Miriam Festerling

Interviewing for a Customer Success Manager role? Most CSMs wing it. Top performers come prepared, with STORIES. Here are the 7 most common CSM interview questions I ask (and how to stand out when answering them) 1️⃣ How do you define and measure success in your role? Talk about metrics like NRR, adoption, and product usage, but also strategic wins like building trust and creating value. Get specific, don’t just say that you had a 100% NRR rate. Talk about the details underneath, how much of that was driven by expansion, churn and what the total portfolio was you held. 2️⃣ Tell me a story of how you grew seat utilization or expanded an account. Be specific. Walk through the signals you saw, the conversations you had, and the value you delivered. 3️⃣ How have you handled a renewal that was at risk? Show commercial acumen. What data did you use? What stakeholders did you engage? What was the outcome? How did you plan the strategy out, did you multi-thread and how… 4️⃣ What are early warning signs that a customer might churn? Mention things like drop in engagement, exec turnover, missed QBRs, and how you take action fast. Show that you have a bias towards action. 5️⃣ What’s your playbook when an account goes dark? Go beyond just “follow-ups.” Think multithreading, value emails, and reactivation campaigns. How are you really adding value for your customers? 6️⃣ How do you partner with Marketing or other teams to drive advocacy? Share a real example of a case study, webinar, or customer story you co-created. 7️⃣ What’s one way you’ve sped up time-to-value or onboarding? Show your process thinking. How did you reduce complexity, improve documentation, or drive engagement early? Which of these would YOU want to be asked in an interview? Let’s hear your strongest story in the comments.

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Customer Success requires 5 c's: 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲, 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹, 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. What sets the high-impact, curious CSMs apart who can confidently consult with confidence is the knowledge of what is happening in the modern landscape. To stay in the know with the latest tech, techniques & trends, you 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗧 make it a habit to listen to podcasts every week. On a podcast, I heard about the latest Indeed XML job feed change & had relevant information that impacted my customers to talk about... & that, my friends, is 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁. Here is my weekly line up as someone who operates in the Talent Acquisition / Recruiting world:   • 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗱 & 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁, Chad Sowash & Joel Cheesman - Candid hot takes, interviews, & 'shredded' segment that is a quick (5 min) recap of tech/vendor news   • 𝗥𝗲𝗰 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵, 𝗛𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 Chris Russell - Short form (10 min or less) Direct, no-fluff news about tech/vendors in the TA/HR space   • 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 Matt Alder- He's had this pod for 10+ years & is filled with so much knowledge. Longer form interviews (20-30 min)   • 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗛𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 Ryan Dull - (25 min interviews) Intriguing & relevant topics with impressive TA leaders   • 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱 - (30 min) Commercial/sales focused to build relationships with integrity Yes, I listen to these every single week. Playing in the background while getting ready for the day, dropping my kid off at daycare, walking my German Sheppard in the evenings -- I dedicate time to stay in tune with the industry & news, you you should too. Keep calm & listen on,  -Allie 👂

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For decades, enterprise sales were seen as a grind. Quota-chasing, cold-calling, transactional. Today, it’s something very different. In tech especially, carrying a number has become one of the most aspirational seats in a company. Modern sales means directing complex gtm systems that move billions in enterprise spend. Our recent blog maps out this tectonic shift: the unbundling of sales tech, and the rise of GTM automation platforms that rebundle not around features, but outcomes. Here’s a sneak peek 🧠 : ~ A breakdown of the MAPE-K loop, turning workflows into self-tuning systems ~ The business model reshaped: vendors get paid by outcomes, not seat counts ~ Why the role of SDRs is shifting, from execution to revenue engineering If you care more about revenue than tools, this is your new North Star. 💫 Read the whole piece here: https://lnkd.in/dCtg36GJ

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Customer Succes teams: don't be afraid to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty with the technical challenges your customers face. You have to earn the right to be a truly strategic advisor for your customers. Yes, we want to provide true business consultation. But if "being strategic" is code for "reluctant to dive deeply" into the actual challenges, you're hampering your ability to actually tackle strategic topics. While our end goal working with customers is to help them achieve measurable business results and we want CS teams to provide consultative guidance, we have to be able to meet the immediate technical needs customers face. Before customers will trust your teams to add consultative business value, they need to trust you for product guidance. Technical acumen and business acumen together are what make a stellar CSM. So don't be afraid to get tactical with your product when talking to customers. Because this is what will earn you the right to be strategic about weightier subjects. #SaaS #CustomerSuccess #Leadership #Product

