On International Women’s Day, HubSpot asked me what advice I would give someone looking to grow their career in Customer Success.
Below is a summary of my response.
For the full article containing the responses of my esteemed female colleagues in the Customer Success space I encourage you to read 6 Pieces of Career Advice from Women in Customer Success.
To all the females in, or aspiring to be in, the Customer Success profession I salute you and wish you much success!
What advice would you give someone looking to grow their career in Customer Success?
Customer Success is an interesting field because there are so many different aspects required of the role to be successful. I have seen people enter the Customer Success profession via Account Management, Support, Professional Services, Product Management and Marketing.
The advice I would give someone already in Customer Success and looking to grow their career is threefold stay passionate, stay current and stay focused.
Stay Passionate
They key to Customer Success is making customers successful. A Customer Success professional needs to be wildly passionate about wanting to help customers be successful and achieving their goals, while balancing the goals of their company too. Ultimately, that passion is what will fuel the creative problem solving required to help customers and the vendor’s business succeed.
Stay Current
A strong project management background is really important to guide the customer forward and manage them to success. Great communication skills, being empathetic and listening skills are also important for Customer Success Managers (CSMs), in addition to the subject matter expertise required of the CSM to persuasively mature customers along in their journey. Continue to hone these skills so that you are acting as a true trusted advisor and continue to bolster loyalty.
Stay Focused
The best way to keep growing your career is to ensure that you are successful by making sure that your customers and your company are successful. Aim for the triple win and understand how to align your goals with those of your company and its customers. Staying true to yourself and that triple alignment is the surest path forward to a rewarding and successful career!