Jeff Kushmerek, with 20 years of software professional experiences experience, gets deep into the details of Professional Services in software. Joined by experts in the industry, he covers everything from ops, growing teams, selling services and products, customer success, and everything in between.
In this episode, Jeff and Jonathan Corey, CEO of Precursive, delve into the strategic importance of services in SaaS businesses. They explore how professional services and implementations drive growth, enhance customer satisfaction, and unlock new revenue opportunities, highlighting key strategies for aligning sales and service teams for sustainable success.
In today's episode, Jeff and Jay delve into the evolving landscape of customer success and account management, exploring modern business strategies and the importance of data-driven decision-making. Gain valuable insights into shifting metrics, leadership responsibilities, and actionable takeaways for business growth. Don't miss this thought-provoking discussion—hit play now!
Boost revenue and satisfaction with CSQLs. Insights from Monica Trivedi, SVP at JLL Technologies, emphasize the importance of metrics, collaboration, and a customer-centric culture. Plan and involve leadership for successful CSQL implementation.
Jeff Kushmerek with Chad Horenfeldt and Kristi Faltorusso explore forecasting, renewals in CSM, and the importance of not conflating customer health and renewal forecasts. Their insights offer valuable strategies for revenue growth. Subscribe for more insights!
This thought-provoking episode with Jeff Kushmerek and Lizzy Rosen explores the essential skills required for Customer Success Managers (CSMs). They dive into the perfect mix of technical expertise and soft skills, the potential of internal hiring, and the importance of understanding customer needs. Tune in as they discuss hiring strategies, the value of training, and the benefits of nurturing talent within the organization. Don't miss this insightful conversation that will surely redefine your perception of customer success.
In this episode of the GSD Podcast, Kris Rudeegraap, CEO of Sendoso, shares his experiences and strategies for building successful customer relationships. Tune in for valuable insights from a customer-focused CEO!
Join Angeline Gavino and Jeff Kushmerek in this insightful conversation as they discuss the importance of effective digital customer support. Learn how to leverage technology while maintaining a human touch, the significance of empathy and active listening, and how data analytics can enhance personalized interactions. Gain valuable insights on addressing negative feedback and the benefits of a robust knowledge management system.
Join Jeff and Dana as they explore the power of customer advocacy and community engagement in driving customer-led growth. Gain insights into operationalizing customer advocacy, tracking revenue influence, and leveraging authentic customer voices. Don't miss out on this informative discussion!
Join host Jeff Kushmerek in the latest GSD podcast episode as he interviews Alli Tiscornia, the Chief Customer Officer of Turner. They delve into the world of Customer Success Managers (CSMs) and discuss the importance of risk assessments, forecasting, and a sales mindset. They also touch on merging account management and customer success, the challenges of forecasting, and the role of data and relationships. Tune in for valuable insights on CSM responsibilities and strategies for success in this field.
Join Jeff Kushmerek and Gözde Görce as they discuss the advantages of transitioning from email to Slack for customer success and support teams. Learn how Slack can improve response times and communication, key guidelines for effective use, and other use cases for the platform. Don't miss out on valuable insights into the benefits of using Slack for customer success and support teams.
Scott Roth shared his experience transitioning to a small startup and discussed the success of the company's virtual customer advisory board. Key takeaways include the importance of building credibility with customers, discussions on the product roadmap and co-developing new capabilities, plans for future in-person meetings, and the possibility of creating a community for all customers. The company will use feedback from the advisory board to shape the platform's future and aims to become the industry leader in their space.
In this conversation, Jeff speaks with Marija Skobe-Pilley, director of customer success at ClickUp and host of the Women in Customer Success podcast. Key topics discussed include: - Approaches to career planning, including understanding the skills needed for a CCO role and being open to opportunities - The importance of taking initiative and being proactive to succeed in your career - The Women in Customer Success podcast, which aims to support women in the field through networking, mentoring, and building skills - The challenges women face when moving up the ladder from an individual contributor to leadership in customer success. You will come away with insights on career growth, leadership, and the importance of supporting women in customer success.
