Best Of
Week in Review - November 1
November 1, 2024
What an incredible (and incredibly busy!) few months! So many amazing CS-focused events out there, and GGR had a part in a few of them! From our September live event in Austin, TX, to participation in ChurnZero’s Zero-In through a presentation and a happy hour, to the 2nd annual Demopalooza that just ended yesterday with 17 vendors participating over the course of 4 days. Keep an eye out for the announcement that the demo videos are live in GGR in the next week or so!
As we gear up for a rapidly approaching end of year, I am wondering what you are focusing on? Is it finishing strong and making sure you are reaching out to those last customers on the list? Are you beginning to look at changes in processes and strategies for 2025? Are you just trying to keep up with all of the meetings, asks, and fires? Take a moment to share your status in GGR!
Events
🗨️ GGR CS Leadership Office Hours
The GGR Leadership Office Hours are a great way to connect with your peers through conversations about leading CS topics.
Wondering if it is worth it? Here is some feedback from our latest event:
I appreciated the opportunity to connect with a bunch of people interested in CS and how we can improve things for our customers!
With only 2 meetups remaining for 2024, make sure you have registered so you don’t miss them!
Be sure to register
Sponsor Corner
Is your Customer Success tech stack falling short?
If your current platform isn’t delivering the results you need, it’s time to see what Vitally can do.
Start with a call to assess your existing processes and pinpoint areas for improvement, then follow up with a demo to see how our platform can elevate your Customer Success game.
As a thank you for taking a demo, we’ll send you a pair of AirPods Pro. Don’t settle for less—discover the difference Vitally can make!
Best Practices (Conversations)
Check out some of the great conversations happening on GGR. Click the title to see the full conversation and share your insights!
Sophie Quinn is asking for some help with outsourcing companies to help bring support especially in new markets. Have some thoughts? Be sure to share it here!
Msobierajska is looking to move from hospitality over to CS and would love to get some insights into qualifications that would be beneficial and getting their foot in the door. Can you help with some suggestions?
Thoughts on customer asking for new rep
Kathryn Moore is looking for opinions and approaches to reassigning accounts based on customer requests. What are your thoughts?
An emerging market, Chimeria Gonzalez would love to get some insights into CSMs and federal agencies. Have any experience here you can share?
Brian O’Keeffe has run into an issue with a CRM inherited through an acquisition is just not functional and would like to hear from GGR members who have reconfigured a CRM in their career. Is this you? Take a moment to pop in and share your thoughts!
Every quarter we create a space for new and ‘mature’ GGR members to share a bit about who they are professionally and/or personally. If you haven’t participated in one of our intro threads yet, be sure to hop in, check out your peers, and share! Get started
Content
GGR SuccessScapeLooking for options for a tech need? GGR has a SuccessScape that pulls together over a hundred different resources (suggested in large part by your peers) and categorized to make it easy to see options. We are relaunching our list and asking for your input – is there a category or segment missing? What tech are you using that isn’t already on the list? Check out the QR code in the document to make your suggestions!
Psst – if you are a vendor and are on our SuccessScape or would like to be added, we also have a very exciting opportunity to have your logo linked to your website it make it even easier for potential customers to check you out.
If you are interested, be sure to reach out to heather@gaingrowretain.com for more information and check out the flyer for more options!
Community
Did you know that GGR has a job board and that there is activity on it? If not, take a moment to check it out here! This is a job board created for CS roles only and gives potential employers an opportunity to review potential candidates based on skill matching. If you haven’t created a profile yet, be sure to jump in and get started! OH! We are also in the process of adding some very cool new opportunities in the coming weeks to help job seekers even more, so stay tuned!
Member Highlights
Welcome to Our New Members!
@KaraDC
@Sarah Rich
@ryanwhite09
@norahsimon
@mcnallty2024
@James Leggett
@Ashah27
@amparoV
@rushaun
@kayliewhite
@joseihr
@ptran320
@laimonas
@jovalle24
@Sumit
@gopifich
@essamsleiman
@NellB
@ashaw
@George
@Sbaytion
@Bonnie R
Advancing Through the Ranks
Newcomer
@Claudio
@BRIT Childcare
@ralo
@Ted Colberg
@doasarris
@Zappulla74
@jchelew
@BradenSpeaks
@jorydeloach
@Lorenna
@Meer.Schaw
@CSEXEC
@ieva
@j.c.anderson
Expert
@Sophie Quinn
ThoughtLeader
@Kathryn Moore
Celebrating Anniversaries!
