The Customer Success Pro Podcast

In this podcast episode, Anika Zubair interviews Jay Nathan, COO of Churnkey, about his extensive experience in the SaaS industry and the evolving role of customer success. They discuss the key metrics that drive growth in SaaS, such as retention, customer lifetime value, and profitability, emphasizing the need for agility in tracking and adjusting these metrics. Jay shares insights into his role as COO, the strategic importance of aligning CS with business goals, and the dual focus on customer and company needs. They also explore how customer success is shifting to a more strategic, revenue-driving function within SaaS companies. The episode provides practical advice for CS leaders who want to make a significant impact on their organization.Want to win a free pair of airpod pros, sign up for a demo with Vitally: vitally.io/csproTimestamps: 00:00 - Introduction to Jay Nathan & His Journey04:16 - The Role of a COO in a Startup08:17 - Key Metrics for SaaS Companies13:35 - Understanding Gross Retention vs. Net Retention18:28 - Customer Lifetime Value & Strategic Decision-Making24:03 - Metrics to Track in Day-to-Day CS Operations32:30 - Adapting Metrics as Your SaaS Business Grows43:30 - Quickfire RoundConnect with Anika:LinkedInYouTubeTikTokWebsite: thecustomersuccesspro.comCoaching with Anika: CSM RevUP AcademyFollow the Podcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheCustomerSuccessPro Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2IVZCeBTFUFl2iysDe9uJu Apple Podcasts:⁠⁠⁠ https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-customer-success-pro-podcast/id1733540749Connect with Jay Nathan:LinkedinCheck out his newsletter, GrowthCurveJay Nathan has over 20 years of experience in the software industry, having held leadership roles at prominent technology companies such as Blackbaud, Higher Logic, PeopleMatter, and now Churnkey. He has hands-on experience in bootstrapped, VC-backed, private equity-owned, and publicly traded software companies. In 2017 he launched a management consulting firm focused on SaaS companies and in 2018 launched the popular Gain Grow Retain customer success community, growing it to over 15,000 members worldwide. Jay has spoken and written extensively on leadership, sales, marketing, product, and customer success in the software industry. While his ultimate goal is to launch a Jimmy Buffett cover band, for now, he is focused on helping B2B SaaS companies grow and thrive.Music by AudioCoffee: https://www.audiocoffee.net/

Being a Customer Success Pro is no easy job, but this podcast will help. Remember that Customer Success is not a destination, but a journey and I am here to help you on your journey.In this episode of the Customer Success Pro podcast, host Anika Zubair discusses with Carly Agar, founder and CEO of Carly Agar Training, about effective strategies for landing promotions in customer success. The conversation covers the importance of aligning customer success strategies with business objectives, identifying upsell opportunities, and the nuances between a standard CSM role and an enterprise CSM role. Carly shares her insights on strategic account planning, self-advocacy, and building professional development skills. This detailed dialogue aims to provide CSMs with actionable steps to elevate their careers and excel in enterprise roles.00:00 Introduction02:04 Guest Introduction: Carly Agar03:16 Carly's Career Journey07:44 Services Offered by Carly Agar Training10:29 Advocating for Yourself in Your Career14:12 Differences Between CSM and Enterprise CSM Roles18:25 Skills Needed for Enterprise CSMs20:37 Steps to Transition to an Enterprise CSM Role24:37 Advocating for Promotion: Key Strategies25:07 Planting the Seed for Promotion26:59 Self-Advocacy Tips for Different Personalities29:34 Showcasing Your Value Across the Business35:45 Proving Your Readiness for Enterprise Accounts41:38 Quick Fire Questions with CarlyConnect with Anika:LinkedInYouTubeTikTok: tiktok.com/@thecustomersuccessproWebsite: thecustomersuccesspro.comCoaching with Anika: CSM RevUP AcademyConnect with Carly Agar:LinkedinWebsiteAs Founder/CEO of Carly Agar Training, Carly runs two coaching programs for customer success job seekers (one for experienced CS pros and another for career transitioners), and hosts the Customer Success Career Coach podcast. Before this, she spent 10 years growing her own career in customer success, primarily in hyper growth SaaS companies, where she did a LOT of hiring of CSMs over the years. She also served as a Customer Success Enablement Manager, designing interview processes and career paths for CSMs. Carly has always been passionate about taking ownership of your career, being intentional about career choices you make, and maximizing what you get from your career - whether that be work/life balance, financial freedom, or contributing to an important mission. Music by AudioCoffee: https://www.audiocoffee.net/

