John Brunkard

AMA: Sitecore Senior Director, Head of Customer Success APJ, John Brunkard on Developing Your Customer Success Career

May 4 @ 10:00AM PST
View AMA Answers
Sitecore Senior Director, Head of Customer Success APJ, John Brunkard on Developing Your Customer Success Career
Top Questions
John Brunkard
John Brunkard
Sitecore Vice President of Customer Success APJApril 28
I have many different questions and always include some scenario based questions to see how they would handle those. Often I start with a very fundamental question along the lines of; "Tell my why you want to be a Customer Success Manager? What motivates you for this type of role? A good answer......Read More
565 Views
2 requests
John Brunkard
John Brunkard
Sitecore Vice President of Customer Success APJApril 21
There are many possible paths for a Customer Success Manager. Some examples are; Individual Contributor (IC) Path * Associate Customer Success Manager => * Customer Success Manager => * Senior Customer Success Manager (Enterprise Accounts) => * Principal Customer Success Manager (Large ......Read More
555 Views
2 requests
John Brunkard
John Brunkard
Sitecore Vice President of Customer Success APJMay 4
Here are some suggestions that come to mind? 1. Gain relevant experience in other customer facing roles to build up the skills that can be reapplied and are relevant to the role of a CSM. Also be prepared to start at a lower level and work your way up. 2. Develop a strong understan......Read More
541 Views
2 requests
John Brunkard
John Brunkard
Sitecore Vice President of Customer Success APJMay 4
Here are a few areas to consider. 1. Financial Factors: Is the overall economy healthy. A salary increase may be dependant on how the company is performing; Are the financial objectives at or above target and can the company therefore allocate budget for salary adjustments 2.......Read More
562 Views
2 requests
John Brunkard
John Brunkard
Sitecore Vice President of Customer Success APJMay 3
I am assuming this is while maintaining an individual contributor role. * Consistently meet and exceed your KPIs.  * Be the go to person for Customer Success within your organization. Mentor and Coach other CSM team members globally. Be the subject matter expert within your department f......Read More
521 Views
2 requests
John Brunkard
John Brunkard
Sitecore Vice President of Customer Success APJMay 4
Here are some of the things that can frustrate CSMs from time to time. * When the role is misunderstood or confused with that of Customer Service or a single point of contact for everything. When everything related to the Customer is dumped on Customer Success.   * When internal teams......Read More
440 Views
1 request
John Brunkard
John Brunkard
Sitecore Vice President of Customer Success APJMay 2
Business Model. For me the company should be a SaaS based company. I.e. selling cloud-based software for a subscription fee. If the company is hybrid i.e. has some older products that are still perpetual / on prem but mostly moving to SaaS then that is for the most part acceptable. Is the company......Read More
514 Views
2 requests
Where do you see the future of customer success heading?
What skills will a future customer success manager need that he/she doesn't have today?
John Brunkard
John Brunkard
Sitecore Vice President of Customer Success APJMay 4
Great question. Customer Success is continuing to grow & mature. I see more of a focus on customer value and actual quantifiable outcomes and how these drive the customers company financial performance. Customers are looking to customer success to help them articulate and measure value. Leveragi......Read More
509 Views
1 request
John Brunkard
John Brunkard
Sitecore Vice President of Customer Success APJApril 21
What makes a great Customer Success Manager? * Comfortable in a customer-facing role – Customer First Mindset, a passion for Customer Success * Has a Growth Mindset and excellent aptitude - looks to continuously learn, develop and improve * Excellent Communicators – spoken and written, ......Read More
481 Views
2 requests
John Brunkard
John Brunkard
Sitecore Vice President of Customer Success APJMay 4
Let me answer this from the perspective of some of the things that frustrate me and my team. 1. When the role is misunderstood or confused with that of Customer Service or Single point of contact for everything. 2. When internal teams are unresponsive or uncooperative. This can can hinder......Read More
579 Views
2 requests
John Brunkard
John Brunkard
Sitecore Vice President of Customer Success APJApril 21
Here are some of my favourite links. Web Sites * Customer Success Box – Top 50 resources for customer success * Customer Success Network * Customer Success Association * Gain Grow Retain * Gainsight - The Ultimate List of Customer Success Resources for 2023 * Remark-able * Hubspot Cust......Read More
574 Views
3 requests
John Brunkard
John Brunkard
Sitecore Vice President of Customer Success APJApril 29
I am assuming this question is about career progression and movement to the next grade level. You should have a growth mindset and a desire to continuously improve, develop and learn. Here are some areas to consider focussing on. 1. Focus on results that matter for your current role (OKRs / M......Read More
720 Views
3 requests
John Brunkard
John Brunkard
Sitecore Vice President of Customer Success APJMay 1
This somewhat depends on the company and its products. In general I  would say that having technical skills can be helpful for a CSM…an additional plus in the trusted advisor role. The CSM's primary responsibility is to develop strong relationships with the customers key stakeholders, understa......Read More
818 Views
2 requests
Work At Sitecore
Customer Success Operations Manager (Gainsight Specialist)
Sitecore
View job
Senior Customer Success Manager
Sitecore
View job