How do you influence the C-Suite to get more resources?

We all live in a world where we’re doing more with less. But when you’re acting on behalf of your team and your customers, it’s important to influence the C-suite to secure more resources—if it’s in the best interest of both the customer and the company. In my experience, influencing effectively comes down to showing how those resources directly drive customer and business outcomes. Here are a few lessons I’ve learned: Start with “why,” but add risk or opportunity.Frame your case around the stak ...Read More

In this current economic landscape, the only teams that are going to be allocated resources are the ones that are able to show and substantial return on investment (ROI) to the organization. For example, Customer Success teams must be able to project how adding resources or technology will positively impact Retention Rates, Drives Expansion, or Reduces churn. Additionally, these requests must be as data-driven as possible and not hypothetical scenarios. Be critical in your assessment and if your ...Read More

To influence the C-Suite to allocate resources for more Customer Success Managers (CSMs) in a zero-based budget, focus on a compelling, data-driven case aligned with their priorities. Here’s a concise approach: Present a Clear Business Case: Show Impact of Understaffing: Highlight how current CSM capacity hurts metrics like churn (e.g., “5% churn increase costs $500K annually”) or limits upsell (e.g., “Missed $200K in expansion revenue”). Quantify ROI: Estimate new CSMs’ impact (e.g., “Two CSMs ...Read More

The default answer to 'more resources' is almost always 'No,' unless you can prove the impact. The key is to stop talking about your needs and start talking about the business's outcomes. Will this drive revenue? Cut costs? Or reduce a critical risk? If you can't tie your ask to one of those, you've already lost. Over the years, I've found my successful pitches for unplanned budget fall into one of three buckets. Think of it as framing your ask in a language the C-suite immediately understands. ...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

Understand Their Perspective: Understand the key concerns, goals, and metrics for success of the C-Suite. They are often focused on the organization's overall growth, profitability, and sustainability. Build a Solid Business Case: Develop a strong business case that clearly articulates the need for additional resources, the benefits of allocating those resources, and the potential return on investment (ROI). Be sure to highlight how the additional resources will contribute to the strategic goals ...Read More

Your plan must be concise, strategic in nature, and has a high ROI. The other piece here is frequent communication. Make sure they hear from you, know you, and trust your judgment. Relationships help them know that you've already thought it through, have a plan, and are determined to execute and see it through. Concise: As with most things, you must have the details but save them for later. Give the very very high level summary. Think just a few sentences up front and then the appendix can have ...Read More