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Ever nailed your elevator pitch only to get ghosted after the first interview? Here's the hard truth, “Tell me about yourself” isn't a trick question, but it's tripping up even the most seasoned Customer Success pros. In today's episode, I'm exposing the five most common (yet completely fixable) mistakes that are sabotaging your first impression and keeping your dream CS role just out of reach. You'll learn why memorizing your pitch could be your downfall, how to avoid oversharing your life story, and the secret to using job description keywords to get recruiters rooting for you. I'll break down the mistakes that could be costing you callbacks and walk you through a real client's before-and-after pitch so you know exactly what “good” sounds like in less than 20 minutes.You'll leave with a sharper, more strategic elevator pitch that gets noticed (and gets you to the next round), with none of the fluff or rambling. Ready to finally turn that first impression into a second interview? Hit play now to fix your pitch before your next big opportunity slips by.
The CS Promotion Tracker: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/offers/wh6BFvEc?coupon_code=PODCAST50In this episode of the Customer Success Pro Podcast, Anika Zubair emphasizes the importance of taking charge of one's career development in customer success. She discusses the necessity of creating a personal development plan, identifying skills gaps, and proactively tracking accomplishments to secure promotions. Anika outlines common mistakes professionals make in their career growth and provides actionable steps to build a successful career trajectory. The episode encourages listeners to prioritize their personal development and take ownership of their career paths.Chapters00:00 Taking Charge of Your Career Development07:52 Building Your Personal Development Plan14:51 Tracking Your Wins for Career Growth19:36 Recap and Action Steps for SuccessConnect with Anika Zubair:Website: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anikazubair/CSM RevUP Academy: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/revupSend Anika a text :) Want to be our next guest? Apply here: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/podcast-guest Podcast Editor: https://podcastmagician.com/
In this weeks' Scale Your Sales Podcast episode, my guest is Leeron Yahalomi. Previously, she was a Head of Customer Success at Regie.ai. LeeRon Yahalomi is a GTM leader passionate about blending AI innovation with human insight. With deep experience in building teams and scaling post-sale operations, she's known for turning customer value into business growth. In today's episode of Scale Your Sales podcast, Janice speaks with Leeron, they explore how AI is transforming post-sales operations, why customer success must evolve into a revenue-driving function, and how leaders can build trust, inclusion, and data-driven strategies in today's hybrid world. Leeron also shares why curiosity, authenticity, and asking the right questions are key to leading high-performing, empowered teams. Welcome to Scale Your Sales Podcast, Leeron Yahalomi. Timestamps: 00:00 Embracing AI: The Next Wave 06:09 AI Call Notes for Workforce Efficiency 08:01 Reframing Work: Start Where They Are 12:25 Strategic Planning and Resource Request 14:56 Sales as Discovery Art 17:25 Customer Success Drives Future Sales 22:07 Customer Engagement Defines Company Perception 23:32 Data-Driven Customer Insight Process 27:22 Empowered Women's Presence https://www.linkedin.com/in/leeron-yahalomi-1b066819/ Janice B Gordon is the award-winning Customer Growth Expert and Scale Your Sales Framework founder. She is by LinkedIn Sales 15 Innovating Sales Influencers to Follow 2021, the Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on Customer Experience Nov 2020 and 150 Women B2B Thought Leaders You Should Follow in 2021. Janice helps companies worldwide to reimagine revenue growth thought customer experience and sales. Book Janice to speak virtually at your next event: https://janicebgordon.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/janice-b-gordon/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaniceBGordon Scale Your Sales Podcast: https://scaleyoursales.co.uk/podcast More on the blog: https://scaleyoursales.co.uk/blog Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janicebgordon Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScaleYourSales And more! Visit our podcast website https://scaleyoursales.co.uk/podcast/ to watch or listen.
In this short segment of the Revenue Builders Podcast, we revisit the discussion with Shopify's CRO Bobby Morrison. We dive into the transformational "pod structure" they've adopted to align cross-functional teams more closely with customer outcomes. Drawing on lessons from his tenure at Microsoft, Morrison explains how Shopify's industry-specific pods streamline collaboration across sales, solution engineers, marketing, and customer success—leading to improved speed, accountability, and customer satisfaction. He also reveals how aligning incentives within these pods reduces internal friction and creates scalable, enterprise-grade execution. This episode is packed with strategic insight for CROs, sales leaders, and go-to-market operators aiming to drive operational efficiency and growth.KEY TAKEAWAYS[00:00:28] Shopify's shift to 16 industry-specific pods was designed to bring cross-functional teams closer to the customer.[00:01:00] Each pod includes sales, solution engineering, launch engineers, and partners all aligned around a single outcome.[00:02:00] At Microsoft, the team spent 70% of their time on internal orchestration, highlighting the inefficiency of siloed roles.[00:03:00] Shopify's pod structure includes defined primary and secondary roles with centralized responsibility and incentives.[00:03:49] All roles in a pod are measured against the same customer cohort, improving continuity and reducing disruption.[00:04:12] Morrison explains how aligning marketing with outcomes (not just MQLs) is helping Shopify eliminate interdepartmental friction.[00:05:00] Shopify is close to assigning at-risk compensation to marketing teams based on segment performance—creating real ownership.[00:05:49] The pod model drives faster decisions, stronger accountability, and less tug-of-war between siloed departments.QUOTES[00:01:00] "All aligned around a single outcome, which is helping our customers win."[00:02:39] "A sales rep could have as many as 87 different people they're working with internally to hit their objective."[00:03:49] "Now the pods are incentivized off of the same customer cohort."[00:04:59] "We're very close to assigning at-risk targets to our marketing team."[00:05:49] "Less tug-of-war that happens between siloed parts of the organization that have different KPIs."Listen to the full conversation through the link below.https://revenue-builders.simplecast.com/episodes/ai-driven-sales-innovation-with-bobby-morrisonEnjoying the podcast? Sign up to receive new episodes straight to your inbox:https://hubs.li/Q02R10xN0Check out John McMahon's book here:Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/1K7DDC4Check out Force Management's Ascender platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Send us a textHow do you build AI governance that scales without becoming the innovation police? In our final conversation with tech lawyer Gayle Gorvett, we tackle the ultimate balancing act facing every organization: creating robust AI oversight that moves at the speed of business. From shocking federal court rulings that could force AI companies to retain all user data indefinitely, to the Trump administration's potential overhaul of copyright law, this episode reveals how rapidly the legal landscape is shifting beneath our feet. Gayle breaks down practical frameworks from NIST and Duke University that adapt to your specific business needs while avoiding the dreaded legal bottleneck. Whether you're protecting customer data or designing the future of work, this customer success playbook episode provides the roadmap for scaling governance without sacrificing innovation velocity.Detailed AnalysisThe tension between governance speed and innovation velocity represents one of the most critical challenges facing modern businesses implementing AI at scale. Gayle Gorvett's insights into adaptive risk frameworks offer a compelling alternative to the traditional "slow and thorough" legal approach that often strangles innovation in bureaucratic red tape.The revelation about the OpenAI versus New York Times case demonstrates how quickly the legal landscape can shift with far-reaching implications. A single magistrate judge's ruling requiring OpenAI to retain all user data—regardless of contracts, enterprise agreements, or international privacy laws—illustrates the unpredictable nature of AI regulation. For customer success professionals, this uncertainty demands governance frameworks that can rapidly adapt to new legal realities without completely derailing operational efficiency.The discussion of NIST and Duke University frameworks reveals the democratization of enterprise-level governance tools. These resources make sophisticated risk assessment accessible to organizations of all sizes, eliminating the excuse that "we're too small for proper AI governance." This democratization aligns perfectly with the customer success playbook philosophy of scalable, repeatable processes that deliver consistent outcomes regardless of organizational size.Perhaps most intriguingly, the conversation touches on fundamental questions about intellectual property and compensation models in an AI-driven economy. Kevin's observation about automating human-designed workflows raises profound questions about fair compensation when human knowledge gets embedded into perpetual AI systems. This shift from time-based to value-based compensation models reflects broader changes in how customer success teams will need to demonstrate and capture value in an increasingly automated world.The technical discussion about local versus hosted AI models becomes particularly relevant for customer success teams handling sensitive customer data. The ability to contain AI processing within controlled environments versus leveraging cloud-based solutions represents a strategic decision that balances capability, cost, and compliance considerations.Gayle's emphasis on human oversight—Kevin's offeringPlease Like, Comment, Share and Subscribe. You can also find the CS Playbook Podcast:YouTube - @CustomerSuccessPlaybookPodcastTwitter - @CS_PlaybookYou can find Kevin at:Metzgerbusiness.com - Kevin's person web siteKevin Metzger on Linked In.You can find Roman at:Roman Trebon on Linked In.