Join Jeff and Daniel Viduya in this engaging podcast episode as they dive into the importance of authentic customer service. With Daniel's personal experiences as a customer, they discuss how businesses should prioritize customer experience in all interactions. Learn about the innate behaviors of good manners and empathy, and hear about exceptional customer service experiences. They also touch on the significance of behavior in customer service and how KPIs can be used to measure it. This podcast emphasizes the value of authenticity and empathy in creating a great customer experience. In addition, they also discuss the importance of failed payment recovery, offering valuable insights on how businesses can turn failed payments into opportunities for improving customer relationships. Don't miss out on this informative episode! Connect with Jeff - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffkushmerek/
Jeff and Dan discussed the importance of the customer success team focusing their time not just on metrics in general, but also on the human validation component. They also talked about people saying yes or no to a survey is not the indicator of churn or renewal, but rather whether they actually responded to the survey. Jeff and Dan discussed the importance of making rock stars out of their team, focusing on making sure that they move to the next level regardless of their managers. GSD podcast brought to you by https://infiniterenewals.com/
In this episode, Jeff interviews Sumitra Narayanan about customer success solutions engineering and technical account management. Learn how to streamline the CSM workflow and equip them with what they need to be happier, more effective, and add value where it matters.
Building a thriving community takes more than just having an online presence. It requires a well-defined mission, vision, and customer journey. It also needs to have strategies that foster meaningful engagement with its customers. Fortunately, the GSD podcast is an excellent resource to help you get started. In this episode, Leslie and Jeff discuss essential topics such as understanding the competitive landscape and personas and gamification strategies that can drive engagement. In this podcast, we'll be exploring Leslie's journey as a community builder. Leslie has been passionate about communities since before COVID and her experience in Pavilion only furthered her dedication to the cause. Jeff talked to Leslie about how she established mission, vision, and values with startups, enabling them to create authentic and meaningful communities. Leslie discussed how she believes in customer journeys that lead to evangelists referring others in by micro wins throughout the journey. Jeff and Leslie also discussed Word-of-mouth marketing and how it is particularly relevant in the digital age, as well as understanding the competitive landscape and personas when rolling out a new one. They also had a fascinating discussion about the effectiveness of gamification in communities, and how internal intrinsic motivation leads to better engagement levels than external extrinsic rewards. If you are considering a community-building project or running an existing network, grab yourself a cup of coffee or tea, silence your phone, and listen to this informative episode – You won't regret it!
Learn tips and tricks from Pat Muirragui on how to have a successful go-live for your enterprise application. Includes pre-sales, handoff, kickoff, development cycle, testing cycle, and more.
It's no secret that high value consultancy services can provide a huge boon to businesses of all sizes. By leveraging the expertise of experienced consultants, businesses can quickly overcome product gaps and gain a competitive edge in their industry. In this GSD Podcast, Michael Burton of Stitch discusses the keys to success when it comes to high value consultancy services. • Michael Burton is CEO of Stitch, a consultancy that helps marketers get the most out of Twillio and Braze. • Michael and Jeff discussed headless tools, providing feedback loop into the product, co-selling, upselling, mitigating customer pain points with technology partners, and more. • Burton advises against having source lead targets for consultancies when working with larger companies, advocating multiple solutions coming together with SaaS companies; trust is cultivated through successful work. You can connect with Michael here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeldburton/ GSD podcast brought to you by https://infiniterenewals.com/ Connect with Jeff - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffkushmerek/
Listen in as Cheyanne and Jeff discuss their best tips for successful onboarding and implementation. From communication to getting everyone on the same page, they cover it all! • Cheyanne LaFrance and Jeff Kushmerek discussed implementation for this GSD Podcast episode. • Cheyanne talks about closely working with her sales team to onboard customers and leads kick-off calls. • Cheyanne and Jeff discussed the common pain points on implementation including too many people wanting to be involved but not actually doing anything, and confusion about why the software is essential. • They also discussed the importance of understanding both what they're selling and what they're buying, as well as having sales engineers who understand customer needs. • Lastly, they talked about how implementation can be difficult yet possible with hard work and talent. Away from work, Cheyanne enjoys snowboarding trips and relaxing in the outdoors. You can connect with her via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheyanne-lafrance/
Join Jeff as he interviews Erika Villarreal, author of The 30-60-90 day guide to Onboard Yourself: a helpful guide for new employees during their first 90 days on the job. This guide covers topics such as getting to know the team, understanding team members and products/roles, and transitioning accounts, and diving deep into customer details.
