Do you have any advice for a junior who is a first customer success hire?

It can seem daunting jumping into a customer-facing role. Where do I start if I don’t have the relationships built yet? How do I make connections to successfully drive business for my company? At the end of the day we all have to start somewhere. My advice would be to think about what actions you can take today to create valuable connections and start building customer relationships. Get your feet wet with webinars, workshops, office hours, anything that will help build your knowledge and get yo ...Read More

Firstly, good choice! You have picked a hot career and I only see CS becoming more prominent and important over the next decade. Be curious. Take time to understand your customer’s business - one of the best parts of this job is the exposure you get to so many different types of businesses. The more you understand this, the better a CSM you will be. Put your hand up. If there’s a new product / initiative you can be part of, volunteer for it. Lean in and maximize the learnings even if it scares y ...Read More

The first customer success hire (especially if you are more junior) is both daunting but equally an excellent opportunity to impact the business. As a more junior hire, you will most likely get more flexibility to ask and learn, so embrace that opportunity. Here are a few steps I would take; Learn as much as you can about the industry in that your company is operating in Get a deep understanding of what the product does and, more specifically, how that drives value for customers. Understand the ...Read More

Expectations will likely be tricky for you and leadership as you both may be figuring it out together. This highlights many opportunities and risks. Understand if the role expects you to be primarily a technical CSM, a customer advocate (share feedback internally), expand CSM (more like an account manager to grow/renew accounts), a renewal manager, or other focus. This will significantly help you understand what the job is explicitly or implicitly stating Continue to check in with leadership on ...Read More