From Cost Center to Profit Center: Showcasing Customer Success Impact | Steven Cronin

In this episode I had the pleasure of speaking with Steven Cronin, a customer success leader with over 27 years of experience in the B2B space. We kicked things off by diving into Stephen’s career journey—from his beginnings as a customer support engineer to eventually managing entire post-sales teams, including customer success, support, and professional services.

One of the most insightful parts of our conversation revolved around the importance of customer success managers showcasing their impact within the organization.

Stephen emphasized how critical it is for CS teams to move away from being seen as cost centers and instead highlight their role in driving revenue growth through retention, upsells, and cross-sells. Just like sales teams celebrate their wins, customer success managers should also ring the bell when they help secure renewals or grow accounts. This isn’t just about recognition—it’s about making the entire organization more customer-centric by consistently communicating the value that CS brings.

Here are my main takeaways:

- CS teams need to move from being seen as cost centers to revenue drivers, highlighting their role in retention and growth.

- Just like sales, CS should celebrate renewals and upsells to foster a customer-centric culture.

- Tracking impact through metrics like NRR, churn, and satisfaction is key to demonstrating value.

Connect with Us:

Steven Cronin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevencronin123/

Bayron Toruno - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bayron-toru%C3%B1o-solano-3a9408113/

Jan Young’s - Free Guide Inside: 7 steps for CS leaders to become revenue leaders. https://www.janyoungcx.com/7-steps-revenue-leader

Listen to the episode on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1Di7rGGs25vRMBrSUUEnxn?si=c63b6826030b45e8

We're expanding to Latin America! Check out Customer Success Talks Latin America, our Spanish version of the show. Find the links in the description below.

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/5R8kF7Yt0VbvNS1Wz06bmE?si=zshhJqR9RDevDal5GluZ0Q

Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC11VRvlLrv3r46TaUr0zFlA

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