Being a Customer Success Pro is no easy job, but this podcast will help. Remember that Customer Success is not a destination, but a journey and I am here to help you on your journey.The podcast episode features Alex Turkovic discussing the integration of AI in customer success routines. Key topics include practical applications of AI, tools for customer success professionals, and tips for using AI effectively. The episode aims to provide insights on how AI can save time and enhance customer value, with a focus on real-world examples and best practices.00:00 - Introduction to the Podcast04:43 - Alex's Early Stages of Customer Success09:22 - AI Tools and Techniques14:03 - Daily Uses of AI in Customer Success Tools18:45 - Comparisons and Evaluations of AI Tools23:26 - Deep Dive into Useful AI Tools32:47 - Strategic Implementations of AI42:29 - Quickfire QuestionsConnect with Anika:LinkedInYouTubeTikTokWebsite: thecustomersuccesspro.comCoaching with Anika: CSM RevUP AcademyConnect with Alex:Alex’s podcast episode about AILinkedinPodcastWith over 15 years of experience in customer success leadership, professional services, and customer education, Alex is passionate about creating and delivering impactful and engaging customer experiences for products and services. As the Global Director of Digital Customer Success at Flexera, he combines digital and scaled customer success strategies with customer education programs to ensure optimal customer lifecycle engagement and outcomes. Alex is the host of 'The CX Podcast', where he explores different aspects of building and maintaining world-class digital customer success experiences, with guests who are in-field and executing.Music by AudioCoffee: https://www.audiocoffee.net/

Learn more about our show sponsor CSM RevUP Academy: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/csm-revup-academy/Being a Customer Success Pro is no easy job, but this podcast will help. Remember that Customer Success is not a destination, but a journey and I am here to help you on your journey.In this episode of the Customer Success Pro Podcast, host Anika Zubair speaks with Madelyn DePrey, VP of Customer Success at Aircall. Together, they dive into how leading with value can contribute to customer and revenue growth, the integration of sales strategies in customer success, and the importance of continuous learning. Madelyn also shares her journey from hospitality to customer success and how she navigates her role as VP of Customer Success at Aircall.Timestamps:00:00 Introduction 01:11 Welcome Madelyn 03:21 Madelyn's Journey to Customer Success 06:32 Aircall's Customer Success Strategy 09:12 Leading with Value in Customer Success 12:56 CSMs and Revenue Responsibilities 20:09 Training and Sales Tactics for CSMs 23:07 Top of the Funnel in Customer Success 28:31 Advice for CSMs Embracing Revenue Targets 31:08 Quick Fire QuestionsConnect with Anika:LinkedInYouTubeTikTokWebsite: thecustomersuccesspro.comCoaching with Anika: CSM RevUP AcademyFollow the Podcast:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheCustomerSuccessPro Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2IVZCeBTFUFl2iysDe9uJu Apple Podcasts:⁠⁠⁠ https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-customer-success-pro-podcast/id1733540749Connect with Madelyn DePrey:LinkedInAs Global VP of Customer Success for Aircall, Madelyn manages a sizable revenue-generating team with a focus on driving adoption, advocacy and growth across a largely SMB customer base. Throughout her tenure at Aircall, Madelyn has been instrumental in developing a segmented end to end customer journey, leveraging a combination of product-led engagement, automation and human touch. Prior to her time in tech, most of her career has been spent in hospitality, from her first job playing Spongebob at a Nickelodeon theme park, to hotel management, to building customer success from scratch at a B2B hotel tech company, Madelyn is passionate about all things customer relations!Music by AudioCoffee: https://www.audiocoffee.net/Music by AudioCoffee: https://www.audiocoffee.net/