In this episode, Jeff interviews Bernadette Risley about using good sales tactics to be better CSMs. They discuss the importance of having a strategy in place before executing any customer success initiatives and how to review original objectives.
In this podcast, Jay Nathan, EVP of Higher Logic, talks about how to use Community as a way of scaling customer success. He also talks about : - How Community increases NRR - The community ROI story to the CFO - Creating an Ecosystem customers feel great about - Building Self service with Community - Monitoring your communities will give you an effective product in behavior insights better than anything else Video version here: https://youtube.com/@infiniterenewals
Jeff is joined by Carly Agar, who helps people land jobs in Customer Success. Carly spent many years as a high-performing CSM before starting her own practice. In this chat, Carly discusses: Her move from CSM to starting her own consulting practice vs going into a management role Career paths and making the right next step Transitioning from other careers into CSM Networking do's and dont's Startups vs big company Heavy stock paper resumes and the importance of zippered briefcases This was a blast to record! Follow Carly at https://www.carlyagar.com/
Jeff is joined by Mike Molinet of Branch. Mike had written this article on how Branch uses Slack to Retain and Grow $100k+ accounts. This was such a different perspective that we needed to get Mike on the podcast to explain. Listen has Mike describes: - How Branch uses Channels to keep engagement high with Branch's power users and Champions - Expectation management and guardrails needed to prevent CSM burnout with customers actively engaging with Slack - Building organic communities with customers using Slack - Sending Product updates and marketing to customers in Slack - Tiering customers for level of slack engagement - Using Slack engagement analytics to be leading indicators of churn and renewal. And a ton more!
Jeff sits down with the legendary Bob London to discuss Strategic Conversations. Bob has over 2600 customer conversations analyzed among sales and CS, and has put together a framework for talking to customers called the Five Customer Love languages. Jeff and Bob dive deep into the 5 love languages and talk about how to use the framework to get your customers to open up about what's important to them. We discuss how these interact with customer calls, 45 minute zombie QBR's, and also how to overcome imposter syndrome. Additional topics include: working with Covid, schadenfreude as a Red Sox fan, getting fired and finding your own path. You can find more about Bob here - https://www.strategiccustomerconvos.com/
This week we were joined by Bruce Daley of S&P Global 451 Research. Bruce is an industry analyst following revenue generation software companies with a particular interest in Customer Success vendors. He is a long-time student of the software industry and is considered minor nobility in it by some. We talked about how to make a buck in this business, spending a little time making jokes. Some of the questions we discussed were: Is customer success a good place to build a career? What is the overall market demand for customer success products? Who are some of the winners and losers? What is the hottest subcategory? How do you make a fortune in the space (or at least a living)? Bruce also shared his billion-dollar business idea only 12 years too late.