Prodcast: ПоиÑк работы в IT и переезд в СШÐ
В этом выпуске у меня в гостях Сергей Макаров — CEO стартапа TalentWay, бывший тимлид Microsoft и серийный фаундер с проектами в России, Голландии и США.Мы обсудили, как AI меняет рынок найма, почему традиционные job boards и рекрутеры больше не справляются, и как работает его AI-агент, помогающий менеджерам по работе с клиентами находить работу мечты. Поговорили о профессиях будущего, тестах, Digital Twin, перспективах HRTech и о том, почему инженеры и senior-специалисты рискуют больше всех. Затронули тему карьерных ошибок, FOMO и как технологии могут помочь каждому найти работу, где действительно можно быть в своей силе.Сергей Макаров (Jay Makarov) - CEO компании Talentway (AI агент для помощи в поиске работы для Customer Success в США), ex Technical Team Lead at Microsoft.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smaksmak/Сайт: https://talentway.ioБросил Голливуд и стал электриком с доходом $25 тысяч в месяц. Николай Семененко https://youtu.be/SJDP-VNCHhwThe Future of Talent Acquisition: How AI is Transforming Recruitment and Hiringhttps://medium.com/@sami.tatar/the-future-of-talent-acquisition-how-ai-is-transforming-recruitment-and-hiring-69589f6c7ee4The future of career navigationhttps://medium.com/emerge-edtech-insights/the-future-of-career-navigation-182ae81be8a7***Записывайтесь на карьерную консультацию (резюме, LinkedIn, карьерная стратегия, поиск работы в США): https://annanaumova.comКоучинг (синдром самозванца, прокрастинация, неуверенность в себе, страхи, лень) https://annanaumova.notion.site/3f6ea5ce89694c93afb1156df3c903abОнлайн курс "Идеальное резюме и поиск работы в США":https://go.mbastrategy.com/resumecoursemainГайд "Идеальное американское резюме":https://go.mbastrategy.com/usresumeГайд "Как оформить профиль в LinkedIn, чтобы рекрутеры не смогли пройти мимо": https://go.mbastrategy.com/linkedinguideМой Telegram-канал: https://t.me/prodcastUSAМой Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prodcast.us/Prodcast в соцсетях и на всех подкаст платформахhttps://linktr.ee/prodcastUS⏰ Timecodes ⏰00:00 Начало7:10 Калифорния загибается?10:01 Как тебе пришла идея запустить AI агента для поиска работы?17:49 Почему Customer Success & Sales?23:24 Планируете ли вы выходить на новые роли?26:57 Куда сейчас движется HR tech? Какие тренды?36:15 Что ты думаешь про AI рекрутеров?45:25 Как видишь профессии будущего?49:29 Какие навыки будут востребованы в будущем?54:44 Кого точно не заменит AI?59:00 Психологические тесты при найме, как видишь их развитие в HR tech? 1:17:25 Что хочешь пожелать тем, кто сейчас ищет работу в США?
Sick of pouring your heart into job applications only to get ghosted, again and again? Here's the truth, cold outreach can actually land you more interviews (double, in fact), but only if you ditch the generic and learn to message like a pro. Most people are doing it all wrong and sabotaging their shot at the job before they even get a reply.Today, I'm tearing the lid off my private vault of cold outreach secrets. I'm revealing the 5 real-life messaging strategies that got my clients interviews at top companies, across multiple industries. You'll hear exactly what these killer cold DMs had in common, why hiring managers can't resist answering, and the subtle details that set your message apart from the noise. Plus, for the first time ever, I'm giving you access to my plug-and-play cold outreach templates that make customizing your next message almost too easy.If you're ready to stop feeling invisible, stand out in any hiring manager's inbox, and finally break the interview drought, this episode is your shortcut. You'll walk away with a strategy you've never tried and the confidence to hit send.
Retail Media Networks are booming—but there's a catch. As major retailers like Walmart, Target, Albertsons, and Kroger rake in billions from retail media, a growing bottleneck is emerging: campaigns are being sold to brands that can't get their products on the shelf. The result? Missed sales, empty shelves, and damaged shopper trust. In the latest Omni Talk Retail Ask An Expert Series, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga welcome Director of Customer Success, Joy Spiotta, and Senior Product Marketing Manager, Jenya Lawson, of SPS Commerce to dive into performance-based media access—where supply chain readiness determines who gets premium ad placement, not just who's willing to pay the most. 0:00 - Introduction to retail media bottleneck crisis 2:30 - Meet the experts: Joy Spiotta and Jenya Lawson from SPS Commerce 5:00 - What SPS Commerce does: Connecting retail supply chains 6:15 - The core problem: Ads running for out-of-stock products 8:45 - Why communication breaks down between media and supply chain teams 12:00 - Planning challenges and historical data limitations 14:50 - Real-world example: Sex and the City pearl necklace viral moment 16:30 - Store vs. digital inventory coordination challenges 19:00 - Automation and technological solutions for inventory management 21:30 - Measuring retail media ROI and transparency issues 24:00 - Actionable steps retailers and brands can take today 27:30 - Collaboration strategies and contingency planning 29:00 - Contact information and wrap-up Music by hooksounds.com #retailmedia #supplychain #inventorymanagement #retailtechnology #ecommerce #retailanalytics #merchandising #retailoperations #digitaladvertising *Sponsored Content*
Text us your questions and thoughts!Leadership doesn't require a title but emerges when you inspire others, lead by example, and deliver value. We're excited to welcome Stephanie Robinson, Global Account Management Leader at Maze, to the show. In this inspiring conversation, she shares insights from her career journey from Toronto to Amsterdam, highlighting how remote work, cultural awareness, and mentorship shaped her success.Her fascinating journey from a small Toronto startup to managing global enterprise accounts across Europe showcases a powerful career strategy: the 50/50 rule. Every career move should offer 50% mastery (what you already excel at) and 50% challenge (what stretches you to grow). This balanced approach prevents both stagnation and burnout, while keeping you engaged and fostering professional development.Having worked remotely long before the pandemic at companies like InVision, Stephanie also shares crucial insights into creating effective personal systems.We discuss:The importance of leading by example and being self-sufficientCultural differences in work styles between North America and Europe Why being adaptable and understanding diverse team dynamics is essential for any leaderWhy women should confidently negotiate compensation and know their market valueHow maintaining relationships with mentors provides crucial support throughout your careerHow to quantify your achievements to better articulate your value during negotiationsFrom leadership guidance to negotiation tactics to CS tips and tricks, this episode will provide you with insights, direction, and support no matter where you are in your career. Enjoy!
Download the FREE Revenue guide: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/resourcesIn this episode of the Customer Success Pro Podcast, Anika Zubair emphasizes the critical role of active listening in customer success. She discusses common mistakes customer success professionals make, such as listening to reply instead of understanding, and offers practical strategies to enhance listening skills. Anika shares personal experiences and actionable tips to help listeners become better active listeners, ultimately leading to improved customer relationships and increased revenue opportunities.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Customer Success and Active Listening01:40 The Importance of Active Listening in Customer Success08:01 Common Mistakes in Listening and How to Avoid Them12:32 Strategies for Effective Active Listening17:17 Real-Life Application of Active Listening20:07 Recap and Final Thoughts on Active ListeningConnect with Anika Zubair:Website: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anikazubair/CSM RevUP Academy: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/revup#customersuccesspro #podcast #customersuccessmanagerSend Anika a text :) Want to be our next guest? Apply here: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/podcast-guest Podcast Editor: https://podcastmagician.com/
2B Bolder Podcast : Career Insights for the Next Generation of Women in Business & Tech
Ever wondered how customer stories come to life in global tech companies? Welcome to a fascinating conversation with Alyssa Maschi, Head of the Customer Reference Center of Excellence at Lenovo.Alyssa's career journey defies traditional expectations. Starting in nonprofit work, she made a bold transition into tech through channel marketing before finding her way to customer advocacy. Her candid admission that she "had to Google what customer reference marketing was" when applying for her current role reveals an important truth: career paths rarely follow a straight line. What carried her through these transitions? The soft skills she cultivated along the way, communication, relationship-building, and adaptability.Building Lenovo's customer reference program from scratch presented enormous challenges. Alyssa shares how she established the operational foundation, engaged with sellers, recruited customers, and eventually expanded from a single business unit to a company-wide center of excellence. Her role evolved from hands-on implementation to strategic leadership, focusing on program expansion and securing executive support. This evolution offers valuable lessons for anyone tasked with building something new within a large organization.The conversation takes an honest turn when discussing corporate politics and finding advocates. Alyssa credits her success in scaling the program to having a VP who believed in her work and provided the platform to pitch directly to the CMO. For women navigating large tech organizations, this highlights the critical importance of finding champions who can elevate your work to higher levels. When leadership guidance is lacking, Alyssa recommends returning to strategic foundations and expanding your internal network, practical advice for maintaining momentum during uncertain times.Looking to position yourself for promotion? Alyssa suggests a methodical approach: understand the specific requirements for the next level position and document how you're already fulfilling those responsibilities. This evidence-based approach creates a compelling case that's difficult for management to dispute.Join us for this illuminating conversation about career transitions, building global programs, and what it truly means to be bolder, embracing curiosity and following opportunities that spark your interest, even when they aren't obvious next steps.Support the show When you subscribe to the podcast, you are supporting our work's mission, allowing us to continue highlighting successful women in a variety of careers to inspire others helping pay our wonderful editor, Chris, and helping me in paying our hosting expenses.
