Tell us something fun about yourself:
I absolutely love to travel. I travel a few times a year for work, but I don’t travel as much for leisure. But when I do get the opportunity to travel and visit a new place, I enjoy going to places that locals like to frequent no matter what it is. I am also a huge foodie, which is a little funny because I grew up probably the pickiest kid on the planet, and I am not just saying that. I hated Pizza….who dislikes Pizza? My adolescent self sure did. As I got older, I started exploring foods I had never eaten before. I just tried beets for the first time 6 months ago and found out I love beets. Who knew? I enjoy trying new cuisines I have never had before and am always down to try a new place to eat wherever I go.
If you could go back in time, what would you tell yourself as a new CSM?
I am a recovering people-pleaser (cough-cough), and I would tell my younger self to get over that pretty quickly because it won’t serve you as a CSM, but what it will do is burn you out.
What book, podcast, or influencer do you recommend checking out?
I have so many, but I’ll share my absolute favorites.
- No Ego by Cy Wakeman. This was one of those transformative books that changed my life and how I manage drama and lead people without the drama. Highly recommend.
- You are a Badass by Jen Sincero. This is an excellent self-help book that focuses on the power of stepping into your greatness and how to stop doubting yourself. This is one of those boost-your-confidence books that I love.
What is the one tech tool you can’t live without?
Aw, I can only choose one. Darn. If I had to narrow it down to one, I’d have to say ClickUp. It has seriously elevated my task list to another dimension. I am way more efficient than I used to be (trusty old pen and paper) and don’t miss deadlines. I don’t think I could ever revert to my old ways now that I use the tool daily.
How can those looking to break into CS get started?
Network, network, network. There is so much power in networking with people already in the space. Just last week, I was working with a young man looking to break into CS, and we worked together to update his resume. We even did a mock interview to prepare him for the “real deal.” He was bold and courageous and reached out to me via LinkedIn, asking for help. CS professionals thrive on helping others, it's why we get into and stay in this field. Any opportunity I have to help someone else, and I have the time to do it, you better believe I will show up for my people.
What’s next for Customer Success?
I think we will see a lot more Artificial Intelligence tools developed to help reduce the administrative responsibilities of CS professionals. I also believe we will see more academic institutions offering career pathways to customer success.
What’s something you recently learned the hard way?
I made a couple of hiring mistakes that were costly to my company and directly impacted both our customers and my team. That was a tough lesson to learn, to say my knees were scraped would be an understatement. I ended up revamping our candidate interview questions, increased the number of interviews conducted, and added new assessment tools to ensure that we are hiring the right-fit candidates. There is a lesson in every failure. I own my failures and try to learn and grow from each one. I am happy to say we are on the other end of those mistakes, and my team, my company, and our customers are thriving.
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