21 Fundamental CSM Rules - Part I

Hi, Markus here. Welcome to a new episode of the Customer-Value-Led-Growth Newsletter.

I share strategies and guides to help you become a proactive CSM, deliver more value for your customers, and turn it into revenue for your company every week.

Need additional help? Check out these resources 👇️ 

• Training Platform

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• Notion Guides

• CSM Operating System

• Free Templates

Let’s skip the intro and jump straight to the first 7 CSM rules to double your impact as a CSM 👇️ 

1. Multi-threading

Your champion is leaving, and everything goes down the drain. No one advocates for your product anymore, the ROI becomes questionable, and your customers decide to stop paying for it.

That’s a risk you must consider as people’s tenures become shorter. However, losing one champion at a time must not have such a devastating impact. You must build as many relationships as possible at your customers’ company - or at least become a household name.

Aim to build more than just one champion. Not everybody will become one, but that does not mean you shouldn’t try. Building relationships with users is easy. It should also be possible with the buyers those users are reporting to.

Speaking of, most likely, you will not meet people like the CFO personally. However, as key decision makers, you should still be on their radar. One effective way is to send them reports regularly that show the ROI your product is delivering.

Leverage your champions and their insider knowledge to understand what they care about to make sure you speak the right language and hit the right tone.

2. Radical Candor

Telling your customers what they want to hear might buy you some time and give you peace. But avoiding hard conversations comes at a price. If the features your customers requested didn’t make it on the roadmap, tell them as soon as you learn about it.

The longer you wait, the more inconvenient it becomes. Sit down with customers and explain why those features were left out. Bonus points if you can show them a workaround or, if that’s the case, why they don’t need them at all.

The same is true if customers are doing something wrong. You might protect their egos in the short term if you don’t, but that does not save you if the consequence is a lack of results.

Meet with your customers and show them where they have taken the wrong turns and how to fix them. If it has happened because customers didn’t follow your advice and recommendations, don’t blame them for it. Use the negative development to point out why it’s important to follow your input.

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