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Vendor Consolidation vs. Best-of-Breed Tech Stack No doubt, a HOT topic for Enablement leaders facing the quagmire of proving defensible value in the face of increasingly scrutinized budgets. Spoiler alert: this post won't settle that debate (at least today... sorry!), but it sure provides a polarizing caption. Rather, this post is about effectively securing the MOST impact for your internal teams evaluating tools while simultaneously pressure testing how much your external vendors actually want to invest in your success. The answer: propose a win-win onsite vendor day. CASE STUDY: - WHAT: a few months back, we proposed collaborating on an in-person "Gong Day." In exchange for flying Pigment's Enablement team to Dublin (Gong's EMEA HQ) and dedicating an entire day's worth of mindshare, Gong would organize a "Gong on Gong" showcase of how they internally utilize their platform for IC's and leaders across BDR, AE, and CSM personas. - WHY: 1) Pigment's Enablement team, much like many others in B2B SaaS, was not yet harnessing the full value included in its tech stack, 2) Pigment's Enablement team, much like many others in B2B SaaS, aspired to infuse bleeding edge AI-functionality into its GTM motion. - HOW: [see screenshot below] Pigment met Gong halfway in co-creating an eight-hour mutually-beneficial agenda: we walked away with Gong's battle-tested playbooks, and Gong walked away with critical insight into deepening its customer traction. In sharing this story, Enablement leaders should A) feel empowered to make this pressure-testing request of existing (or potential) vendors, because B) this exercise benefits BOTH parties. Perhaps how vendors respond will clarify the conundrum of consolidating vs. renewing. Kudos to Lesley Ronaldson, Karen Carroll, Arne Branagh-Schmidt, Mounir Boulazreg, and the entire Gong EMEA team for exemplifying an unwavering commitment to customer success.

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CSMs who rely on a single champion are taking unnecessary risks. If they leave, no one else (fully) understands the value your product delivers. And churn happens even when there’s a substantial ROI. Multithreading is not optional; it must become the default state. Here’s how to build it up strategically: 1. Identify all stakeholders that are relevant decision-makers, influencers, or potential blockers through researching the account (starting with LinkedIn) 2. Ask your initial point of contact (champion or champion in the making) to make introductions to get access 3. Invite them to meet with you to learn about what’s at stake for each one of them (buyers and executive sponsors) 4. If they are not open to meeting with you, use your champion’s insider knowledge to get at least a rough idea of what they care about 5. Map out the stakeholders with their goals, value expectations, and success metrics to make them easier to track 6. Invite them to your QBRs and EBRs to keep them updated on the progress towards their goals with the defined metrics 7. If they are not participating, keep them updated remotely through ROI reports you create with your champions Building a web of connections across your customers’ organization not only helps you to secure their renewal and protect your revenue. You also gain a better understanding of their business, making it much easier to identify expansion opportunities. PS: Join 300+ CS professionals and join the CVLG community for FREE if you like this post → https://cvlg.circle.so

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Predictive Enablement is transforming how we equip our revenue leaders. No longer just about delivering content or training on demand, predictive enablement leverages data and AI to: * Anticipate Skill Gaps: Imagine knowing which reps are about to struggle with a particular objection, product feature etc before it impacts a deal. Proactive, targeted coaching and training. RingCentral's enablement & Ops teams Kelly Molkenbuhr are launching The Revenue Standard which will be the framework to do just this. * Proactively Deliver the Right Resources: Instead of reps searching for answers serve it up. This is where Ringo I've talked about before is coming in for RingCentral. * Optimize Coaching & Training: By analyzing vast amounts of sales data – from call recordings to CRM activity – AI can pinpoint patterns in successful interactions. We are leveraging RingCentral's RingSense and Aviso AI to power this. * Accelerate Onboarding & Time-to-Quota: New hires can be brought up to speed faster with personalized learning paths and simulated scenarios Heather K. has a lot on deck to do just this! * Improve Forecast Accuracy: Account planning, opp planning and deal planning with AI Ratnadeep Chatterjee, MBA Michael Throssel and I have a few things up our sleeves to roll out in Q3! Predictive enablement isn't just a buzzword; it's a strategic imperative powered by AI and robust data analytics. It moves us from reactive problem-solving to proactive performance optimization, ensuring our go-to-market teams are always one step ahead. CC: Akshay Srivastava Joe Jacob Joe Fahrner Ayub Mohammed Amir Hameed Brandon Thomas Are you already exploring predictive enablement within your organization? What impact have you seen, or what challenges are you anticipating? #PredictiveEnablement #SalesEnablement #RevenueEnablement #AITech #Coaching #GTMStrategy

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