5 Reasons Why CSMs Cannot Get Client Meetings
Continuing our “5 Reasons” series, this month we turn to Customer Success Managers (CSMs). A common challenge they have is that they cannot get customers to show up for business reviews, or even schedule business reviews in the first place. Let’s explore why that may be, and what can be done to turn the situation around.
1. The QBR format does not address client interests
Most success organizations maintain templates for QBRs, which I encourage. At the same time, the templates are often more organization-centric rather than client centric. They contain usage metrics but few, if any, actual business results. In other words, they might be acceptable for the first post-onboarding review, but after that they simply won’t address client needs.
The solution is both simple and demanding: change the format to focus on results and tailor the discussion to what the client actually needs.
Lesson: Create templates that focus on the clients’ business goals
2. The CSMs want to talk about the product; clients want to talk about outcomes
CSMs are often directed to talk about new features and new products, which is understandable from the perspective of the organization. But clients rarely want to have new products shoved down their throats: instead, they want to understand how the product or service connects to their business goals.
CSMs must be comfortable asking about business goals and there must be a way to capture them and integrate them in each business review, as discussed in reason #1. Truly great CSMs are also comfortable influencing business goals.
Lesson: Capture and present business outcomes
3. The CSMs are not adding value
The best CSMs are knowledgeable about their industry and are able to provide guidance to their clients on how best to manage their organization (and, unsurprisingly, they have no problem arranging meetings with their clients, who are eager to benefit from their expertise). While you can’t always ensure that all your CSMs are industry experts, you can certainly expose them to industry knowledge, create a repository for such knowledge, and ask them to share what they know among themselves. And create a solid structure for connecting best practices with the business goals we discussed in reason #2.
Lesson: Create a robust set of best practices
4. The CSMs don’t discuss ROI
If your clients are not asking about ROI for their investment, they will eventually, so you need a methodology to quantify benefits created through your product or service. Start with the client’s business goals, as discussed in reason #2, and help CSMs identify the data needed to make a real business case.
Lesson: Create an ROI methodology with plug-and-play opportunities for client customization.
5. The CSMs cannot compensate for poor service
If a customer is in crisis, they want the problem fixed and they do no need a chat with the CSM. Don’t waste the CSM time trying to arrange reviews; fix the underlying issue first. If this is a recurrent issue or, worse, a general issue across the board, work with the support management team to design and execute a get-well plan.
And don’t let crises go to waste: you can learn a lot about a client by accompanying them through a difficult time, in particular the goals they really care about.
Lesson: Fix the crisis rather than of push business reviews.
Are your customers reluctant to commit to business reviews? What have you done to alleviate the issue?
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