Being a Customer Success Pro is no easy job, but this podcast will help. Remember that Customer Success is not a destination, but a journey and I am here to help you on your journey.In this episode, Anika Zubair talks with Daphne Costa Lopez, Director of Customer Success at HubSpot, about strategies for driving and growing customer retention at scale. They explore a range of models from renewals to segmentation, customer success qualified leads (CSQLs), and automating success plans and QBRs.00:00 Introduction and Welcome 01:03 Introductions of Daphne Costa Lopez 02:12 Daphne's Background and Career Journey 03:59 Building and Scaling Customer Success at HubSpot 28:08 CSQLs and Automation in Customer Success 38:55 Dynamic Segmentation Strategy 46:51 Quickfire Question RoundConnect with Anika:LinkedInYouTubeTikTokWebsite: thecustomersuccesspro.comCoaching with Anika: CSM RevUP AcademyFollow the Podcast:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheCustomerSuccessPro Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2IVZCeBTFUFl2iysDe9uJu Apple Podcasts:⁠⁠⁠ https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-customer-success-pro-podcast/id1733540749Daphne Costa LopesLinkedinOver the last decade, Daphne has helped Start-ups, Scale-Ups and Fortune 500 businesses build and scale global Customer Success teams to service 200K+ customers and $2B+ ARR.Her journey in Customer Success started with a eureka moment she had in 2011: “When we deliver value to our customers, we won’t just retain their business... We will capture more of their demand.”Backed by this belief, she spent the following 4 years helping build a 'CS-as-a-Service' business. We generated thousands of SuccessQLs for our customers and proved early on that Customer Success could be a revenue driver.By focusing on Customer-Led-Growth, She has helped the businesses she worked with achieve 130%+ NRR. Today, She head up Customer Success at HubSpot where her teams serve thousands of customers worldwide.Since that light-bulb moment, she has invested my energy into building and scaling Customer Success teams to be the second engine of growth for tech businesses and helping others do it too.Music by AudioCoffee: https://www.audiocoffee.net/

Being a Customer Success Pro is no easy job, but this podcast will help. Remember that Customer Success is not a destination, but a journey and I am here to help you on your journey.In this episode of the Customer Success Pro podcast, hosted by Anika Zubair, guest Jared Orr, a Senior Customer Success Manager and copywriter, shares his journey overcoming job loss and finding success in a challenging job market. Jared discusses his experiences with layoffs, the importance of networking, and strategies for preparing for interviews and handling homework assignments. He also emphasizes the critical nature of investing in coaching and adapting to market changes. This episode offers practical advice for CS professionals navigating their career paths and how to find and land their next job in Customer Success.Timestamps:00:00 Introduction to the Customer Success Pro Podcast 01:03 Meet Jared Orr: A Journey Through Startups and Layoffs 03:05 Jared's New Role 07:59 Navigating Job Loss and the Tough Job Market 13:39 Starting a Copywriting Business 20:43 Job Hunting Tips and Horror Stories 23:29 Sharing a Personal Interview Experience 24:34 Advice for Hiring Managers 26:49 Preparing for an Interview 30:05 Handling Homework Assignments 34:11 Networking and Landing a Job 39:28 Reflecting on Job Hunting Strategies 41:29 Quickfire QuestionsConnect with Anika:LinkedInYouTubeTikTokWebsite: thecustomersuccesspro.comCoaching with Anika: CSM RevUP AcademyConnect with Jared:LinkedInYouTubeWebsiteArticle: https://www.csinsider.co/email/how-to-ace-your-mock-qbr-interviewJared has been a CSM since 2018. He's been heavily involved in startups throughout most of his career. Currently, he works as a Senior CSM at vCom Solutions and lives in Queen Creek, Arizona with his wife and daughter.Music by AudioCoffee: https://www.audiocoffee.net/