Start your very own Credit Repair business - Learn how by joining our FREE 5-day challenge: http://startrepairingcredit.com/What if I told you that you could build a thriving credit repair business, even if you're brand new, not tech-savvy, or juggling multiple jobs? Well, that's exactly what Patrick Sotello, also known as The Credit Sniper, did, and today he's here to share all his insider tips. But this isn't your typical interview. This is a behind-the-scenes conversation from our private Facebook community, where our Head of Customer Success, Troy Hitt, sat down with Patrick to discuss how he got started, how he stays compliant, and how he's rapidly scaling his business with automation and affiliate partnerships.We've cut the conversation down to just the most powerful moments, so you can soak up all the valuable insights without any filler. If you want to see what it really looks like to scale a compliant credit repair business in today's world, you won't want to miss this!Key Takeaways:00:00 Intro 01:30 The Impact of Credit Repair Cloud 03:55 Navigating the TSR and Staying Compliant 07:43 Our Self-Service Sign Up 11:28 Building Trust and Client Relationships 16:39 Credit Hero Score and Affiliates 23:37 Removing Charge Offs and Late Payments 24:46 Hiring and Scaling a Team27:01 Final Piece of Advice 28:57 OutroAdditional Resources:Get a Merchant Account: http://www.creditrepaircloud.com/merchant Get Our TSR Compliance Checklist: https://www.creditrepaircloud.com/training-and-resources/tsr-compliance-checklistGet a free trial to Credit Repair CloudGet my free credit repair training 10 Steps to Build a Successful Credit Repair BusinessMake sure to subscribe so you stay up to date with our latest episodes.
In this episode of The Member Engagement Show, we talk with Bettina Fowler, Senior VP of Customer Success at Higher Logic to get the very best of her popular session at Higher Logic's annual Super Forum conference, “45 Ideas in 45 Minutes.” Bettina has been involved in customer success at Higher Logic for 11 years and has tons of great insights from working with customers on implementation, member engagement, and marketing strategies. Kelly chats with her about quick and easy ways to level up the way in which associations and nonprofits serve their communities. Topics covered include: Top things to check regularly and make sure you didn't miss in your platform setup. Tools and strategies associations can easily use to improve member engagement. The features in your platform that you might not even know about or might be underutilized. Are you maximizing AI functionalities in your community management? All the reasons not to fear upgrades to your platform. Helpful Links: Higher Logic customers can access the full Super Forum session recording in the Higher Logic User Group (HUG).
In this bonus episode recorded live from the eduWeb Summit, Dustin chats with Destinee Mack from Workzone about how project management is evolving to meet the unique demands of higher ed. From managing competing priorities to streamlining collaboration between teams and agencies, Destinee shares how WorkZone is helping colleges and universities work smarter—not harder—without needing a full-time project manager on staff.Guest Name: Destinee Mack - VP of Customer Success at WorkzoneGuest Social: LinkedInGuest Bio: Destinee Mack is an experienced customer experience and success executive with an extensive track record of customer value attainment and expansion. A passionate leader, wife, mother, mentor and friend, she believes that a detailed understanding along the customer journey is the key to developing a strategy that allows both customers and businesses to achieve their desired outcomes. - - - -Connect With Our Host:Dustin Ramsdellhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/dustinramsdell/About The Enrollify Podcast Network:The Higher Ed Geek is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you'll like other Enrollify shows too!Enrollify is made possible by Element451 — The AI Workforce Platform for Higher Ed. Learn more at element451.com.
In this episode of TECHtonic, TSIA's Thomas Lah sits down with Kelly Morgan, Chief Customer Officer at Docusign, to unpack how one of the world's leading digital agreement platforms is thriving with a 100% usage-based pricing model. They explore the shift away from seat-based pricing, how Docusign restructured its customer success strategy, and why blending renewal and adoption roles is paying off. Kelly shares hard earned lessons on value delivery, organizational alignment, and the must have capabilities for customer success account managers in a data-driven, AI-powered world. Whether you're rethinking your pricing model or evolving your customer success playbook, this is the blueprint for sustainability and growth.
Think your LinkedIn is working for you? Think again. If you're still treating your profile like a digital resume, posting because you think you “should,” or stressing about building a “personal brand” (cringe)—you're leaving job opportunities on the table.In this episode, I break down the most common LinkedIn myths keeping talented Customer Success job seekers invisible in 2025. Forget everything you've heard about content creation or copy-pasting your resume. Instead, I'll reveal what hiring managers actually look for, why keywords matter more than ever, and the simple shifts that can turn your LinkedIn into an interview magnet. The outdated advice ends here. And these data-backed strategies will help you finally stand out (no vague headlines or influencer hacks required).Curious what your LinkedIn really needs to unlock new career milestones? Hit play and discover the LinkedIn strategies nobody else is talking about. Don't miss the profile tweaks that could be the game-changer between getting ghosted and getting hired.
Amar Ghose has been growing Zenmaid from idea to market leader as a non-technical founder. Zenmaid is a SaaS platform that's been helping maid service owners grow their businesses since 2013. Amar is one of those amazing founders who truly embodies the bootstrapping spirit—when his co-founder left early on at just $15k in monthly revenue, he could have easily given up. Instead, he stuck with it, and through relentless customer focus and persistence, he's built ZenMaid into a $150k per month business over the past 12 years.What makes Amar's story particularly inspiring is that he's a non-technical founder who used a customer development approach from day one, really listening to his market and building exactly what maid service owners needed. He's also created an incredible content marketing ecosystem around ZenMaid—from YouTube channels to the Maid Summit conference to podcasts—always focused on helping maid service owners succeed rather than just selling software.We're talking about the power of persistence in bootstrapping, how to build as a non-technical founder, the importance of customer development, and how to create content that truly serves your community. We'll also dive into building a remote-first, location-independent company and staying focused on your customers' success over quick growth.The blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/amar-ghose-from-non-technical-founder-to-saas-innovator/The podcast episode: https://tbf.fm/episodes/403-amar-ghose-from-non-technical-founder-to-saas-innovatorCheck out Podscan, the Podcast database that transcribes every podcast episode out there minutes after it gets released: https://podscan.fmSend me a voicemail on Podline: https://podline.fm/arvidYou'll find my weekly article on my blog: https://thebootstrappedfounder.comPodcast: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/podcastNewsletter: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/newsletterMy book Zero to Sold: https://zerotosold.com/My book The Embedded Entrepreneur: https://embeddedentrepreneur.com/My course Find Your Following: https://findyourfollowing.comHere are a few tools I use. Using my affiliate links will support my work at no additional cost to you.- Notion (which I use to organize, write, coordinate, and archive my podcast + newsletter): https://affiliate.notion.so/465mv1536drx- Riverside.fm (that's what I recorded this episode with): https://riverside.fm/?via=arvid- TweetHunter (for speedy scheduling and writing Tweets): http://tweethunter.io/?via=arvid- HypeFury (for massive Twitter analytics and scheduling): https://hypefury.com/?via=arvid60- AudioPen (for taking voice notes and getting amazing summaries): https://audiopen.ai/?aff=PXErZ- Descript (for word-based video editing, subtitles, and clips): https://www.descript.com/?lmref=3cf39Q- ConvertKit (for email lists, newsletters, even finding sponsors): https://convertkit.com?lmref=bN9CZw
Send us a textWhen AI systems fail spectacularly, who pays the price? Part two of our conversation with global tech lawyer Gayle Gorvett tackles the million-dollar question every business leader is afraid to ask. With federal AI regulation potentially paused for a decade while technology races ahead at breakneck speed, companies are left creating their own rules in an accountability vacuum. Gayle reveals why waiting for government guidance could be a costly mistake and how smart businesses are turning governance policies into competitive advantages. From the EU AI Act's complexity challenges to state-by-state regulatory patchwork, this customer success playbook episode exposes the legal landmines hiding in your AI implementation—and shows you how to navigate them before they explode.Detailed AnalysisThe accountability crisis in AI represents one of the most pressing challenges facing modern businesses, yet most organizations remain dangerously unprepared. Gayle Gorvett's revelation about the federal government's proposed 10-year pause on state AI laws while crafting comprehensive regulation highlights a sobering reality: businesses must become their own regulatory bodies or risk operating in a legal minefield.The concept of "private regulation" that Gayle introduces becomes particularly relevant for customer success teams managing AI-powered interactions. When your chatbots handle customer complaints, your predictive models influence renewal decisions, or your recommendation engines shape customer experiences, the liability implications extend far beyond technical malfunctions. Every AI decision becomes a potential point of legal exposure, making governance frameworks essential risk management tools rather than optional compliance exercises.Perhaps most intriguingly, Gayle's perspective on governance policies as competitive differentiators challenges the common view of compliance as a business burden. In the customer success playbook framework, transparency becomes a trust-building mechanism that strengthens customer relationships rather than merely checking regulatory boxes. Companies that proactively communicate their AI governance practices position themselves as trustworthy partners in an industry where trust remains scarce.The legal profession's response to AI—requiring disclosure to clients and technical proficiency from practitioners—offers a compelling model for other industries. This approach acknowledges that AI literacy isn't just a technical requirement but a professional responsibility. For customer success leaders, this translates into a dual mandate: understanding AI capabilities enough to leverage them effectively while maintaining enough oversight to protect customer interests.The EU AI Act's implementation challenges that Gayle describes reveal the complexity of regulating rapidly evolving technology. Even comprehensive regulatory frameworks struggle to keep pace with innovation, reinforcing the importance of internal governance structures that can adapt quickly to new AI capabilities and emerging risks. This agility becomes particularly crucial for customer-facing teams who often serve as the first line of defense Kevin's offeringPlease Like, Comment, Share and Subscribe. You can also find the CS Playbook Podcast:YouTube - @CustomerSuccessPlaybookPodcastTwitter - @CS_PlaybookYou can find Kevin at:Metzgerbusiness.com - Kevin's person web siteKevin Metzger on Linked In.You can find Roman at:Roman Trebon on Linked In.
