20 Ways to Guarantee That You Will Accelerate Your Career in Customer Success

Note: This is an excerpt from a post I wrote for the Strikedeck blog.

Recognizing Your Own Impact

I will never forget a number of years ago back when I was at Eloqua and was called into my manager’s office. I was first worried that I had done something wrong. I had been toiling away with a number of our smaller customers in the Austin, Texas area working many long days and nights. I was slightly surprised to hear that my role was now changing. I was asked to step up and manage some of our largest and most valuable enterprise customers. I remember being extremely excited yet slightly terrified.

I think what I enjoyed the most about the moment was the recognition for my hard work and the passion that I had for the company and our customers. I didn’t really think much about how I had achieved that milestone at the time — it just sort of happened. I knew our clients were achieving value but wasn’t conscious of what exactly of my own impact. It wasn’t until years later after I became a leader and coached others that I understood some of the elements that led to that role change. There were a combination of elements that I instinctively did that every CSM should be aware of. I wanted to share those with others in this post.

Myth: Career Progression Means Moving Up the Ladder

I had the pleasure of interviewing some of the best and brightest leaders in Customer Success in NYC recently. This panel included: Samantha Burkley, Senior Client Success Manager at Updater; Malicia Basdeo, Director, Strategic Accounts at Bitly; and Elizabeth Quispe, Director, Customer Success at Alpha. While it’s clear that the profession of Customer Success is on the rise as evidenced by LinkedIn’s recent most promising jobs report, that doesn’t mean that it’s easy to land a job. It also doesn’t mean that it’s easy to progress in your role. Hard work alone isn’t going to cut it.

After reflecting on my conversation with these three amazing people, it became clearer to me what I didn’t realize way back when I was grinding away with my Austin clients at Eloqua. Here it is: there is no clear career path in the world of Customer Success. You shouldn’t look at your career as a ladder but more of a climbing wall. You need to focus on building your skills — hard and soft — and understanding where your strengths are. Here is the advice that Sam, Malicia and Elizabeth shared from their own careers. I hope you enjoy it.

20 Ways to Accelerate Your Career in Customer Success

To see the rest of the post, please go to the Strikedeck blog.