Why undertake a book shift?
Customer success teams implement book shifts for various reasons, including adapting to staffing changes, rebalancing workloads, aligning customers with CSMs in the same region or industry, and enhancing team efficiency. Book shifts are particularly common when businesses enter new maturity stages, necessitating changes in strategic direction and account distribution.
The seven steps of a successful book shift
1. Formalize your objectives. Establish clear goals using the S.M.A.R.T. framework to guide the book shift process and ensure alignment with overall business objectives.
2. Plan and schedule your CSM book shift.
- Assemble a project team with roles such as executive sponsor, project manager, and operations specialist.
- Identify milestones, set a timeline, and organize the project using simple tools like Gantt charts and checklists.
3. Evaluate current CSM books of business
- Gather data on customer accounts, segments, renewal dates, and CSM performance.
- Analyze this data to align CSMs’ strengths with customer needs and identify potential risks.
4. Verify CSM headcount for your new model. Ensure your staffing plan supports the new model by considering customer segments, maximum book sizes, sales projections, and expected churn rates.
5. Develop a reallocation plan
- Assign CSMs to new segments based on experience, performance, and other relevant factors.
- Carefully allocate accounts to minimize transitions and ensure efficient use of CSMs’ time.
6. Implement your book shift
- Prepare and execute a communication plan to inform internal teams and customers.
- Provide resources and training to support the transition, and hold a kickoff day to facilitate initial tasks.
7. Close out the project
- Review and complete any outstanding tasks, capture project metrics, and conduct a final meeting to share results and recognize key contributors.
Additional considerations
- Customer segmentation strategy. Regularly reassess your customer segmentation strategy to ensure it aligns with business objectives and customer needs. Effective segmentation can enhance value delivery and support book shift processes.
- Resource creation and training. Equip your CSMs with checklists, documentation, automated playbooks, and progress tracking tools to ensure a smooth transition.
- Transition facilitation. Organize a dedicated day for CSMs to review their new accounts, understand available resources, and start their transition tasks.