Signup for the RevUP Academy: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/revupIn this episode of The Customer Success Pro podcast, Anika Zubair discusses the common challenges faced by customer success professionals, particularly around time management and prioritization. She emphasizes that the real issue is not a lack of time but rather the inability to prioritize effectively. Anika outlines three major mistakes that CS pros often make: reactive planning, treating all customers equally, and neglecting strategic thinking time. She provides actionable strategies for overcoming these challenges, including the importance of blocking time like a CEO, using the 80-20 rule for account management, and protecting focus blocks to enhance productivity. The episode concludes with a call to action for listeners to implement these strategies in their own work.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Customer Success Time Management10:07 Common Mistakes in Time Management19:55 Strategies for Effective Time Management29:55 Implementing CEO Time and Prioritization TechniquesConnect with Anika Zubair:Website: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anikazubair/CSM RevUP Academy: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/revupSend Anika a text :) Want to be our next guest? Apply here: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/podcast-guest Podcast Editor: https://podcastmagician.com/
Stephanie Hildreth is an accomplished executive and former CEO of Mindful magazine, now serving as Chief of Staff and Head of Customer Success at a rapidly growing tech company. In this episode, Stephanie shares her journey from media to health tech and SaaS, offering deep insight into what it takes to lead high-performing teams through change. Her approach blends strategy with emotional intelligence, and her story is a powerful guide for anyone navigating career pivots or leading transformation from within.Key Takeaways:Why strong leadership starts with self-awareness and trustHow to use feedback loops to build stronger teams and culturesWhat to look for when making a career pivot into a new industryHow to lead strategic change without losing human connectionThe mindset shift that helps you thrive in high-growth environmentsMeet Stephanie HildrethStephanie Hildreth is a high-impact executive known for leading with both heart and precision. Formerly CEO of Mindful magazine, she now serves as Chief of Staff and Head of Customer Success at a fast-growing tech company. With experience across SaaS, media, and health tech, Stephanie is passionate about operational excellence, leadership development, and building cultures rooted in emotional intelligence and transparency.Meet StephanieHow She PivotedStephanie Hildreth's career has never followed a straight line—and that's by design. After a winding path into her first leadership roles, she realized her true strengths were rooted in emotional intelligence and the ability to lead through change. As CEO of Mindful magazine, she navigated a major transformation, growing the business while realigning its vision and ultimately leading it through a successful exit.“There was a moment when I said, if not me, then who? And that changed everything,” shared Stephanie Hildreth on episode 28 of the Rhonda Coleman Wandel podcast.That clarity has guided each step since. Whether transitioning into new industries or taking on dual leadership roles in tech, Stephanie has stayed grounded in her core values. Her career evolution shows that you don't have to choose between performance and purpose—you can build a path that honours both.Insights for Ambitious WomenStephanie's story is a blueprint for leading with intentionality and grace. She believes success isn't about proving your worth—it's about aligning your work with who you are. From navigating imposter syndrome to embracing risk, her insights help ambitious women show up with more confidence and clarity.“Leadership isn't about being the loudest in the room. It's about being the clearest,” encouraged Stephanie Hildreth on the RCW podcastHer career pivots remind us that growth often begins with a question—and that reinvention starts when we stop waiting for permission and start trusting our capacity to lead.Want More Like This?Be sure to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite platform so you never miss an episode. And if you're ready for even more honest stories, career inspiration, and powerful insights, join Rhonda's monthly newsletter. It's where ambitious women get the encouragement, tools, and behind-the-scenes wisdom to thrive—straight to your inbox. Subscribe to the newsletter and catch more episodes at RhondaColemanWandel.com
The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy
Special Episode: Modern Therapist's Consumer Guide on Relias Curt and Katie talk with Candace Wallace, Chief Customer Officer at Relias, about how this tech-enabled platform supports therapist training, infrastructure, and regulatory compliance. Candace explains how Relias helps practices of all sizes reduce admin burdens, improve staff retention, and compete in a changing behavioral health landscape. This episode is part of our Modern Therapist Consumer Guide, where we explore tools and services designed for therapists and their clients. About Our Guest:Candace Wallace is the Chief Customer Officer at Relias, overseeing Customer Success, Renewals, Support, and Professional Services. Since joining in 2013, she's led several key teams and now focuses on delivering customer value at scale. With degrees in Archaeology and Religion from Baylor University, Candace's career path includes both compliance consulting and a deep commitment to healthcare systems transformation. Key Takeaways: Relias reduces administrative burdens to improve patient care Solutions are tailored to solo, small, and large practices alike Training, leadership development, and compliance tracking in one platform Helps therapist-led organizations stay competitive and grow sustainably Started with small providers—continues to focus on accessible, effective tools For full show notes and transcripts, visit:https://www.mtsgpodcast.com Join the Modern Therapist Community:Linktree Creative Credits:Voice Over by DW McCannMusic by Crystal Grooms Mangano
Think you need a “perfect” Customer Success resume to land a $120k role? Think again. Two of my clients just scored these coveted jobs. One after a two-year gap, the other coming from, wait for it, a winery. And neither had what most would call a flawless background.In this episode, I break down exactly what got them hired. You'll hear how they showcased serious revenue impact and built scalable solutions that hiring managers desperately need right now. Plus, I'll share the actionable four-step game plan you can swipe, regardless of gaps or zig-zaggy career paths and unpack the mindset shift that matters more than any bullet point on your résumé. Ready to find out what actually separates those who get hired for the big money from those who don't? Hit play and let's rewrite your CS career story, starting today.
Text us your questions and thoughts!In this episode of the Women in Customer Success Podcast, we sit down with Liz Starling, Head of Customer Success at Anthropic, to explore her fascinating career journey from environmental scientist to business consultant to customer success powerhouse. Liz is a seasoned customer success leader with a unique career path and a strong vision for what great customer engagement looks like. From the importance of aligning with the buyer early on to the nuances of presenting and reinforcing customer value, Liz delivers an actionable and passionate masterclass that every CS professional can learn from.She shares insights on the importance of delivering value to customers and the impact of relationship-building skills. She also offers practical advice on career advancement, lessons every woman should learn, and the role of seeking new challenges in personal growth. We discuss:Career crossroads & seeking new challengesTransitioning from Environmental Scientist to Consultant to CS LeaderThe importance of delivering customer valueHow to create opportunities for career advancementTips for aligning pre-sales and post-sales effortsYou'll also enjoy a fun, rapid-fire round where we get to know Liz on a more personal level. This episode is such a treat. So sit back and enjoy!
