Welcome to The Gainsight Gamechanger Podcast, a space where we recognize and celebrate people who change the game of customer success and product experience for their companies, customers, teammates, and partners.
The Customer Success philosophy has become the ally of many businesses from all around the world, and has settled as a preferred framework for millions of entrepreneurs and their teams. So much so, that students are currently showing growing interest around CS courses and lessons for their education, which only highlights the impact of our industry in the business world.
There are several major factors inside Customer Success roles that draw the line between overwhelm and a healthy career; as a result, Customer Success has become a tough industry, where skills such as multitasking, time management and delegation are crucial to thrive. In today’s episode, our host, Adam Joseph, is joined by Samantha Samuels, Head of Partnerships at Friendbuy, to chat about the skills that make CS managers great. Samantha is a passionate CS professional, and she will share her insights and advice around attention to customers, task prioritization, smart hires, and the importance of learning new things every day. Stay tuned to learn all about the “X Factor” of the Customer Success field, and the secrets behind working smart, not hard.
Jump straight into:
(01:25) - On Samantha’s passions and the “X Factor” of the Customer Success field - “Learning from my clients and helping them grow became my obsession.”
(05:04) - How to efficiently multitask and prioritize our customers’ needs - “I would make sure that I was proactively reaching out to customers to ensure that we had a positive relationship.”
(09:04) - How to work in Customer Success without going mad (both in person and remotely) - “It’s really about how effectively you manage your time, that’s the skill that makes a great CS manager.”
(10:52) - The complex art of saying “No” - “CS management is a tough job. If you’re going to be subservient to everyone’s requests, people are going to take advantage of that.”
(13:27) - Why being a great leader starts with the hiring process - “If you hire smart-driven, self-directed and collaborative people, you'll find that you won’t need to jump into every situation.”
(15:32) - How to better manage daily tasks and avoid the cycle to burnout - “Now, that teams are entirely distributed. There’s an innate instinct to prove to your team that you’re available.”
(22:00) - Samantha’s advice and resources for new and experienced CS professionals - “I realized I needed to start reading, and learn from as many people as I could.”
Resources
Connect with Samantha via LinkedIn
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
The 360 Degree Leader by John C. Maxwell
Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull
Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott
The First-Time Manager by Jim McCormick
Deep Work by Cal Newport
Multipliers by Liz Wiseman
Customer Success by Nick Mehta & Dan Steinman
The Customer Success Professional’s Handbook by Ashvin Vaidyanathan & Ruben Rabago
The Customer Success Economy by Nick Mehta & Allison Pickens
The Pomodoro Technique
Calendly
Meetingbird
Hosted by Adam Joseph, The Gamechanger Podcast is a show brought to you by Gainsight. For more information about all of our episodes, please visit https://www.gainsight.com/podcasts.
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