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Customer Success Career Path

What's the most effective way to scale a customer success team beyond the first customer success manager?

5 Answers

Rebecca Warren

Eightfold Director, Customer Success • January 18

I’ve been at Eightfold for just over 2 years now, moving over to customer success from a 20+ year career in Talent Acquisition, so remember that my experience is unique vs. a traditional CS career path. I was the first CSM to join the EF team, reporting into a leader who had created the group fro......Read More

1227 Views

What's your framework to prioritizing needs/deliverables when you're the first customer success manager at a company establishing the function?

3 Answers

Rebecca Warren

Eightfold Director, Customer Success • January 18

Been there, done that! IMO, it’s pretty simple – start with who is screaming the loudest and why. Take what they are frustrated about, ask them to prioritize their needs, and then see about knocking them off, one at a time. You can’t fix everything overnight, but get a win under your belt, and th......Read More

1156 Views

Do you generally recommend that candidates go 'above and beyond' in preparing for interviews?

In which situations do you recommend this approach or not?

3 Answers

Brett Milstein

Narvar Director, Customer Success • February 8

This question is a bit subjective as going "above and beyond" can mean different things to different people. If a candidate truly wants a role, in my opinion, they should do whatever they feel puts them in the best position to receive an offer. I cannot remember ever walking out of an interview a......Read More

662 Views

For customer success interviews, what are helpful resources you'd recommend and types of questions to prepare for from both hiring managers and cross-functional partners?

2 Answers

Brett Milstein

Narvar Director, Customer Success • February 8

Rather than just asking a candidate about their background, I prefer to ask about real situational questions. Here are a few of my favorites: * Tell me about a time you had an unhappy customer. What was the issue and how did you resolve it? * Take me through a time when a customer provide......Read More

1186 Views

What are the key questions you like to ask and why? How would the proper answers to your questions look like?

1 Answer

Wynne Brown

RocketReach Senior Director, Customer Success & Sales • May 17

Here are the key questions I will cover with candidates. Typically I will meet with candidates in the first round for thirty minutes to cover the basic "wiring" - are they collaborative? are they human-centric? are they curious? - and the rest in a final round when we have a few finalists. The......Read More

373 Views

What are the most common mistakes you see candidates make during an interview for a customer success position?

3 Answers

Brett Milstein

Narvar Director, Customer Success • February 8

Here are a few mistakes I see most often: 1. Not doing their research on the company/role they are interviewing for. It is surprising how many interviews I have participated in where the candidate had clearly not reviewed our company's product offering or job description. One of the keys to in......Read More

928 Views

What is your favorite customer success interview question and the best answer you've heard?

5 Answers

Christine Vienna Knific

mParticle Director, Customer Success Operations • January 18

Question: What does customer success mean to you? What is it, what is it not? Why it's good: It's open-ended, and gives the candidate a big opportunity to talk about CS as a field, the success of a customer on an individual basis, and more. Example of a great answer: "To me, Customer Su......Read More

1523 Views

As a hiring manager, what do the best customer success have in common?

2 Answers

Brett Milstein

Narvar Director, Customer Success • February 8

In my experience there are a few characteristics/skillsets that the best CSMs I have hired all have in common: 1. Organizational skills - This is #1#1 for me. I have never seen a CSM who was not organized be successful. As a CSM requests are being thrown at you left and right, and you are bein......Read More

799 Views

What are some of the most common red flags you've come across either on a candidate's resume or initial interview that you'd advise future customer success managers to avoid?

2 Answers

Christine Vienna Knific

mParticle Director, Customer Success Operations • May 3

* Show that you're a team player! It's a huge red flag when a candidate demonstrates a lack of willingness to work as a team. The ability to work cross-functionally to drive customer results is critical. If a candidate conveys the message "that's not my job," they aren't a good fit for ......Read More

422 Views

How does one gauge autonomy in a customer success interview?

2 Answers

Christine Vienna Knific

mParticle Director, Customer Success Operations • May 3

To gauge autonomy of Customer Success Manager candidates, I like to ask: * Describe what role the CSM plays with the customer, in your experience? This helps me see the candidate's willingness to be strategic or tactical (hopefully both, when necessary!), how they work with internal cr......Read More

403 Views