Idea: Interview the Customer who turned into a CSM

Travis Wheeler

Hey Folks! 

 

Our CSM team has taken an open mind when hiring, and as a result we have a very diverse group of folks on our team. We range from Ex-Sales, Account Management, Project Management but even more uniquely, the CUSTOMER. 

I know we aren't the only company that has hired customers to be CSMs, but wanted to see if anyone in this community would want to do a side breakout session/Q&A with our two Ex-customer CSMs. Ask them things such as: 

 

-What was your ideal CSM

-How have you transitioned and what could the CS department better prepared you for

-Do you feel you have a "leg up" with customers, or are you getting "too deep" in the weeds

-Etc. Etc

 

These are just a few ideas but I've personally learned a lot from working with them. As CS continues to skyrocket in growth, looking for future CSMs in all channels is needed. 

 

I'm more than happy to facilitate this call if there are others that think a Q&A with personalities like this could be beneficial. 

Selfishly, it's a great way for me to get more of our team involved as we start to host the CSM specific Office Hours in a few weeks. Maybe this could actually be a topic for one of those breakouts, but I also see the value in having our CS leaders understand the customer turned CSM. 

 Happy Monday!

Kevin Mitchell Leonor

I transitioned very well but it takes a certain level of soft skills to do this job. I can say that not every person in my industry has those soft skills so the mileage may vary on hiring within my old industry. Shoot, even my current industry.

The first thing my customers want to hear is that I know what I am talking about. So, showing them my experience definitely helped establish an initial sentiment that their CSM can be a trusted advisor.

The most important thing off the bat that a CSM should know is how to best use the product. The rest is all internals but are equally as important.

 

Kevin Mitchell Leonor

I transitioned very well but it takes a certain level of soft skills to do this job. I can say that not every person in my industry has those soft skills so the mileage may vary on hiring within my old industry. Shoot, even my current industry.

The first thing my customers want to hear is that I know what I am talking about. So, showing them my experience definitely helped establish an initial sentiment that their CSM can be a trusted advisor.

The most important thing off the bat that a CSM should know is how to best use the product. The rest is all internals but are equally as important.

 

Kevin Mitchell Leonor

http://direksyon.com/blog/

I actually have more articles in Linkedin, but I am migrating them all to my blog. Start at the blog and end at my linkedin.