AMA: MURAL Director of Customer Success, Amara Okoli on Influencing the C-Suite

On any given day my interactions with the C-Suite could look like the following: Proactively reaching out to new customers and keeping the customer’s C-Suite informed of who’s who and what we will do to help ensure their success Following C-Suite on LinkedIn, news, and other media in order to learn about their objectives and business challenges Updating my C-Suite on the status of customers: growth opportunities, at risk accounts, successful go-lives, etc Reaching out to C-Suite to help my team ...Read More

Here are a few tried and true ways to gain greater exposure to the C-Suite: Get curious about the space, not just the product, and build your knowledge base.  Ask to shadow meetings with other CSMs, AEs, and other teammates who are closer to the C-Suite already Attend all hands/conferences/tradeshows/webinars where the C-Suite is speaking so you learn about their priorities and personality. Ask thoughtful questions at the appropriate opportunities and volunteer for initiatives where your skills ...Read More

As CSMs we are expected to be trusted advisors to our customers.  We gain trust by helping our customers address their challenges and achieve their business objectives. We become advisors when we learn to anticipate questions or concerns and we guide our customers toward successful outcomes. To gain credibility, our communication with the C-Suite must be concise, assertive, and informative. If you can explain the how and confidently tell me what to do next, that's incredibly valuable.  How are w ...Read More

Always be clear on the purpose of the meeting and involve agendas and share relevant documentation with their EAs well in advance Center conversations with a key headline - what is most important and the significance of that backed by relevant data Keep communications concise and timely. Be sure to specify if updates are informative or actions are needed For any meetings, be as prepared as possible by researching your customer/portfolio, relevant product updates, and any changes (good or bad) re ...Read More

I started my career in sales. As an Account Executive, my job was to gain an in-depth understanding of my customer’s business objectives and advise them as to solutions that could address their challenges. As deals progressed, the C-Suite would participate in the evaluation and often be the final decision maker. At one point I was in an inside sales role calling on prospects in a highly regulated industry in Texas. I nurtured relationships with my champions, listened to their pain points, and su ...Read More

If I were to give younger me advice about influencing the C-Suite I'd say to take your time, learn as much as you can, and look for connections. More detail below:  Don’t be in a rush. As CSMs, we ensure our customers achieve their business objectives with our software and in order to do this we cultivate meaningful relationships high and wide.  But it takes time to learn how to work with people and understand unique personalities, interests, and goals.  Shadow others who are skilled at this.   ...Read More

Help the C-Suite understand how additional resources will achieve company goals in addition to core CS goals (retention rates, expansion targets, reduction in churn). If you can leverage a data-driven approach to help the C-Suite gain a 360 degree view into how the business is operating today and how it could be operating for the better in the future, you will be better situated to, at a minimum, have your proposal be heard. Here are a few examples of company goals: Operate more efficiently: Per ...Read More