Signup for the RevUP Academy: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/revupIn this episode of the Customer Success Pro Podcast, Anika Zubair discusses the critical metric of Time to Value (TTV) in customer success. She emphasizes the importance of quickly demonstrating value to customers to enhance retention and drive revenue growth. The episode covers common mistakes that customer success managers (CSMs) make that hinder TTV, such as generic onboarding processes and failing to define value with customers. Anika provides actionable strategies to reduce TTV, including defining measurable outcomes, collaborating with internal teams, and using success plans to track progress. The episode concludes with a call to action for listeners to implement these strategies and join the RevUp Academy for further development.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Time to Value in Customer Success02:04 Understanding Time to Value (TTV) and Its Importance05:53 Common Mistakes Sabotaging Time to Value09:43 Strategies to Reduce Time to Value13:56 Practical Examples and Final Tips20:07 Conclusion and Call to ActionConnect with Anika Zubair:Website: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anikazubair/CSM RevUP Academy: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/revup#customersuccesspro #podcast #customersuccessmanagerSend Anika a text :) Want to be our next guest? Apply here: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/podcast-guest Podcast Editor: https://podcastmagician.com/
Are you a SaaS founder struggling to hit your first $10K in MRR? You're not alone it's the first major hurdle every SaaS founder faces: proving your product, landing real customers, and building traction. In Season 6 of the The Grow B2B SaaS podcast, Joran Hofaman spoke to 20 successful SaaS founders and experts who've been through it, and at the end of each interview, He asked them one question: “What's your best advice for reaching $10K MRR?” This episode brings all their answers together into one powerful, no-fluff summary and before each expert speaks, he'll tell you which episode they're from so you can check out their full story. If you're growing a SaaS, this episode is packed with the insights you wish you had months ago.Key Timecodes(1:07) - Episode 1: Kristi Faltorusso on Customer Success(2:35) - Episode 2: Aaron Ross on Predictable Revenue(5:11) - Episode 3: Clark Barron on Demand Gen Strategy(6:20) - Episode 4: Pablo Assensio on Product-Led Growth(7:44) - Episode 5: Peter Loving on UX and Revenue(9:04) - Episode 6: Tom Shapiro on SEO for SaaS(10:29) - Episode 7: Mina Golesorkhi on SaaS Hiring(12:59) - Episode 8: Johnny Staker on SaaS Growth Strategies(14:12) - Episode 9: Elliott Rayner on Strategic Storytelling(16:42) - Episode 10: Craig Brown on ICP and Messaging(18:56) - Episode 11: Ben Murray on Financial Strategy(20:05) - Episode 12: Nicolas Calabrese on International Expansion(22:33) - Episode 13: Kevin Lems on SaaS Pricing in the AI Era(24:21) - Episode 14: Ramly John on Onboarding Strategies(26:09) - Episode 15: Patrick Cumming on Paid Ads(28:19) - Episode 16: Zoltan Vardy on Founder-Led Sales(29:36) - Episode 17: Alexander Estner on Go-To-Market Playbook(30:55) - Episode 18: Frank Sonders on Go-To-Market Strategy(32:12) - Episode 19: Ezean and Oji Odeze on Product Management Lessons
"You can try to develop self-awareness and take a beginner's mind in all things. This includes being open to feedback and truly listening, even when it might be hard to receive. I think that's been something I've really tried to practice. The other area is recognizing that just like a company or country, as humans we have many stakeholders. You may wear many hats in different ways. So as we think of the totality of your life over time, what's your portfolio of passions? How do you choose—as individuals, as society, as organizations, as humans and families with our loved ones and friends—to not just spend your time and resources, but really invest your time, resources, and spirit into areas, people, and contexts that bring you meaning and where you can build a legacy? So it's not so much advice, but more like a north star." - Sabastian V. Niles Fresh out of the studio, Sabastian Niles, President and Chief Legal Officer at Salesforce Global, joins us to explore how trust and responsibility shape the future of enterprise AI. He shares his journey from being a high-tech corporate lawyer and trusted advisor to leading AI governance at a company whose number one value is trust, reflecting on the evolution from automation to agentic AI that can reason, plan, and execute tasks alongside humans. Sabastian explains how Agentforce 3.0 enables agent-to-agent interactions and human-AI collaboration through command centers and robust guardrails. He highlights how organizations are leveraging trusted AI for personalized customer experiences, while Salesforce's Office of Ethical and Humane Use operationalizes trust through transparency, explainability, and auditability. Addressing the black box problem in AI, he emphasizes that guardrails provide confidence to move faster rather than creating barriers. Closing the conversation, Sabastian shares his vision on what great looks like for trusted agentic AI at scale. Episode Highlights [00:00] Quote of the Day by Sabastian Niles: "Portfolio of passions - invest your spirit into areas that bring meaning" [01:02] Introduction: Sabastian Niles, President and Chief Legal Officer of Salesforce Global [02:29] Sabastian's Career Journey [04:50] From Trusted Advisor to SalesForce whose number one value is trust [08:09] Salesforce's 5 core values: Trust, Customer Success, Innovation, Equality, Sustainability [10:25] Defining Agentic AI: humans with AI agents driving stakeholder success together [13:13] Trust paradigm shift: trusted approaches become an accelerant, not obstacle [17:33] Agent interactions: not just human-to-agent, but agent-to-agent-to-agent handoffs [23:35] Enterprise AI requires transparency, explainability, and auditability [28:00] Trust philosophy: "begins long before prompt, continues after output" [34:06] Office of Ethical and Humane Use operationalizes trust values [40:00] Future vision: AI helps us spend time on uniquely human work [45:17] Governance philosophy: Guardrails provide confidence to move faster [48:24] What does great look like for Salesorce for Trust & Responsibility in the Era of AI? [50:16] Closing Profile: Sabastian V. Niles, President & Chief Legal Officer, LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabastian-v-niles-b0175b2/ Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. Here are the links to watch or listen to our podcast. Analyse Asia Main Site: https://analyse.asia Analyse Asia Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kkRwzRZa4JCICr2vm0vGl Analyse Asia Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/analyse-asia-with-bernard-leong/id914868245 Analyse Asia YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AnalyseAsia Analyse Asia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/analyse-asia/
Conducting a single SAP S/4HANA digital transformation is complicated enough. In this episode of ASUG Talks, we sat down with Travis Smith, Principal SAP Enterprise Architect at SA Power Networks. The Australian utility company tackled TWO RISE with SAP projects at the same time. Travis walks ASUG Talks through just how.Key Insights:The reasoning for a dual digital transformation and how SA Power Networks managed such a projectWays the organization obtained stakeholder buy-in for this digital transformation projectSA Power Networks' integration strategyRelated Resources:ASUG Fall Conferences are gearing up. Join us for the following events:SAP for Utilities, Presented by ASUG: Sept. 8-10 in Denver, CO.ASUG Best Practices for Oil, Gas, and Energy: Oct. 6-8 in Houston, TXASUG Tech Connect: Nov. 4-6 in Louisville, KYListen to ASUG Talks' interview with the authors of “SAP Business Technology Platform,” a recent SAP Press release
Marketing teams are creating 70% more content thanks to AI, but can your compliance and brand review processes keep up? In this episode, we explore how AI is reshaping the creative process, brand governance, and what the next two years could look like for marketing and compliance teams. From AI-first content tools to the rise of AI agents that are redefining brand tone and content reviews, we cover what marketing leaders need to know now. We'll also break down the key differences between Generative AI and Deterministic AI, and what each means for compliance workflows, while offering practical insights on how teams are future-proofing their operations and budgets in an AI-first world. Join Wyatt Bales, CCO at Bluprintx; Eric Reichel, SVP of Customer Success at IntelligenceBank; and William Tyree, Chief Marketing Officer at IntelligenceBank, for a forward-looking conversation that every marketing, brand, and compliance leader should hear.
Send us a textReady to navigate the complex world of AI governance without getting lost in legal jargon? This episode delivers a masterclass in building ethical AI frameworks that actually work for your business. Global tech lawyer and fractional general counsel Gayle Gorvett breaks down the essential guardrails every company needs before diving headfirst into AI implementation. From her work with Duke University's AI working groups to real-world enterprise applications, Gayle reveals why treating AI like the "shiny new toy" without proper governance is a recipe for disaster. Whether you're protecting customer data or safeguarding your company's future, this customer success playbook episode provides the foundational knowledge to approach AI adoption with confidence and compliance.Detailed AnalysisThe AI revolution isn't just changing how we work—it's fundamentally reshaping the legal and ethical landscape of business operations. Gayle Gorvett's expertise in AI governance comes at a crucial time when companies are rushing to implement AI solutions without adequate safeguards. Her comparison of current AI hype to the blockchain frenzy of a decade ago serves as a sobering reminder that sustainable innovation requires thoughtful planning, not just technological enthusiasm.The multidisciplinary approach Gayle advocates represents a significant shift in how businesses should structure their AI initiatives. Gone are the days when technology decisions could be made in isolation. Modern AI governance demands collaboration between business functions, technical teams, and legal counsel—creating a new paradigm for cross-functional leadership in customer success organizations.For customer success professionals, the implications extend far beyond internal operations. When AI systems interact with customer data, handle support tickets, or predict customer behavior, the governance framework becomes a direct reflection of your company's commitment to customer trust. Gayle's emphasis on informing customers about AI usage highlights how transparency has evolved from a nice-to-have to a business imperative.The Duke AI Risk Framework and NIST guidelines she references provide actionable starting points for organizations feeling overwhelmed by the governance challenge. These resources democratize access to enterprise-level AI governance, making sophisticated risk assessment accessible to companies of all sizes. This democratization aligns perfectly with the customer success playbook philosophy of scalable, repeatable processes that drive consistent outcomes.Perhaps most importantly, Gayle's 26-year perspective in technology law offers historical context that many AI discussions lack. Her experience through previous technology waves—from the early internet boom to blockchain—provides valuable pattern recognition for identifying sustainable AI strategies versus fleeting trends. This wisdom becomes particularly relevant for customer success leaders who must balance innovation with the reliability their customers depend on.Now you can interact with us directly by leaving a voice message at htKevin's offeringPlease Like, Comment, Share and Subscribe. You can also find the CS Playbook Podcast:YouTube - @CustomerSuccessPlaybookPodcastTwitter - @CS_PlaybookYou can find Kevin at:Metzgerbusiness.com - Kevin's person web siteKevin Metzger on Linked In.You can find Roman at:Roman Trebon on Linked In.