Being a Customer Success Pro is no easy job, but this podcast will help. Remember that Customer Success is not a destination, but a journey and I am here to help you on your journey.In this episode of the Customer Success Pro podcast, host Anika Zubair interviews Erica Villareal, a strategic customer success manager at Eptura and a top 25 CS influencer of 2023. Erica shares her journey from Mexico, to becoming a strategic CSM in Dallas, highlighting her use of personal branding on LinkedIn to advance her career. She discusses the importance of translating customer data into actionable insights, the role of strategic customer success managers, and how they differ from other CSM roles in terms of customer engagement and responsibilities. Erica shares her secret sauce for organization and proactivity, emphasizing success plans and business reviews as essential tools for demonstrating value and securing customer success. The conversation also explores Erica's career ambitions, the skills essential for a strategic CSM, and tips for managing workload and showcasing value to achieve promotions. Additionally, Erica's eBook, 'Raising the Bar: How to Excel in Your Enterprise CSM Role,' is discussed, offering insights into further advancing in the customer success field.Connect with Anika:LinkedInYouTubeTikTokWebsite: thecustomersuccesspro.comCoaching with Anika: CSM RevUP AcademyConnect with Erika:LinkedinErika Villarreal is a Customer Success enthusiast, a thought leader, and an influencer in the CS space.  She is an engineer at the core, curious by nature, and a process addict. Currently, she is the Strategic Customer Success Manager at Eptura, a leading workspace management solution where she helps her customers drive adoption and achieve their own definition of success. Erika is also very involved with the Customer Success community, where she shares content that helps other CS professionals succeed in their roles, she has her own newsletter and contributes to multiple CS blogs.Music by AudioCoffee: https://www.audiocoffee.net/

Navigating your Customer Success Career with Kristi FaltorussoIn this episode of the Customer Success Pro podcast, Anika Zubair interviews Kristi Faltorusso, a four times Top 25 Customer Success Influencer award winner and CCO at Client Success. Kristi shares her remarkable journey from a marketing professional to becoming a leading figure in the SaaS and customer success (CS) space. She highlights the importance of passion, hard work, and taking calculated risks in her career trajectory, culminating in her current role where she significantly impacts her organization and the CS community. The discussion also explores the evolving landscape of customer success, the importance of continuous learning, and the potential of AI in transforming CS strategies. Kristi offers invaluable advice to aspiring CS professionals, emphasizing the need for a data-driven approach, proactive customer engagement, and the courage to pivot when necessary. The conversation is a blend of personal anecdotes, professional insights, and practical tips, making it a must-listen for anyone interested in building a successful career in customer success.Timestamps:00:00 Welcome to the Customer Success Pro Podcast!01:04 Spotlight on Kristi Faltorusso: A Customer Success Trailblazer06:11 Kristi's Journey: From Marketing to Chief Customer Officer11:17 The Reality of Achieving Work-Life Balance in Leadership13:08 Kristis's Future Ambitions Beyond the CCO Role20:35 Securing a Customer Success Seat at the Executive Table27:13 Navigating a Non-Conventional Path to the C-Suite31:00 The Importance of Leadership and Passion in Your Career35:04 Insights into the Role of a Chief Customer Officer43:19 Addressing Gender and Career Progression in Tech45:36 Quickfire RoundConnect with Anika:LinkedInYouTubeTikTokSignup for my newsletter: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/subscribe/Website: thecustomersuccesspro.comCoaching with Anika: CSM RevUP AcademyConnect with Kristi:LinkedinKristi Faltorusso is a distinguished Customer Success Executive, recognized for her exceptional expertise in building, scaling and transforming Customer Success organizations within high-growth B2B SaaS companies. With a career spanning over 12 years, Kristi has been instrumental in guiding numerous companies through the strategic redefinition of Customer Success, resulting in heightened retention rates, sustained revenue growth, and amplified customer advocacy.Having held pivotal roles in renowned organizations such as BrightEdge, Sisense, BetterCloud, and IntelliShift, Kristi has consistently demonstrated her leadership prowess in steering Customer Success and Experience teams. Presently, as the Chief Customer Officer at ClientSuccess, a leading provider of Customer Success Management solutions, Kristi spearheads Customer Success, Technical Support, and Consulting initiatives. In her current capacity, she continues to drive transformative outcomes, aligning her passion for customer-centric strategies with a commitment to delivering unparalleled value.Music by AudioCoffee: https://www.audiocoffee.net/

