Are Multi-year Contracts Bad Business?
THE BIG DEAL: Everyone loves the excitement of the “The Big Deal”. Aaron Rodgers 5 year $165M contract makes a great headline. And as much as any particular deal can be debated (and often are) multiyear contracts in sports make sense. The question is: Do Multiyear...
Puzzled about Customer Success Metrics?
There is a lot of talk about metrics, measurements, and KPIs in the world of Customer Success. Peter Drucker’s statement that, “What gets measured gets improved” continues to show up in presentations and blogs, on a variety of topics from CS ROI, to Health Scores, and...
How Do You Measure “Customer Success”?
Customer Success 2.0 arrived in 2005 which, when you think of it, makes the profession sort of a teenager… Having raised a couple of them, there does seem to be some strong similarities… The “searching for an identity” and all that. In reality, customer success is a...
The Ten Steps to Customer Success
There are a lot of different approaches to Customer Success compensation and although there may not be one perfect plan, the data below suggests that a variable plan with a bonus will provide the best results. If you consider yourself “Data-Driven” let’s look at some...
Compensation & Results…
There are a lot of different approaches to Customer Success compensation and although there may not be one perfect plan, the data below suggests that a variable plan with a bonus will provide the best results. If you consider yourself “Data-Driven” let’s look at some...
The Economics of Customer Success Part One
When listening in on conversations about Customer Success you will often hear a wide variety of perspectives and opinions on exactly what it is, when it began, and why it is important. In a nascent profession such as Customer Success, this diversity of perspectives...
CEOs and Strategy: Defining Corporate Purpose
My favorite quote is probably:“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without Strategy is the noise before defeat”.Sun Tzu – 512 BCBesides being a favorite of mine, I believe this insight is one that transcends time and is as relevant today...
Reflecting On Lessons Learned
It’s my habit during transitions to spend time reflecting over the recent past and anticipating the unknown future. I know that 2016 was a challenging year for many and a wonderful year for others. I also know that some of you are entering 2017 with apprehension. I’m...
Why it’s Collaboration Time for Sales and Customer Success Association
Familiar Tropes Between CS & SalesWhat happens when a SaaS Venture Capitalist, a Customer Success (CS) Analyst, and a VP of CS sit down to chat about Sales and CS? You might anticipate that a lively conversation would ensue, with many points of contention. For...
What If Customer Success Isn’t Necessary?
A Business UtopiaHave you ever thought about what the world might look like if Customer Success (CS) was something that you didn’t need? I certainly had not considered this, and while it is a theoretical extreme, it’s an interesting construct to think about. What if:...