As Customer Success Managers we are challenged with being prepared as we move from one customer engagement to the next.
Having a method to get up to speed fast on our customer’s situation can help us bring value to our discussion while being efficient with our time.
This post will provide some practical tips on how to come to meetings ready to have a productive discussion with a client with minimal time investment for a CSM.
First, let’s review some areas we can get up to speed about:
- Who am I speaking to and what do they care about? Here we can think about any personal items we may want to catch-up about, our contact’s role and responsibilities and their priorities. Being in the mindset of our customer can help us be ready for our discussion.
- What did we last discuss? We can be ready to pick-up where we left off with our customer. Keeping continuity between conversations will help us be ready to discuss business and start the call with momentum to drive projects forward.
- What are we talking about today? Our discussion can bridge where we left off with where we are headed. We can get familiar with the plans for today’s discussion.
- What should I be familiar with? Are we referencing a certain file, aspect of the customer’s business or piece of our software in the meeting? Refreshing ourselves on the meeting materials can help us have the content top of mind.
- What should I ask about? Customer Success Managers use consultative questions to uncover critical information to help drive solutions. What can we ask our customer in today’s discussion to demonstrate we’re engaged in the customer’s business?
Next, we should consider how we will handle the above fast while we switch gears from customer to customer.
- What ways am I organized? To keep track of items such as who our customer is, what we last discussed and meeting materials – we can use organization techniques and tools. For example, CSMs can use a CRM while taking a disciplined approach to recording recaps, documenting action items and storing client information in an easy to reference place.
- How much should I prepare? CSMs are challenged with limited time in their day. When preparing for meetings we want to think about covering the essential items while leaving out anything that’s more than we need for a productive discussion.
- What routine can we follow? Preparing for our calls in a consistent manner can help increase our efficiency. We can create a routine with items like a call brief template, call prep checklist or having relevant files loaded on screen.
In Conclusion (of an article on preparation)
Getting up to speed fast as a Customer Success Manager will help improve our customer relationships and outcomes. CSMs can bring a personal confidence to the meeting knowing they are prepared. Our preparation also helps build trust and show respect to our client.
Ultimately, being ready for client discussions helps ourselves and our customers be more effective.