Being a Customer Success Pro is no easy job, but this podcast will help. Remember that Customer Success is not a destination, but a journey and I am here to help you on your journey.Imposter Syndrome, Prioritization, and Mindset Shifts in Customer Success. All topics we covered in Today’s talk with Rachel Provan. Today’s podcast will focus on how you have to shift your mindset in order to move from reactive to proactive Customer Success.Rachel Provan, founder of Proven Success, joins the podcast as the first guest to discuss her career transition from acting to customer success and her current role leading customer success coaching. Topics covered include the importance of understanding the Pareto Principle, the necessity of setting aside focus time to work on strategy, techniques for effectively prioritizing tasks, and advice on overcoming imposter syndrome. Rachel also discusses how she built Provan Success and her approach to coaching customer success professionals.Timestamps:00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome03:54 Transition from Corporate to Entrepreneurship09:21 The Role of Mindset in Customer Success16:42 The Importance of Time Management in CS20:29 The Impact of Task Switching on Productivity21:30 The Importance of Proactive Leadership22:06 The Pitfalls of the Player-Coach Mentality22:20 The Art of Prioritization in Leadership23:03 The Struggle of Saying No23:26 The Challenge of Balancing Multiple Roles28:00 The Reality of Imposter Syndrome30:12 The Struggle of Perfectionism and High Expectations38:08 The Future of Customer SuccessConnect with Anika:LinkedInYouTubeTikTokWebsite: thecustomersuccesspro.comCoaching with Anika: CSM RevUP AcademyFollow the Podcast YouTubeSpotifyApple PodcastsConnect with Rachel:Rachel Provan is a top 25 CS Influencer and Coach for Customer Success leaders. She has over 15 years of experience in CS Leadership building and scaling CS departments across diverse markets from seed stage to Fortune 500 Companies.  With a passion for fusing psychology with business strategy and leadership techniques, Rachel teaches new CS leaders to build and scale revenue-generating customer success departments. Her flagship course, The CS Leadership Academy, helps former CSMs nail their transition to accomplished CS Leaders. You can find her on LinkedIn, provansuccess.com, or psychologyofcustomersuccess.comMusic by AudioCoffee: https://www.audiocoffee.net/

This is The Customer Success Pro Podcast, hosted by Anika Zubair. Customer Success is not a destination, but a a journey. Join me on this crazy CS journey as I chat to leaders, strategists and experts in customer success about their experiences and definitions of customer success and share with your their best practices on how to build and scale world class CS organization. Each interview will unlock tips, tricks and best practices to help scale your customer success career and company. I will dive into important and relevant topics to help spread knowledge about customer success in order to help companies put the customer at the center of their business. Because at the end of the day when customer are successful, so is the company. If you have specific topics you would like me to cover in this podcast please message me on Linkedin!Make sure you hit FOLLOW so you don’t miss out on any new episodes when they drop every month.I can’t wait to chat with you soon!Connect with Anika Zubair:Website: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/anikazubair/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheCustomerSuccessProMusic by AudioCoffee: https://www.audiocoffee.net/