The ideal customer success manager knows your product, domain, and customers like no other. They’re technically skilled, and they excel at interpersonal relationships too. They deliver fantastic business reviews for executives, yet they’re equally at home working with system admins on configurations.
In fact, there’s only one problem with the ideal CSM, says SuccessCOACHING’s Aaron Thompson.
They don’t exist. And for customer success leaders, this means two things.
1: Stop looking for ideal CSMs. They’re a unicorn.
2: Get better at training and leading your actual, real CSMs to succeed.
New research shows that most CSMs are struggling to hit their goals this year. But with the right priorities, and operational skills, you can build your team’s focus on the work that matters most, and help them hit their potential.
How to train CSMs to work smarter.
Not sure how to train CSMs for success? Start with these five video insights from our latest webinar, co-presented by Aaron with ChurnZero’s Lukas Alexander and Maureen Rice.
Turn up your volume, click each video to play a webinar highlight, then move on to the next.
1: Learn to recognize “hero mode” and lead your CSMs out of it.
If your CSMs typically go above, beyond, and outside their role to solve customer issues, they’ll likely struggle to hit their goals, and their confidence will erode over time.
As a leader, clearly defining your team’s roles and responsibilities is the key to both your CSMs’ longevity, and to creating more fruitful customer relationships. Keep your CSMs focused on customers’ long-term success, rather than reactive support issues, to evolve your team from “hero mode” to “strategic” and then to “operationalized”.
2: Teach the “revenue 80/20” rule to help CSMs prioritize.
If you’ve been in CS long enough, you’ve most likely heard some horror stories that resulted in drastic customer segmentation initiatives. Here’s Aaron’s.
It’s critical that we give our customers the support they need, while also not sacrificing revenue opportunities and man-hours in the process. Knowing and applying a version of the 80/20 rule is a useful starting point for finding the right balance.
3: Want to help CSMs sell? Widen their focus away from selling.
Only 26% of CSMs say they enjoy selling, and CSMs say commercial skills are a top training need. But, says Lukas, the techniques of selling are only one piece of the picture.
The more CSMs become trusted technical and strategic advisors to their customers, says Lukas, the easier selling becomes. While your CSMs do need foundational sales skills, don’t focus on these at the expense of the analytical, strategic and consultative skills that earn CSMs the opportunity to sell.
4: When training budgets are tight, analyze, then prioritize.
Why do CS teams get fewer training resources than marketing and sales teams? It’s frustrating, says Aaron, but here’s how to make the most of the resources you have.
While CS enablement is slowly becoming more common, there’s still a huge gap between what’s expected of CSMs and the skills investment required to deliver. This makes it especially important to analyze your training needs and apply your budget carefully.
5: Perfect CSMs don’t exist. That’s why this matters so much.
As a CS leader, you’re always on the lookout for that perfect CSM who’s great with people, product, revenue, and everything else under the sun. As you now know, they don’t exist. But the good news is that you have a huge opportunity to make an impact by leading and shaping the team that you have.
For more resources on how to train CSMs and lead them to success, grab a copy of the 2024 CSM Confidential Report, where you’ll learn exactly what CSMs are struggling with, and why, and what you can do as their leader to help.
You can also connect with Aaron’s team at SuccessCOACHING, or catch him at ZERO-IN 2024 this October, where he’ll show you how to optimize your customer experience by defining and strengthening customer success, support, and service.