1st Year
@kateRDH
@Damien Duval
@shanwow
@Nicoleta Niculescu
@yaeka
@DJSargent_CLD
@Rahul Choudhary
@tkozan
@frella
@wes.crowell
@Nora Roseberry
@Gig76
@jsmitty12
@RebZent
@JessieA
2nd Year
@Casey_A
@sannaw
@doasarris
@DbradyScaledCS
@Victoria
@ciottijp
3rd Year
@jgodwin12
@Sophie Quinn
@Chris Dizon
@Chadd Rivera
@Sam Olorenshaw
@William Buckingham
@Chad Rosh
@Scott Hair
What is your end of year focus?
As we near the close of 2024, let's take a moment to reflect on whether we are in a reactive mode - focused on all the things that have to be done; a proactive mode - looking towards 2025 and planning a new focus, new strategies, or new processes; or a hybrid mode - some combination of both.
What advice do you have for someone in any of these modes, either to encourage them or to help them end this year well?
Re: Hiring Assessment for CSM
Hi there!
Our CSM hiring process consists of three parts:
- Practical Assessment - Candidates receive access to a demo instance and watch a demo recording. They then answer some questions and build some practical items in the demo instance. This allows us to test their logical thinking and ability to learn tools quickly.
- Strategic Conversation - Candidates with a good score are invited to a strategic conversation. We discuss their experience in detail and assess them based on practical examples of soft skills and job requirements to determine if they are a fit.
- Final Interview - This is a "how things would look if you were hired" conversation. The candidate is invited to our office (although it can also be remote) to meet potential colleagues, see what a normal day as a CSM looks like, understand the challenges we face, and share ideas and thoughts on practical situations to assess their fit within the team.
I hope this helps!
Re: Hiring Assessment for CSM
Hi Toni,
I use 2 different types depending on the type of CSM I'm looking to hire.
The first is providing around 100 lines of data including product usage, login data, renewal etc and asking the candidate to give me their 30 and 60 day plan if that is their book of business when they join. It's interesting to see how candidates set priorities, how easily they're able to manipulate the data and what their level of comfort is on making data actionable. I ususally add a couple of bits of data that don't make sense as well, renewal dates in the past or last logins not being the same as last usage, to see attention to detail. This is for low/tech touch CSMs.
For high touch, I send out an email from a customer looking to speak with their CSM and then run a 30 minute role play including having the candidate send a follow up email. Usually the asks are about ownership of the account, ability to set an agenda and then the research they've made into the project. I also test on this on asking a quesiton they do not know the answer to, in order to make sure they don't make something up but simply say, I'll get back to you. That's critical in most organisations I've been in with a complex platform where CSMs won't know all the answers. Happy to share the email we use if you want to DM me.
thx
Re: Thoughts on customer asking for new rep
I would reassign, as requested, and then try to understand why. Make the customer journey portion as simple as possible. They would not ask if they did not have a reason.
Re: Inherited a CRM
If it's Salesforce, I have a great consultant for you. Happy to make an introduction.
CS Trends Report Insight Gathering
Wanted to share that the survey to participate in the CS Trends Report is open! If you are a CS leader and would like to share how you are planning for 2025, take a moment to click the link below and complete the short survey.
Survey Link
Re: CSM and FEDRAMP
This is an older message, but I happen to have a conversation with you about this if you are still interested.
eveal
Re: Strategies for GTM Teams
I believe fundamental analysis is essential for understanding market and financial fluctuations. We use Nurturev, a revenue intelligence platform that leverages LinkedIn data, to address this issue. However, its reliance on frequent LinkedIn updates can be a limitation. For SMBs or private companies, ChatGPT prompts can be less effective, and extensive market research may be necessary. Overall, combining various methods, including fundamental analysis and market research, seems to be the most reliable approach. However even I am trying to find ways to make this process scalable and I have no solution to it currently.
Re: August 23, 2024 - Week in Review
It's a great summary of all the exciting upcoming events! 🤩 I look forward 🙌
Gol