What’s Next? Career Opportunities for Customer Success Professionals

What’s Next? Career Opportunities for Customer Success Professionals

Chad Horenfeldt, VP Customer Success @Bluecore

Aug 23, 2016

More about me

VP Customer Success, BluecoreIn the Customer Success world for 15 years. Previously at Eloqua (Oracle) and InfluitivePassionate about all things Customer Success and especially helping othersCanadianLoves hockey playoffsCrazy passion for start-ups

@ChadTev

Agenda

More about BluecoreStructure of CS @BluecoreSet the foundation – what I did in the first 3 monthsCareer path conversations – opening your mindTips to finding your own path & controlling your destinyQuestions

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More about Bluecore

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Structure of CS

@Bluecore

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Team structure / Hiring Priorities

VP Customer SuccessChad Horenfeldt

Sr. CSM

Onboarding Manager

CSM

FDE

FDE Team Lead

FDE / Launch Lead

FDE

FDESr. CSM

Enterprise Team Mid-Market Team Small-Market Team

Product Enablement Director

Mid-Market FDE Team

Small-Market FDE Team

Enterprise FDE Team

FDE

FDE FDE

Support Team (Tier I)

Product Specialist

Sr. CSM

CSM Partner

CSS

CSS

CSMTBH

CSMTBH

NEW EXISTINGPLANNED

Product Specialist

Legend

CSM

Director, Services & Support TBHProject Manager

CSSTBH

Education / TrainerTBH

Product Specialist

TBH

FDE

FDE

FDE

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Setting the Foundations

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CS Mission

• Forge a cohesive team that works in unison

• To help our partners get so much value and love the Bluecoreexperience so much that they shout about us from the roof tops

• To be known as the (email) marketing experts in the verticals we serve

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CS Values (HACCQiOR“Hakai”)

HappinessAccountabilityCuriosityCreativityQualityIntegrity / Honestyand…. Teamwork

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CS Vision

•We commit to delivering quality products and services by holding each other accountable and always being open and honest.•We will use curiosityand creativity to drive

ourselves and our partners towards higher levels of success while fostering a fun and collaborativeenvironment.

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BluecoreCS team in action

We formed a department: CSWe have a clear vision and purposeEstablished a Standard of Performance

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Additional actions

Internal CS survey – gauge internal sentimentCustomer feedback – what do your customers want?Internal interviews

CS team – what are the expectations?Sales - How does sales sell? Where do they need help?Product - Where is your product going?Marketing – What is marketing focused on?

Conducted performance reviews (Get it Done / Do it Right): what do your people want? What are their strengths? Where do we need to improve?

Get the right people on the bus and in the right seats

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Getting it Done / Doing it Right

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Career path conversations –opening your

mind

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My Big Influence: The Alliance by Reid Hoffman

Stop thinking of your employees as family…

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The Alliance by Reid Hoffman

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#First7Jobs

Stock ClerkCamp CounselorCashierButcherWarehouse workerTutorial AssistantNon-Profit Director

FDE Career Path

FDE

FDETeamLead

FDETechLead

ProductSupportTeam Lead

ApplicationEngineer

SalesEngineer

ProductManager

CSM

DataScience

WithinCSTeam

AcrossBCTeams

360Feedback/Perf Evals

Bluecore Labs

Q/ATester

ProjectManager

CSM Career Path

CSM

CSMTeamLead

CSMManager

ProductSupportTeam Lead

StrategicSales

ProductManager

Education&Training

MarketingOperations

WithinCSTeam

AcrossBCTeams

360Feedback/Perf Evals

CSMOperations

SalesEngineer

EnablementManager

Bluecore Labs

Exercise -Questions to ask yourself:

What do you enjoy most about your current role?What skills would you like to improve on?What can you do to help learn more of those

skills?Who can I talk to that can help me?

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Tips to finding your own path & controlling your destiny

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My words of wisdom to advance in CS

Do the things that no one else will doMaster your role then help your team and then help other departments – think beyond your own roleGet it done / do it right (you need to match great results with the right attitude)No one will give you anything – take control of your career: education (conferences, courses), mentorsThink about roles that don’t exist yet make concrete requests and have a plan to fill your roleBe reasonable

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Questions?