AMA: Sitecore Senior Director, Head of Customer Success APJ, John Brunkard on Customer Success Leadership

Here are some strategies that I use to inspire and motivate my Customer Success team: Set Clear and Achievable Goals: It is important to set clear, specific, and achievable goals for your team. At Sitecore we use the Objectives - Key Results (OKRs) approach. These OKRs align with the company's mission and are mostly customer-centric objectives. When goals are SMART - specific, strategic, measurable, motivating,  achievable (yet ambitious), agreed to, realistic, relevant, resourced, results based ...Read More

To identify and develop talent within our Customer Success team, we employ a multifaceted approach that encompasses recruitment, structured assessment frameworks, performance management, and individual development plans. Here's a brief on how we go about it: Recruitment Process: Talent identification starts with our recruitment process, which is focused on assessing candidates for attitude, aptitude, values alignment, and their potential cultural contribution. We aim to bring in individuals who ...Read More

Handling team challenges and conflicts in a customer success department is a critical aspect of maintaining a high-performing and harmonious team. It's important to foster an environment where healthy conflict can be harnessed for growth and innovation, while also adhering to company values, objectives, and mutual respect. Here's are some steps to consider as an approach to addressing conflicts within your team: Promote a Culture of Healthy Conflict: Encourage open and constructive dialogue with ...Read More

Churn: Retaining existing customers, ensuring they achieve their desired outcomes, and receive value. Proactively engage with customers to identify potential issues. Regularly assess customer health and usage patterns. Provide personalized recommendations and resources to address customer needs. Implement a customer success plan with clear goals and milestones. Downsell in Tough Economic Environments: Highlight the cost-effectiveness of your product or service. Emphasize the long-term value and ...Read More

Know where you are - Data Analysis - Assess the current performance of your team. Review your active customer list - How many accounts per CSM, Total Portfolio ARR per CSM, active customers, customer health. Look at churn / retention and expansion rates. Looks at CSat or NPS Customer Segmentation - Look into customer segmentation based on the value customers bring to your business. Often customers are segmented in High, Mid and Low Touch. High-value customers may require more focussed CSM attent ...Read More

Here are some of the ways that we use to foster collaboration and communication between customer success, sales, marketing, and other departments within the organization.   Conduct Regular Sessions with Internal Stakeholders: Customer Success Leaders schedule routine cross-functional sessions with internal stakeholders. During these sessions, we share insights on the role of Customer Success and how it contributes to the organization's success. These sessions are an opportunity to communicate su ...Read More

I previously answered this type question for CSMs however this time I will put in some resources that are more focussed on Customer Success Leaders. Here is the link to the previous answer.  These are some books I would recommend specifically for Customer Success Leaders...in no particular order. The Seven Pillars of Customer Success: A Proven Framework to Drive Impactful Client Outcomes for Your Company Chief Customer Officer 2.0: How to Build Your Customer-Driven Growth Engine The Chief Custom ...Read More

"My leadership philosophy for Customer Success has evolved over the years as I've gained experience and adapted to various situations. I believe in being situational, which means that I tailor my leadership style to the unique needs and challenges at hand. My philosophy is an amalgamation of several key leadership styles: Servant Leadership: I place a strong emphasis on serving my team first. By providing them with the support, resources, and guidance they need, I empower them to excel in their ...Read More

Setting realistic goals for customer success teams and regularly reviewing and adjusting these goals is essential to ensure alignment with company objectives and adapt to changing market conditions. Here's how we approach goal setting and the frequency of review and adjustment: Goal Alignment: Our customer success goals are derived directly from the overarching company goals and objectives. We ensure that the objectives of the Customer Success team are closely aligned with the higher-level OKRs ...Read More