Jeff is joined by Rachel Provan, a Top 50 Women Leaders In Customer Success 2022 and Top 100 CS Strategist 2022! Rachel and Jeff discuss: - Time Management boundaries in CS and how to get people to respect them and stop the pattern of interruption - Rachel's career advice about "Heads of CS" positions - The problem with the "player coach" role - The Eisenhower matrix, the urgent important and how to use it to get your life back - Strategies for getting that raise and promotion. There is a lot more as well. Listen in and also check out Rachel at https://provansuccess.com/
Jeff is joined by an ALL FIRED UP top 25 CS Influencer Kristi Faltorusso of Client Success to go over a few items that were hot topics in the hallways and bars of Gainsight Pulse. Kristi wants CS leaders to uplevel their game and protect their team by being powerful executives. Key topics include: - CS leaders playing the victim instead of leading from the front - "Asking" for a seat at the executive table - Owning revenue and renewals - Budget wars - USE THE DATA to win your battles - bring the right data insights to make informed decisions - How to battle proof your org during this economic situation - Is the QBR dead? Kristi gives her perspective and ideas - NPS and your Board and a ton more. This list does not do justice to all of the knowledge drops Kristi did! You can also get more Kristi knowledge here: https://www.keepingcssimple.com/listen-to-kristi
Jeff talks with Jan Young every few months to go over Customer Success topics. for this time, we decided to tape it! We were inspired to catch up to discuss the differences in approach between Frank Slootman's new book (where he says CS is not needed) compared to a post from Jason Lemkin. We covered that, and then in our usual style talked about everything on our minds that day! Topics include: Jan's background in the entertainment business and how it prepared her for SaaS Hiring specialists vs. generalists and when to use those strategies Analyzed Chris' post vs. Frank Slootman approach on initiatives and success depending on ownership Self-service onboarding vs. complex
Meg Lovell of Everbridge is a ninja when it comes to all things implementation. We chatted and had a fast paced conversation about everything you need to know about implementation, including - turning 9 month implementations into 3 - Customers not getting any value from your product and needing to renew - Approaching implementations with a psychology standpoint and human behavior point of view - Eliminating the status call - Charging Professional Services for things the customer is asking you to do - Using Project Managers to run Implementation Projects
Jeff is joined by longtime friend and former coworker Alex Medeiros to discuss Alex's new role as Head of Enablement at Limeade. Topics discussed are : What is CSM Enablement? Importance of Success Criteria and targeting the right customers Quick impacts Build trust all along the onboarding journey Interaction with Product Marketing Handoff and Onboard Readiness And many other nuggets that Alex has picked up along the way in building this new competency!
Customer Success Legend Maranda Dziekonski joins Jeff on the latest podcast. In a very open and honest conversation, Maranda talks about: - Her blue-collar work ethic and how she went from the factory to the office - Customer Success and who owns the revenue, upsells, etc - Leveraging new tech and approaches (Ops, AI) - Roles in the new Customer Success organization - Landing a role in CX as a college grad vs a career transition - How to avoid burnout Also lots of tangents on pantsuits, dog medications, and boutique cameras!
Jeff is joined by Top 100 Customer Success Strategist 2020 & 2021 Shari Srebnick, the Head of Customer Success at Searchmetrics. Shari educates Jeff on the best ways to listen to your customer to drive better enagement and customer relationships. Topcis include: - Why NPS isn't the best or only way to track customer sentiment - Properly segmenting your customer base to make sense of your data collection - Surveying end-users AND stakeholders - How to create your strategy around customer sentiment - What NOT to talk about in the QBR And a lot more- Shari drops nugget after nugget here, so listen with your notebook open!
In this podcast, Jeff does a deep dive into the world of CS Ops with David Epperly of Red Canary. David put together a great post about the basics of CS Ops (click here to read). Topics discussed were: - Key metrics to track for CS Ops to prevent churn - Do you need CS-specific tools like Gainsight or Churn Zero to use data for understanding churn risk? - Using qualitative factors to understand churn risk - What level do you start relying on data science and more complex tools? - David describes his current CS Ops Tech stack - How does somebody break into CS ops?
This week we are joined by Dana Soza, of customer everything.com. Dana is an OG in Customer Success, and was named a 2021 Top 100 Customer Success Strategist. We talked about doing CS before CS was even a thing. Some topics we went over were: Creating tech and templates out of thin air Streamlining the Onboarding Process with CRM Automation Increasing Adoption by 900% (!!!) Creating a process from scratch from presales through renewal Using data to retain and upsell customers, even if they were in danger of not renewing We also talked about Dana's passion for helping new CSM's find jobs, and then coaching them through all aspects of their careers.
