In this episode, we speak to Conner, Senior Customer Success Manager at BoostUp.ai. Join us as we dive into Conner's journey, insights, and practical advice on navigating a career in Customer Success.
Customer Success is all about the customer having an intrinsic need for a tool or solution and that tool perfectly fitting that need. A successful customer becomes at least proficient, if not an expert, in using the tool.
It's also about having a solid partnership with the team behind the tool, ensuring ongoing support as their needs and usage evolve. It boils down to how well the tool fits their needs and how well they understand and use it.
Saying no. Whether it's turning down product feature requests or informing customers about bugs we can't fix in time, it’s tough – especially when you’re expected to build close relationships with customers. But managing expectations is a big part of the job.
Calls that don’t have a direction or an agenda.
I try to reach out in advance if I don’t see any agenda items to see if they have anything specific to discuss.
Sometimes, customers just need a venting outlet to talk about their problems and let off steam, especially after a long day of back-to-back meetings. I’d much prefer discussing actual issues or providing solutions that make their jobs easier and improve their workflows.
Get to know your customer's business inside and out. When you’re familiar with the different departments, their workflows, and the key people, your calls start to feel more like internal meetings. Customers are more likely to share valuable insights and feedback with you when it feels like you’re part of their team rather than just an external CSM checking in.
Always show up enthusiastic and friendly on calls and messages. It’s easy to take this for granted, but I've noticed that bringing energy and positivity makes a big difference.
Lastly, stay true to your commitments. If you can't meet a commitment, inform the customer as soon as possible, providing a good reason and a new completion date.
The CSMs I admire most are the ones who build relationships with customers that feel more like coworkers than just a vendor-customer relationship. When you reach a point where you’re truly collaborating with the customer to improve their job and business, it becomes much more effective. They trust you as a partner rather than just a vendor they call upon when needed.
I use Loom to film videos and product walkthroughs for customers. When faced with a complicated question, instead of typing out long paragraphs or attaching screenshots, I shoot quick one- to three-minute videos. This saves me a lot of time and helps customers better understand the content with a visual walkthrough.
Additionally, I use Statisfy to stay organized about what's going on with my customers and what I need to follow up on.
I use ChatGPT for generating and formatting documentation, both customer-facing and internal. For instance, we recently had a massive enterprise deployment go live.
I fed all the steps we took during that deployment – including enablement methods, working styles, documents used, and resources – into ChatGPT and asked it to create a formatted enterprise deployment plan, and it generated a polished plan for me.
Knowing the unspoken needs and priorities of decision-makers and sponsors.
I’d love to know what they are truly thinking—not just what they tell us on executive check-in calls or QBRs. Especially what they wish our tool could solve but don't mention because they assume we can't help.
Additionally, identifying people who influence the primary decision-maker would be immensely helpful. Often, executive sponsors are so high up that they don't interact with the tool daily. The real influencers are usually one level below – the power users who can sway the executive decision-maker's opinion come renewal time.
