Do you work in customer success? (sometimes known, rightly or wrongly, as Business Development or Account Management) or are you looking for a customer success job role?
A quick search on LinkedIn reveals that there are currently over 13,000 Customer success jobs available, all, of course, have differing job descriptions.
Want to check you’re right for the role?
Well, as anyone who works in customer success can surely relate to, all you really need to ask yourself is do you have these 11 qualities? *
*Please note these should be taken with a pinch of salt!
So many customers, so many contacts, so many different products, so little time… get ready to juggle!
Roger has been your customer for years, from when he first started his business, you’ve been with him through all his highs and lows, you helped him out with that urgent order, you listened to him for hours talk about that problem he has with his ‘down below’s’, Roger is your number one customer… wait…
he’s had an offer for 1 cent off a product with a rival company to yours and he’s thinking about leaving you? …
ROOOGGGEEERRRR!!!
‘We haven’t sold as much ice this month, can’t you just go and sell some to an inuit?’ Asks your manager.
‘Err no… it doesn’t work like that, customer success is about building up loyalty and, so, not selling someone something they don’t need, besides…. Ian the inuit prefers to drink his whiskey neat, anyway.’
This job is all about people, get ready to talk to and meet a lot of people…. for an extra 10 points try and remember all their names when they all rock up at your next networking event to say hi!
Be prepared to be on call (practically) 24/7 and the exact moment you pick your coat up to leave the office…. can guarantee someone will call you.
In many ways, you’re the gatekeeper between your organisation and the customers, during bad times, both sides will air any frustrations at you (not necessarily against you!), so be prepared to be shouted at, when that thing that can’t possibly go wrong… goes wrong.
Do you remember when you told Buck in accounts not to send out paper invoices anymore to customer x, guess what he did…
Oh and he sent it to customer x’s competitors address by the way – ARRRGGHHH!!
Now you must explain to customer x’s competitor why they haven’t got as good a price as customer x and you must explain to customer x why they haven’t got their electronic invoice…again… good luck!
We’ve all dedicated hours to writing up a report for that urgent meeting and seeing your manager glance over it in two nanoseconds – grr… if only there was some sort of software that could produce a report at the push of a button..
*spoiler*
there is…
keep reading…
If you’ve always wanted to know what Mordor is like on a Monday afternoon or what’s in Crapville, Crapessee then this is the job for you!
Get ready to spend a hell of a lot of time travelling to ‘wonderful exotic’ places in towns and cities you’ve never heard of.
It’s not a car anymore it’s your new moving desk and wardrobe: pens, sales literature, goody bags, make up bag, coffee cups, spare suit (for the lady or gentleman that fancies a change), spare dress (for the lady or for the gentleman that fancies a BIG change), big coat, small coat, phone, works phone, route planner, kitchen sink…
Super-size me – great film, right, made you hungry? good this is the job for you!
Long drives, strange hours, late nights. Hello fast food – my new best friend.
…but despite all this, customer success is still pretty cool!
In all seriousness, customer success is a pivotal and important job role, you’re at the forefront of the business.
You are the link between customer’s and your company, the first to hear of any successes and the first to understand from the customer’s point of view if anything needs improving.
In some ways, you hold all the power in your hands!
Do you work in customer success? Want to make your job a little easier? Time to use sales-i…
sales-i can do all this –