This week we are joined by Stephanie Kemp, of Get Bridge. Stephanie talks about her life of service, and how she took her non-CS jobs and parlayed them into her current position. Her story of how she got her current role is a great lesson in perseverance, and not taking no for an answer. Stephanie is a powerhouse and very driven, and I am sure you will enjoy her story!
Jeff is joined by very special guest and keynote speaker Aaron Thompson of SuccessHacker. Covered lots of ground here, including: Customer Journey Mapping and Funnel Acquisition The Trough of Disillusionment and Buyers Remorse The 3 D's of Customer Success Retention Starts with Implementation Should CSM's manage the implementation of the project? What does an ideal implementation team look like for a SaaS B2b enterprise-focused company? Also, check out Aaron's post here with some video explanations of the concepts - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/athomps_customersuccess-onboarding-podcast-activity-6825530250747891712-Sv9s
As part of a new focus with the podcast, we kicked off our first case study with Steve of GrowthLab Finance-as-a-Service. Steve dives in and talked about the move to use CSM's when their customers asked for a different engagement model. Steve talks about how having CSM's gets him closer to his goal of "making things boring again." Some good chat here around net retention, QBR's and implementation.
Very happy to have James Stuart of Reed talk about how the Customer Success team is being used to help trial users get a high touch to increase success in the pre-sales phase. I love this concept! James and talk about using all the great Customer Success tools to get outcome-driven trials to convert prospects into successful and happy customers.
Very excited to bring Michael Zipursky of Consulting Success to the podcast. Michael has been helping people run their own consulting business for almost 15 years and has a huge track record of success. Michael came on the show and asked questions around: What is the overwhelming scenario of people wanting to start their own consulting business? What are the first steps? How to overcome Imposter Syndrome? the Consulting Mindset The biggest challenge most people run into How to scale your business and not burn out
Jeff is joined by John Kirkman, who has years of experience from stints at Deloitte, Nike and now Convoy. We covered ALOT of ground in this one, with the first topic being how to use your consulting chops to the enterprise when large companies are forced to change. John has a ton of experience in Large scale logistics and Executable Strategy in Supply Chain, so it was great to chat with someone who was in the trenches on complex problems Other topics are: Remote Teams and management New tools don't Fix old problems How to quickly navigate from ambiguity to clear details to solve complex problems Fast context switching when you have multiple clients
Jeff is joined by Pat Muirragui, Senior Director of Services at Mitek Systems. Jeff and Pat talk a ton of PS and Implementation shop, and go into the details on Org structures, tools, and best practices. Pat is passionate about making sure that the customers he oversees are set up correctly, and how he uses a diagnostic approach to understand current state and desired future state. Lots of TTV, Project Profitability talk as well as we try to cover a variety of topics, including Pat's COVID hobby.
Michael Buccellato (https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-buccellato-15419737/) is at LawGeex, where he runs manages the highest ARR clients. Michael starts talking about how he transitioned from Business development roles into post-sales success. Discussion ranges from: Customer lifecycle Onboarding to renewal, and the differences from large company to startups. Wearing multiple hats and knowing when to specialize vs generalize. Molding implementation for lawyers and non-typical users. Getting involved earlier, in presales, with customers to ensure successful implementations. Identifying different user types and understanding their challenges Decreasing Time to value to set up success for renewals Radical Transparency in the sales process to make sure there are no surprises. Initiatives Michael is working on to change internal behavior changes. Lots more from someone deep in the trenches working with customers every day.
