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Manil Vasantha

VP Customer Success Engineering & Solution Architecture, Oracle

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What hard skills are must haves to be a customer success leader? What are nice to haves?

Manil Vasantha

Oracle VP Customer Success Engineering & Solution Architecture • January 18

Some essential hard skills that are considered must-haves for a customer success leader include: (must have does not necessarily mean now - you can and should be trained on the job) • Analytical skills: the ability to analyze customer data and metrics to identify trends and opportunities for i......Read More

2713 Views

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

Manil Vasantha

Oracle VP Customer Success Engineering & Solution Architecture • January 18

The best customer success candidates: • Communication skills: The ability to communicate with customers and all stakeholders clearly and effectively. • Customer-centric mindset: The ability to put oneself in the customer's shoes and understand their needs, pain points, and goals. A genuine pa......Read More

1948 Views

How do you retain good talent, especially when customer success roles are in such high demand across the industry?

Manil Vasantha

Oracle VP Customer Success Engineering & Solution Architecture • January 18

Retaining talent is a challenge for any company at any point in time. Customer Success is only a piece of the puzzle. Employees quit because they are unhappy with the culture, compensation, growth, and manager. Let us start with culture, specifically around Customer Success. To see a company’s......Read More

1404 Views

What are the most important soft and hard skills customer success managers can build to become successful in their field going forward?

Manil Vasantha

Oracle VP Customer Success Engineering & Solution Architecture • January 18

Communication and mental fortitude are essential soft skills, and Product and Industry knowledge are essential hard skills one must have as a core strength. Customer Success Associates/Customer Success Managers/Director Customer Success - all need to have or eventually have some essential soft s......Read More

1340 Views

What advice do you have for recent graduates that want to go straight into customer success?

Manil Vasantha

Oracle VP Customer Success Engineering & Solution Architecture • January 18

For recent graduates who are interested in entering the field of customer success, there are a few critical pieces of advice to keep in mind: • Gaining relevant experience: Look for opportunities to gain experience in customer-facing roles, such as internships or entry-level positions in custo......Read More

1201 Views

What made you decide to choose customer success over sales?

Manil Vasantha

Oracle VP Customer Success Engineering & Solution Architecture • January 18

For me personally, the decision was easy. I moved from technical support to Customer Success. They combine in what we deliver called Customer Experience—transitioning a customer from pre-sales to post-sales and then a steady state followed by expansion. It is called the customer journey or roadma......Read More

1195 Views

What are the most important customer success skills or perspectives that others inside an organization could benefit from that would improve their day to day work?

Manil Vasantha

Oracle VP Customer Success Engineering & Solution Architecture • January 18

Core skills are a combination of both soft and hard skills. Communication skills, analytical skills, problem-solving skills, product knowledge, and inter-departmental and intra-departmental relationship building. Emotional intelligence is something you must have and believe at your core. This ......Read More

1138 Views

When joining a new team, is it better to have the right soft skills and have to learn the hard skills of the job? Or vice versa?

Manil Vasantha

Oracle VP Customer Success Engineering & Solution Architecture • January 18

Even fresh graduates come with some set of soft skills. A good communicator who worked in small groups on projects or even played on a team comes with valuable soft skills. Hard skills can be learned on the job and over time. Great question. However, it gives little room for new graduates. You e......Read More

879 Views

How can someone from a different field transition to customer success?

Manil Vasantha

Oracle VP Customer Success Engineering & Solution Architecture • January 18

While it takes many qualities to be a good Customer Success individual, it takes a lot less to become one. You can transition into a Customer Success role from any role. In my career, I have seen many folks transition into Customer Success roles. Not because they were in a dead-end job but becaus......Read More