Customer Value ✅ Build dedicated Success Plans that ✅ Break down the gap between status quo and desired outcome ✅ Into pieces small enough to make them actionable 3. Delivering Customer Value ✅ Create content and services with a clear goal in mind ✅ Measure their effectiveness accordingly ✅ Give customers quick wins early on to get their buy-in 4. Measuring Customer Value ✅Track customer progress with the identified success metrics ✅ Identify churn risks (almost) in real-time ✅ Start countermeasures early enough if things are going south 5. Demonstrating Customer Value ✅ Benchmark actual vs projected results ✅ Turn QBRs into Customer Value Reviews ✅ Make the connection between business results and personal value 6. Monetizing Customer Value ✅ Identify customer growth opportunities ✅ Create scenarios outlining their potential gains ✅ Connect them with resources, features, or products PS: Turn your team into a growth engine --> https://lnkd.in/d3Mk-wt3

Hey CS lovers! If I had to give you one tip to help you feel capable of making your customers successful by EOY, it would be this: surround yourself with people who inspire you to do better. ↗ People who communicate with confidence and assertiveness. ↗ People who can mentor you with their experience. ↗ People who perform at a higher level than you. ↗ People who add value to your growth. By surrounding yourself with the right people, you’ll feel less overwhelmed and discover the best-performing, happiest version of yourself. Working in CS isn’t easy (trust me, I know! 🙃). Now, go get it, rockstar 💪! ---------------------------------------------------------------- Enjoying this content? I share weekly insights and practical tips on Customer Success to help you feel and perform at your best. Help me spread the word, rockstar 🤘! ♻👍📢 #CustomerSuccess #CSM #Leadership #Motivation #GrowthMindset #ProfessionalDevelopment #Mentorship #TeamInspiration #WorkplaceWellness #SuccessTips #CSLeadership #EOYGoals