How do you turn new users into loyal advocates—and lead global teams while doing it? Laura Carpentier shares powerful insights on scaling customer success, driving retention, and building high-performing virtual teams. Whether you're in SaaS, tech, or leading remote operations, this episode offers practical strategies to elevate your customer journey and team culture.==========================================
Sam Jacobs, AJ Bruno, and Asad Zaman unpack what it means to lead through uncertainty in a time of rapid change. They reflect on Q2 wins, the emotional cost of ambition, and why founders are feeling more anxious than ever. From letting go of the SaaS playbook to adapting in real time, they explore how AI is reshaping leadership, team culture, and what “good” revenue looks like. Plus: the decline of CS, the rise of forward-deployed engineers, and how to build when nothing feels stable. Thanks for tuning in! New episodes of Topline drop every Sunday and Thursday. Don't miss GTM2025 — the only B2B tech conference exclusively for GTM executives. Elevate your 2026 strategy and join us from September 23 to 25 in Washington, D.C. Use code TOPLINE for 10% off your GA ticket. Stay ahead with the latest industry developments and emerging go-to-market trends with Topline Newsletter by Asad Zaman. Subscribe today. Tune in to The Revenue Leadership Podcast every Wednesday, where host Kyle Norton talks with real revenue operators and dives deep into what it takes to succeed as a modern revenue leader. You're invited! Join the free Topline Slack channel to connect with 600+ revenue leaders, share insights, and keep the conversation going beyond the podcast! This episode is sponsored by UserEvidence. Want to know what actually moves the needle on trust? Download The Evidence Gap, a data-backed report on the customer proof that drives real results. Get it now at userevidence.com/evidence. Key chapters: (00:00) - Welcome and Pulse Check (01:14) - Celebrating Q2 Successes (02:57) - Navigating Business Transitions (03:59) - Hitting Numbers and Investing for Growth (04:47) - The Stress of Numbers and Daily Anxiety (05:47) - Balancing Ambition with Gratitude (07:00) - The Power of Pattern Interrupts and Support (07:38) - Is Ambition Always Dissatisfaction? (09:00) - Finding Fulfillment in the Journey (13:12) - The Beauty of Risk and Uncertainty (15:00) - The Astrologer and Fate vs. Free Will (23:00) - Charting the Uncertain Second Half (34:00) - Culture Change and Organizational Agility (43:28) - The Rise of Forward Deployed Engineers & Services Revenue (54:00) - The Future of Customer Success and Bearishness on Job Markets
Send us a textThe final episode of this transformative series tackles the ultimate challenge: scaling AI experiences without sacrificing empathy. Jake McKee reveals why most companies approach AI transformation backwards—focusing on tools instead of relationships, replacement instead of enhancement. This customer success playbook episode demonstrates how successful AI transformation mirrors the digital transformation of the past decade, requiring fundamental changes to business processes, not just technology adoption. McKee's framework for maintaining authentic human connections while scaling AI across enterprise environments provides practical guardrails for companies navigating the complex balance between efficiency and empathy. From addressing AI hallucinations transparently to designing trust through micro-moments, this conversation offers a roadmap for AI implementations that enhance rather than diminish human relationships.Detailed AnalysisMcKee's perspective on AI transformation represents a sophisticated understanding of organizational change management applied to emerging technology. His comparison to digital transformation provides crucial context—just as companies had to fundamentally rethink business processes when moving from analog to digital, AI transformation requires reimagining workflows, decision-making processes, and human-machine collaboration models.The conversation reveals critical insights about trust-building in AI systems, emphasizing that trust develops through consistent micro-moments rather than singular grand gestures. This mirrors human relationship dynamics and provides a practical framework for designing AI experiences that build confidence over time. McKee's examples of internal process failures—particularly the 13-screen system requiring hours of work before allowing saves—illustrate how poor experience design destroys trust regardless of underlying functionality.Perhaps most valuable is McKee's nuanced approach to AI transparency and hallucination management. Rather than attempting to eliminate AI limitations, he advocates for honest communication about system capabilities and uncertainties. This customer success playbook approach recognizes that users can develop healthy relationships with imperfect AI systems when expectations are properly set and limitations are communicated clearly.The discussion also addresses the critical challenge of scaling empathetic AI across large organizations. McKee's emphasis on relationship design over feature development provides a sustainable framework for maintaining human-centric experiences even as AI implementations grow in scope and complexity. His insights about contextual AI behavior—understanding when users need speed versus thoughtful interaction—offer practical guidance for enterprise AI strategy.Now you can interact with us directly by leaving a voice message at https://www.speakpipe.com/CustomerSuccessPlaybookKevin's offeringPlease Like, Comment, Share and Subscribe. You can also find the CS Playbook Podcast:YouTube - @CustomerSuccessPlaybookPodcastTwitter - @CS_PlaybookYou can find Kevin at:Metzgerbusiness.com - Kevin's person web siteKevin Metzger on Linked In.You can find Roman at:Roman Trebon on Linked In.
Are your customers ghosting your QBR invites? Let's be real… every CSM has faced the dreaded silence or worse, the wrong people showing up. But here's the ugly truth leadership never told you. It's not your QBR's timing, your agenda, or your follow-ups. It's that your meetings are about you, not your customer.In this episode, I break down the single biggest mistake 99% of CSMs make with their QBRs and hand you my simple 3-step framework to flip the script—from ignored invites to strategic sessions your customers actually want to attend. We'll dig into exactly what to research, how to reframe your outreach, and the one pro move that gets even busy execs leaning in. Craving the kind of executive buy-in that accelerates renewals, expansions, and your own career? Hit play, because everything you've learned about QBRs is about to change, starting now!
Laura Lakhwara leads GTM teams and customers in transformative strategies that empower businesses to streamline operations and scale efficiently with AI, automation, robotics, and data-driven insights. She has an incredible background from working at IBM, a first-ever partnership with IBM and Apple, and other companies like UI Path and Softbank Robotics. We had a great conversation - her expertise spans market entry strategies, enterprise sales, customer success, and fostering customer-centric cultures that drive revenue growth and long-term partnerships. Follow Laura: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauralakhwara/ More about Women Sales Pros - we have a website, we are on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. Subscribe to our 2x a month news, and share the podcast with others! We'd love a 5 star rating and comments on iTunes if you are so moved! It really makes a difference. subscribe: https://bit.ly/thewspnews Contribute: https://forms.gle/v9rRiPDUtgGqKaXA6 Past News Issues: bit.ly/past_news_issues https://womensalespros.com/podcast/
Signup for the FREE Masterclass: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/masterclassIn this episode of the Customer Success Pro Podcast, host Anika Zuber and guest Kelley Turner, SVP of Global Customer Success at Vitally, discuss the critical role of customer segmentation in driving effective customer success strategies. They explore the importance of understanding customer needs, the balance between automation and personalization, and how AI can enhance segmentation efforts. Kelley shares her unique background in finance and how it informs her approach to customer success, emphasizing the need for curiosity and engagement in building strong customer relationships. The conversation also touches on measuring success in customer success initiatives and the evolving landscape of customer engagement.#customersuccessmanager #podcast #revenuegrowth Chapters00:00 Introduction 02:54 The Importance of Customer Segmentation05:57 Kelley Turner's Background and Role at Vitally08:48 Understanding Customer Success at Vitally14:51 The Role of Curiosity in Customer Success18:01 Operational vs. Service Segmentation20:51 Creative Segmentation Strategies23:54 Impact of Segmentation on Customer Outcomes27:06 Balancing Automation and Personalization29:59 Measuring Success in Segmentation32:59 Future of Segmentation and AI in Customer Success36:06 Quick Fire Round with Kelley TurnerConnect with Anika Zubair:Website: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anikazubair/CSM RevUP Academy: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/revupConnect with Kelley Turner:Email: kelley@vitally.ioLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelleyturner/Kelley Turner is a seasoned leader in Customer Success, currently serving as SVP of Global Customer Success at Vitally. With a career spanning across multiple industries, Kelley is known for building high-performing teams that deliver measurable value and lasting customer partnerships. At Vitally, she leads the full post-sale experience—spanning onboarding, support, education, and CSM teams —to drive retention, expansion, and strategic impact across the customer base.Prior to Vitally, Kelley held executive roles at Iterable, Guild Education, and Kapost, where she managed portfolios exceeding $200M ARR, built customer success functions from the ground up, and championed initiatives around DEI and employee development. Whether scaling customer teams, driving retention, or mentoring future leaders, Kelley is driven by the belief that customer success is everyone's business.Send Anika a text :) Want to be our next guest? Apply here: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/podcast-guest Podcast Editor: https://podcastmagician.com/
In this weeks' Scale Your Sales Podcast episode, my guest is Nick Buxton. Nick has a background in engineering, 2x CRO, and 5x VP of Sales. Over the past 20 years I've worked my way up from individual contributor at seed, Series A- C, privately held, FTSE and NYSE listed tech companies. He is now helping tech companies deliver revenue transformation projects with a range of partners. In today's episode of Scale Your Sales podcast, Nick shares his value-led growth approach and why breaking down silos between sales, marketing, and customer success is key to building customer-centric organizations. He and Janice explore the difference between solving user problems vs. business needs, the impact on go-to-market strategy, and the evolving role of CROs as AI and sales enablement continue to reshape the future of sales. Welcome to Scale Your Sales Podcast, Nick Buxton. Timestamps: 00:00 Product-Led Growth Challenges Explained 05:51 Embrace Product-Led Growth Strategy 07:09 Customer-Led Growth Insights 13:29 Sales Competency Deficit Analysis 14:41 Challenges in Building Sales Relationships 20:13 Improving Sales Leadership Competencies 22:08 Sales Enablement and CROs Alignment 25:20 Understanding Product Value Basics 28:31 Silent Quitting: Mutual Interview Necessity https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-buxton/ Janice B Gordon is the award-winning Customer Growth Expert and Scale Your Sales Framework founder. She is by LinkedIn Sales 15 Innovating Sales Influencers to Follow 2021, the Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on Customer Experience Nov 2020 and 150 Women B2B Thought Leaders You Should Follow in 2021. Janice helps companies worldwide to reimagine revenue growth thought customer experience and sales. Book Janice to speak virtually at your next event: https://janicebgordon.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/janice-b-gordon/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaniceBGordon Scale Your Sales Podcast: https://scaleyoursales.co.uk/podcast More on the blog: https://scaleyoursales.co.uk/blog Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janicebgordon Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScaleYourSales And more! Visit our podcast website https://scaleyoursales.co.uk/podcast/ to watch or listen.