Jeff is joined by Bradley Jones, who is the VP of Implementation at Indeavor. Brad is the first person that I have met with this title, and we had a lot of ground to cover. A list of the topics discussed are: - Applying the learnings of a Big 4 consulting background to startups - Implementing a Minimum Viable Process vs the over-processization that happens with large consulting companies - Becoming a vital asset of the B2B and B2B2C presales process and helping to close enterprise deals - Balancing flexibility and standard processes with large customer and customer demands - Building Custom features in a SaaS world - Timing the Onboarding Phase to make sure proper transitions between a prospect’s previous vendor
Jeff is joined by Cait Porte, who is leading Product and Global Services for Zmags, including Product Management, User Experience, Customer Onboarding, and Customer Support. This is a unique blend of responsibilities, and the topics discussed are: - Building Product to enable Customer Success FAST in a SaaS world that is easy to do - Getting consensus and alignment in presales and scoping to make sure that prospects and customers can get fully onboarded in less than 30 days - Working with Customers to get consensus on success metrics during the onboarding phase - Balancing UX and Design with what are the most usable features for customers - Building Custom features in a SaaS world - Timeboxing the Onboarding Phase to make sure the customer's time to value is maximized - When to add Implementation fees, and why it works
Jeff and George have worked on projects for over 10 years. Recently George's company, Intevity, has been leading a discussion about Discovery and best practices. Jeff got a chance to sit down with George and go over all the best practices for not just a discovery session, but a discovery period. Topics covered include: - best length of time for. a discovery period - Trust, empathy and how not to "lead the witness" - Best tools to use - Building trust along the way instead of the BIG REVEAL in the end. Music choice for the intro is George's- James Brown, Love, Power, Peace: Live at the Olympia, Paris, 1971 . About Intevity "Intevity is a digital consultancy specializing in Customer Experience, Digital Product Development, and Modernization solutions for both commercial and public sector clients. We believe that technology should serve not set the vision and strategy of an organization. We see technology’s impact on business to be ineffective without alignment, relevance, and velocity. We use our Digital Triality model to discover root problems, drive organizational readiness, and effective digital transformation within the enterprise, accelerating efficiency, growth, and competitive advantage. The Intevity process includes deploying senior, cross-functional consulting teams and industry SME’s that work hip-to-hip in the trenches to enable client teams and support the journey of effective digital transformation through utilizing custom software development and proven platforms including Adobe, AWS, BigCommerce, and Salesforce. Example clients include Foundation Medicine, Under Armour, iRobot, LogMeIn, AWS, Sazerac, Drizly, NASA, Department of Defense, Department of Labor, and Department of State."
This is a Getting "Software" Done podcast, but we made sure to touch onboarding as it relates to the creation of products and workflows. Today Jeff is joined by Shmuel Bollen, a UX practitioner, and teacher. Shmuel has been creating interfaces for over 20 years- from his time at Bose to his current teaching at Bentley and creating enterprise UX for ACI Worldwide, a billion-dollar payment company. Shmuel discusses how he started creating documentation on the new Internet in the mid 90's, and his journey to where he is now. Shmuel and Jeff spend a bit of time talking about how creating a great product can reduce the need for complicated onboarding and large teams to support that.
The GSD Podcast RETURNS after a few months off. Jeff is joined by Scott Roth, SVP Global Customer Success at Medallia to talk about building a great customer lifecycle. Topics covered are Hiring for great teams, Customers for life, presales, onboarding, and funneling feature requests back into the Product organization. A quick note that the first 6 minutes are pretty free form and off-topic. This was left in, as it is nice to hear people talk a little in these times to hear the personalities involved.
I am so excited to bring this podcast to you. Diane is one of the pioneers in Customer Success, and here we talk about early SaaS strategies, "services" DNA, who should own upsell and renewals, and lots of other great nuggets.
Today Jeff was joined by Randy Syring. A deep dive into how to scope projects from a technical perspective ensued, but also how to map it back to the business needs. Topics covered: - Randy's transition from seminary to CEO - Agile v Waterfall. - Randy's 100 hour guarantee. - using Zenhub and "mockup driven development" - using MOSCOW to get priorities of deliverables - Fixed Fee vs. Team based projects
I met Anita recently and after a few minutes of talking, I knew that I had to record a podcast with her. Anita has taken her experience as a university qualitative researcher and is now obsessed with helping companies reducing their churn. HINT- the problem is not always what you think it is. More about Anita --> https://anitatoth.ca/
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