Quick Summary: Customer success is still seen as less valuable than sales, reveals new research. CS leaders can close the perception gap by telling a clear revenue story, earning ownership of expansion, and showing how CS directly fuels sales success.
Earlier this summer, we fielded a new survey to CSMs in which we asked whether their company values customer success more, less, or the same as sales.
Nearly six in ten (59%) said their customer success team is less valued than their sales team. Another 34% felt the two teams are valued equally, while just 6% said CS is valued more.
This perception gap suggests that, despite the critical role of customer teams in retaining and expanding revenue, many organizations still prioritize new business over customer outcomes.
Why would customer success be less valued than sales?
Given the importance of customer retention in compounding growth and company valuation, what’s going on? And what can customer leaders do about it?
1: Revenue visibility bias
Sales wins are tangible, time-bound, and celebrated: closed deals have a clear dollar value and a date attached. CS contributions, including renewals, expansions, and churn prevention, are equally important but harder to attribute, and are often less visible outside the CS org.
“I don’t think that we, as CS leaders, have always done a good job of drawing the line between the work we do and the revenue it produces,” says The Success League’s Kristen Hayer. “Your team doesn’t have to sell to produce revenue, but you, as a leader, need to identify and quantify the areas where your team delivers value to your company.”
2: Carryover from the “growth-at-all-costs” era
Legacy SaaS playbooks emphasized new logo acquisition over customer lifetime value. Even with today’s retention focus, that bias persists in leadership habits.
Your leadership team may spend more time on pipeline reviews than on retention or expansion metrics, for example. Sales compensation plans are more likely to be aggressive and celebrated, while CS comp is tied to softer or shared metrics—all of which depletes the perceived value of CS.
3: Budget and headcount allocation
In tighter markets, companies still tend to protect or even expand sales investment, while CS teams may face budget freezes or reduced tools/training. While leaders may say that retention is critical, operational follow-through on dedicated resources, strategic planning, and executive sponsorship can lag behind, sending an unspoken signal about priorities.
“If CSMs feel undervalued or unsupported, customer experience will inevitably suffer,” says Techtonic Lift’s Naomi Aiken. “Just as neglecting sales team resources would be unthinkable, so too should proactive attention to CSM well-being be a top priority, rather than a reaction to a crumbling foundation. As the daily point of contact for your customers, the importance of your CSMs is on par with any other revenue-generating team, requiring the same level of investment in tools and training to drive positive results.”
What do CSMs say?
We followed up our initial question with an open-ended question asking why CSMs answered the way they did. A sample of those who said CS was less valued than sales:
“We aren’t trusted to be in charge of revenue. However, we look after all the current customers. It doesn’t really make sense.”
“More money goes into enablement of sales than on much of anything else. There is an internal struggle over who owns revenue, and the CSM team is new to owning revenue.”
“Sales sells a product that isn’t a good fit. Customer success gets blamed when those customers churn.”
What should customer leaders do?
“Companies should view customer success as a revenue engine, not just a support function.” says Sabina Pons of Growth Molecules.” CS is critical for driving retention, expansion, and long-term customer lifetime value, especially in recurring revenue models like SaaS.”
If your company doesn’t see things that way yet, consider these three strategies.
1: Equip CS with a clear “revenue story”
Report on renewals, expansions, and churn prevention in the same language and cadence as sales pipeline updates. Use board-level KPIs—net revenue retention (NRR), gross revenue retention (GRR), lifetime value (LTV)—and show how your customer team’s actions move them. Put a dollar value to “saves” just like you do for new deals, and train your CS team to connect their daily work to financial outcomes to make retention revenue as visible as new sales.
“By teaming up with sales and finance leaders, you can build the bridges it takes to be seen as a contributor of revenue,” agrees Kristen Hayer. “Sometimes that also means taking a strong stance about how your team is presented in leadership and board meetings. Your contribution needs to be highlighted to senior leaders and investors for the company to see and acknowledge the value of CS.”
2: Earn the ownership of expansion revenue.
Only 43% of CS teams own expansion revenue, despite having the customer relationships, insights, and know-how to drive expansion thoughtfully. Too often, this is because CS lacks a repeatable expansion process, says Rod Cherkas, author of The REACH Framework.
Adopting a process like REACH (relationships, engagement, actions, value, and horizons), which is designed to leverage the customer trust earned through your coaching and partnership, can help your CS team own or co-own expansion with confidence. You can always start small, prove value, and use it to build momentum gradually.
3: Capture and communicate how CS supports sales.
Even if you don’t own expansion revenue, don’t forget the tremendous value your team can bring to the sales organization, writes Marley Wagner.
CS customer insights play a critical role in identifying your company’s ICP and refining its targeting and messaging. You can help sales increase upsell opportunities with timely, qualified leads and a better understanding of customer outcomes. You can also help sales understand which product capabilities truly drive success, leading to more effective sales pitches that focus on the full solution, not just features.
Want to know more about the survey?
The 2025 CSM Confidential Report is an annual survey of CSMs designed to help customer leaders retain, train, and nurture their teams. This year’s report focuses on getting ahead in CS, with an in-depth look at CSM’ career goals and how they match 2025’s economic reality, alongside actionable tips from five customer success experts. Explore more findings from the 2025 CSM Confidential Report here.