In this episode of Sales is King, Dan Sixsmith interviews Keith Pearce, CMO of Gainsight, at the Gainsight Pulse Conference. They discuss the evolution of customer success, the impact of AI on the industry, and the importance of marketing in driving demand. Keith shares insights from his personal journey, leadership style, and his definition of success in the current market landscape.TakeawaysGainsight is a leader in customer success and AI integration.AI is enhancing rather than replacing customer success roles.The post-sale journey is crucial for customer retention.Marketing must align with customer success to drive demand.Brand trust is essential for business growth.Leadership requires meeting people where they are.Success is defined by pipeline goals and company evolution.The customer journey should be seamless across departments.Adaptability is key in a global business environment.Personal experiences shape leadership and marketing strategies.Chapters00:00 Welcome to Gainsight Pulse Conference02:56 The Evolution of Customer Success05:51 Marketing's Role in Demand Generation08:46 Personal Journey and Leadership Insights12:01 Defining Success in Today's Market
Tired of being treated like the company's junk drawer? Frustrated that executives don't see the strategic value of your CS team? Struggling to get buy-in for the resources and respect you deserve? Rob Zambito, founder of Success Scaled Consulting and three-time VP of Customer Success, joins us to reveal how behavioral psychology transforms CS teams from reactive everything departments into proactive revenue-generating engines. With his unique background in consumer psychology and behavioral economics, Rob shares the secrets to what separates successful CS leaders from those stuck on every QBR.BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU'LL DISCOVER: Why customer decisions are driven by cognitive biases (not logic) and how to leverage this for better outcomesThe difference between being "strategic" and having a clear team charter that executives actually understandHow to translate CS work into executive language that gets you a seat at the leadership tableThe forecasting approach that proves CS is a revenue function, not just a "happiness department.Why CS teams need different personas and the 5 key types every CS leader should recognizeThe research methodology mindset that helps you test assumptions and avoid infinite loopsHow to stop being the company junk drawer by establishing clear boundaries and focusWhy asking customers directly often beats complex health score algorithmsStop letting your team be everyone's dumping ground and start getting the executive respect you've been fighting for.
The Twenty Minute VC: Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
Kim Graves is GM, Americas at Notion, where she oversees all Sales and Customer Success efforts across the region. She brings extensive experience in building and scaling high-performing sales organizations, most notably at Slack where she helped grow revenue from $6M to over $1.5B. In addition to her operational role, Kim serves as a founding partner at 20SALES, a GTM-focused VC firm, where she advises early-stage companies on scaling revenue and optimizing sales processes. Agenda: 07:00 – The Secret to Winning a Discount Conversation 09:30 – Notion's Wild New Sales Method: Mindsets Over Stages 12:00 – Why Great Sellers Never Talk Product Too Soon 14:00 – How Slack Avoided the Biggest PLG Trap of All 17:00 – The Fatal Mistake Founders Make Layering Sales on PLG 20:00 – The “Renaissance Reps” That Build Billion-Dollar Motions 23:00 – How to Spot True Grit in a Sales Hire (Without Asking Directly) 26:00 – The Case Study Test That Filters Out Bullshitters 30:00 – The Real Reason Most Reps Fail Onboarding 33:00 – Should Reps Own Their Own Pipeline? Kim's Take Is Clear 36:00 – Why Cold Calling Works in 2025 (And Nobody Does It) 39:00 – The Sales Team Audit: The REKS Framework That Changes Everything 43:00 – How to Avoid Hiring the Wrong Rep Under Pressure 45:00 – When Sales Feels Second Class: PLG vs Enterprise Tension 47:00 – The One Thing Reps Still Do That AI Will Obliterate 50:00 – AI Sales Tools: Why Every Startup Is Failing to Get It Right 53:00 – Will We Have More or Fewer Reps in 5 Years? 56:00 – Enterprises Are Scared of AI – Here's How You Break In Anyway 59:00 – Kim's Secret for Getting Past Gatekeepers and Fake Champions 1:09:00 – Kim's Hardest Phase at Slack and How She Survived It
In this episode, Tristan Bordallo is back on the show to break down more action plans for growing a trucking business! Tristan shares what small carriers are falling in the current market condition, the crucial role of hiring qualified people for cash flow and business development, how to run a successful freight operation, the impact of customer satisfaction ratings on carrier reputations, and more that you shouldn't miss! About Tristan Bordallo Tristan has been in the trucking business for 21 years, started in LTL brokerage Diversified Transportation and became a 1099 rep after 3 months (did it for 5 yrs), co-owned an agency for Covenant Transport for 10 years , and launched his own brokerage Fr8topia and asset-based carrier Iamfr8 (6 years ago). I'm still figuring it out! Connect with Tristan Website: https://www.iamfr8.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tristan-bordallo-a57860162/
In this episode, we're joined by Jennifer Peters, Head of Customer Success at Vesper, the commodity data platform working to bring transparency to the global commodity marketplace. Vesper provides market data, benchmarks, and forecasting to allow you to make confident decisions in volatile food markets. We spoke with Jennifer about what it really means to design and implement an effective customer journey, and why managing a customer portfolio doesn't automatically mean you're managing that journey well. Here are some of the key questions we address: What's the difference between managing customer portfolios and managing the full customer journey? Where does the customer journey actually begin, and why is that moment so often misunderstood? How do you make your onboarding flow keep pace with a fast-evolving product? Why is launching a new feature once never enough? What kind of adoption and usage metrics should CS teams monitor to prevent churn? How do you operationalize customer success playbooks so they trigger action, not just insight? What's the role of CS in ensuring goals set during the sales cycle don't disappear after onboarding? How do you keep stakeholders across sales, marketing, and product aligned on the journey you're all supporting? Tune in to hear how Jennifer and her team are building a proactive customer success engine at Vesper - and what any SaaS org can learn about keeping customers engaged, growing, and renewing long after the contract is signed.
What if I told you the secret to being a proactive CSM has nothing to do with having more time?In this episode, I'm walking you through the exact 6-step framework I use with my coaching clients to help them get out of reactive chaos and into strategic, high-impact action—no matter how overwhelming their workload is. You'll hear how one CSM managing 500+ accounts went from “I don't even know where to start” to “wait… this is actually doable” in just one coaching call. And yes, I'm sharing the exact steps we used.If you're tired of feeling behind and ready to finally feel in control of your book and your career, this is the episode to hit play on. Let's get you unstuck.
Text us your questions and thoughts!We sit down with Lara Barnes, Chief Customer Officer at Crownpeak and a champion of authentic leadership, to unpack the true meaning of goal setting, resilience, and growing your career with purpose.With over 25 years of experience in high-growth, customer-centric tech companies, Lara has led global Customer Success teams at Microsoft, Facebook, Oracle, and Sitecore. She shares her rise from senior director to SVP to CCO, offering insight into the unique challenges women face in corporate settings and the critical roles of perception, sponsorship, and values in career advancement.Lara opens up about navigating corporate politics, embracing vulnerability, and becoming a people-first leader grounded in heart, clarity, and courage. She reveals the mindset shifts that helped her succeed while staying true to herself, and how goal setting became a powerful catalyst for transformation.We also explore her personal mission-turned-passion project in functional neurology, inspired by her journey to help her son overcome learning and behavioral challenges. What began as a search for answers has evolved into a purpose-driven venture, now helping hundreds of families thrive.You'll discover:How showing up as your authentic self builds trust and impactWhat functional neurology is and how Lara helps bring a sparkle of hope to parents and childrenThe value framework, and how will it change the way CSMs are operatingHow to develop your leadership style and lead with heart Playbook to building your path to leadership (& the golden trio: Evidence, Perception and Sponsorship)Don't miss this enlightening conversation!
ClientSuccess Chief Customer Officer Kristi Faltorusso admits a question that most customer success professionals can't answer: "How is each of your customers measuring success with your partnership?" Knowing what success looks like for your customers is fundamental to building meaningful relationships. Stop designing FOR customers, start designing WITH them. Ditch ego-driven playbooks. View your team members as CEOs, not mere order-takers. Your ulitmate impact as a leader is all about inspiring others to support your organization's mission. "People want change to happen WITH them, not TO them."
