Secrets to Smooth Renewals and Driving Upsell Opportunities
Nov 29, 2024
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Chris Dishman, SVP of Global Customer Success at Totango + Catalyst, dives into critical strategies for driving growth through customer renewals and upselling. He discusses how empowering Customer Success Managers leads to quicker renewals and happier clients. The conversation also covers the nuances of identifying upsell opportunities, which can significantly boost revenue. Highlights include insights on aligning sales and customer success teams, as well as the benefits of the Totango and Catalyst merger in enhancing customer operations.
Empowering Customer Success Managers (CSMs) to handle renewals enhances efficiency, reduces friction, and improves overall customer satisfaction in the process.
The merger of Totango and Catalyst fosters innovation and collaboration, paving the way for tailored customer success strategies and driving revenue growth.
Deep dives
Merger Insights and Unified Strategy
The discussion highlights the recent merger of Tatango and Catalyst, emphasizing how this union aims to address common challenges in the customer success sector. This merger allows the two companies to better collaborate and innovate, with a focus on an evolving landscape that increasingly prioritizes revenue generation. By combining their strengths, they aim to create a more robust platform that delivers superior customer success outcomes than they could achieve separately. Both teams are energized by positive customer feedback and are excited about the new direction and opportunities the merger presents.
Team Structure and Customer Management Ratios
An overview of the customer success management (CSM) team structure reveals a diverse approach in handling customer relationships based on their segments. With a mix of CSMs dealing with digital, core, and strategic enterprise accounts, the customer-to-CSM ratio varies significantly, from 40-50 clients for scaled success motions down to fewer than 20 for enterprise accounts. This segmentation strategy allows the teams to tailor their engagement and support based on customer size and potential growth, recognizing that nuanced approaches are key to managing diverse customer needs efficiently. This flexibility contributes to better resource allocation and improved customer experience.
Renewal Process Optimization
Recent changes to the renewal process are geared towards shifting responsibilities from account executives (AEs) to customer success managers (CSMs) for standard renewals, thereby improving efficiency and customer satisfaction. By allowing CSMs to handle renewals, the organization aims to streamline workflows and reduce friction in customer dealings, ultimately speeding up the renewal cycle. This adjustment not only frees AEs to focus on new business acquisitions in a challenging economic environment but also enhances the customer's experience by minimizing touchpoints and providing quicker responses. Early results indicate that this strategy is yielding positive outcomes, with timely renewals and increased retention rates.
Aligning Compensation with Customer Success Goals
A strategic approach to compensation plans has been integral in motivating CSMs to actively seek customer success qualified opportunities (CSQOs) while maintaining a focus on existing client needs. The CSM team's compensation structure now includes incentives for identifying and nurturing CSQOs, aligning their goals with the company's growth objectives. This practice encourages CSMs to engage in more proactive account management, ensuring they leverage their knowledge of customer needs to identify upsell opportunities effectively. Collaborative efforts between sales and customer success leadership are emphasized to ensure that compensation plans are synchronized, preventing conflicts and maximizing potential for revenue growth.
"Streamlining renewals and driving upsell opportunities aren't just tactics; they're essential strategies for sustainable growth in today's evolving customer success landscape."
Chris Dishman, Sr. Vice President of Global CS at Totango, shares the importance of proactive strategies in customer renewals, the benefits of empowering Customer Success Managers (CSMs), and the integration of upsell opportunities to boost revenue.
- Learn how empowering Customer Success Managers (CSMs) to handle renewals has led to faster, more efficient processes and improved customer satisfaction.
- Discover specific tactics for identifying and leveraging upsell opportunities, resulting in significant revenue growth.
- Gain insights into the post-merger integration of Totango and Catalyst, including the strategic benefits and enhanced customer success operations.
Chris Dishman is SVP of Global Customer Success of Totango + Catalyst, a customer growth platform that helps businesses protect and grow revenue from their customer base. Heโs responsible for driving revenue growth by fostering an holistic GTM strategy with emphasis on building exceptional alignment between the pre- and post-sale activities, teams and functions.
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