Send us a textWhat happens when passionate customer feedback clashes with cold, hard data? Jake McKee tackles this age-old product dilemma with wisdom earned from years at Lego and building communities for Fortune 500 brands. This episode of the customer success playbook reveals why treating community building as relationship development—not just feedback collection—transforms how companies balance emotional customer input with analytical metrics. McKee's "everybody goes home happy" philosophy demonstrates how sustainable product decisions emerge when companies design mutually beneficial relationships rather than extracting value from user communities. From scale modeling to high-end fusion restaurants, this conversation weaves personal insights with professional strategies for community-driven product development.Detailed AnalysisMcKee's approach to resolving the tension between passionate customer feedback and data-driven metrics represents a sophisticated understanding of modern product development challenges. His framework moves beyond the traditional either/or mentality to reveal how qualitative community insights can actually strengthen quantitative analysis when properly interpreted through relationship context.The discussion illuminates critical flaws in conventional product development cycles, particularly the tendency to collect requirements upfront, disappear into development "black boxes" for months, then emerge with solutions disconnected from evolving customer needs. McKee's community-driven product development methodology keeps customer voices actively engaged throughout the development process, creating real-time feedback loops that prevent costly misalignments.Perhaps most valuable is McKee's perspective on starting small with community building. Rather than investing in expensive platforms and complex infrastructure, he advocates for beginning immediately with simple relationship-building activities—introducing customers to each other, facilitating peer connections, and treating community development as an ongoing relationship rather than a marketing project. This customer success playbook approach recognizes that authentic communities emerge from genuine value exchange, not sophisticated technology platforms.The conversation also explores the nuanced art of community participation, whether in branded platforms or external spaces like Reddit. McKee's guidance on "showing up" rather than "taking over" provides practical wisdom for companies looking to engage authentically with existing customer communities rather than disrupting established dynamics.Now you can interact with us directly by leaving a voice message at https://www.speakpipe.com/CustomerSuccessPlaybookKevin's offeringPlease Like, Comment, Share and Subscribe. You can also find the CS Playbook Podcast:YouTube - @CustomerSuccessPlaybookPodcastTwitter - @CS_PlaybookYou can find Kevin at:Metzgerbusiness.com - Kevin's person web siteKevin Metzger on Linked In.You can find Roman at:Roman Trebon on Linked In.
In this episode, we're diving deep into the art of connection with Doug Brown from CEO Sales Strategies. He is an expert at driving results, uniting teams, and delivering unforgettable customer experiences. You'll learn why today's customers are clamoring for connection, and how your business can meet that need by aligning your teams, sharpening your message, and understanding your buyers better than ever. We'll explore: Why great teams move in the same direction (and how to get yours there) How leaders set the tone for performance and culture by setting the example The power of understanding client objections before they derail your sale The secret to identifying your right-fit buyer and fine-tuning your messaging and marketing Why follow-up is the most overlooked part of both the sales and service cycle How to eliminate silos between sales, marketing, and customer service to create a seamless, connected experience Whether you're a business owner, CX leader, or growth-focused professional, this episode will challenge your thinking and offer practical strategies you can implement today.
PQS by Innovaccer Associates Brittany Boyd and Ray Arizmendi team up to chat about highlights from the Pharmacy Quality Alliance Meeting (PQA) 2025. Brittany Boyd, PQS Associate Director, Pharmacy Training and Support, and Ray Arizmendi, PQS Director of Customer Success, cover PQA event vibes and conference structure. They talk about sessions they enjoyed and the PQS by Innovaccer unveiling of EQUIPP Copilot.
Hey CX Nation,In this week's episode of The CXChronicles Podcast #261 we were capturing live interviews at Customer Contact Week at The Caeasar's Forum in Las Vegas, NV.We joined 5,000+ attendees, from 49 states, 51 countries, and spent time meeting & learning from 250+ of the largest solution providers in the CX & customer contact center space. Let's call it what is folks, this is essentially the "Super Bowl of CX" the best & brightest companies in our game gather at CCW to talk shop & share their latest & greatest features, gadgets & services.Our guest interviews for this IRL (in-real life) event episode included: Peter Nilsson (Microsoft), Michael Kinsella & Tomas Piacek (Klearcom), Ashu Dubey (Alhena AI) Janet Vito & Emily Cash (Cyara). Each of the guests in this episode had unique points of view on the state of CX/CS/Customer Support & what the future of business will look like in today's world thanks to our favorite new little buddy, AI. **Episode #261 Highlight Reel:**1. CXC IRL Interviews from CCW Las Vegas 20252. Learnings from 250+ leading solution providers in customer contact3. Things that are top of mind for CX/CS/Support executives4. Improving your customer experience & building alongside AI for the future5. Examples of world-leading AI companies/solutions to keep your eyes onClick here to watch CXCP #261 On CXC YoutubeClick here to learn about Customer Contact WeekHuge thanks to everyone for joining us on this week's episode of The CXChronicles Podcast and featuring their work and efforts in pushing the customer & employee (agent) experience space into the future.If you enjoy The CXChronicles Podcast, stop by your favorite podcast player hit the follow button and leave us a review today.For our Apple & Spotify friends, make sure you are following CXC & please leave a 5 star review so we can find new listeners & members to expand our customer focused community.You know what would be even better?Go tell one of your friends or teammates about CXC's content, strategic partners (Hubspot, Intercom, Zendesk, Freshworks, Forethought AI & Ascendr) + check-out the CXC Healthzone to learn more about our CX/CS/RevOps focused on-demand services.Are you looking to learn more about the world of Customer Sales & Marketing, Customer Experience, Customer Success, Employee Experience & Revenue Operations?Click here to grab a copy of my book "The Four CX Pillars To Grow Your Business Now" available on Amazon or the CXC website.For you non-readers, go check out the CXChronicles Youtube channel to see our customer & employee focused business content. Reach Out To CXC Today!Support the showContact CXChronicles Today Tweet us @cxchronicles Check out our Instagram @cxchronicles Click here to checkout the CXC website Email us at info@cxchronicles.com Remember To Make Happiness A Habit!!
In this episode of the Revenue Builders Podcast, hosts John McMahon and John Kaplan are joined by Bobby Morrison, Chief Revenue Officer of Shopify, to discuss the transformative power of AI in the sales domain. Bobby shares an in-depth look at Shopify's innovative approach to structuring their go-to-market strategy using pods, which integrate sales, customer success, and engineering teams for optimal client engagement and business growth. He delves into the role of AI in streamlining tasks, enhancing craft, and orchestrating workflows, while highlighting Shopify's AI-first philosophy and the democratization of AI tools across the company. Bobby also touches on the importance of industry-specific knowledge, the benefits of the Chaos Monkey practice to prevent organizational entropy, and the evolving expectations of modern buyers. This episode provides invaluable insights into leveraging AI to drive sales performance and organizational agility.ADDITIONAL RESOURCESLearn more about Bobby Morrison:https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobby-morrison-60663327/Watch Force Management's Panel Discussion on AI in Sales Leadership: https://hubs.ly/Q03rlW4Z0Read Force Management's Guide to Embedding AI In Your B2B Sales Organization: https://hubs.li/Q03ldrzD0Enjoying the podcast? Sign up to receive new episodes straight to your inbox: https://hubs.li/Q02R10xN0HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT[00:01:25] Understanding Shopify's Business Model[00:02:57] Shopify's Go-to-Market Strategy[00:04:55] Transition to Pod Structure[00:09:21] Industry Expertise and Pod Implementation[00:14:00] AI Integration at Shopify[00:17:17] Hiring and Training for AI Proficiency[00:21:38] Challenges and Future of AI in Sale[00:29:41] Enhancing Employee Performance Through Observation[00:30:21] Leveraging Call Recordings for Better Coaching[00:32:17] The Role of AI in Job Security[00:33:25] Importance of Deep Domain Expertise[00:35:30] Customer Expectations and Specialized Software[00:37:22] The Pod Structure and Compensation Models[00:41:31] Partner Ecosystem and Collaboration|[00:42:47] Managing AI and Intellectual Property[00:45:54] Chaos Monkey and Organizational Flexibility[00:51:50] Future of Sales Teams with AIHIGHLIGHT QUOTESOn AI: “AI is not gonna replace your job, but the people using AI will.”On Culture: “Toby [the CEO] advises that Shopify should intentionally destabilize enough to avoid ruts and maintain agility.”On Alignment: “We win best when we win with our partners.”On Future Vision: “I dream one day that our sales teams will wake up and just have great conversations with customers, free from low-value tasks.”
What if the future of Customer Success looks a lot more like sales, and that's exactly what your career needs? Most CSMs are missing out on huge levers for impact, influence and growth because they're ignoring proven sales tactics that actually work.In this episode, Sean O'Leary and I rip the lid off conventional CS wisdom and expose the game-changing sales mindsets, sales tactics and habits you're not using… but should be. We unpack why your outreach gets ghosted, how to finally master your calendar chaos and the secret to gaining instant credibility with leadership (even if you feel stuck).Curious to know the one shift that could unlock your next promotion or even save your job? Press play now and steal these sales moves for yourself.