Unchurned - The No. 1 podcast for Customer Success

Rethinking Compensation: From Commissions to Ongoing Payouts ft. Brian Hansen (Aurora Solar)

Nov 27, 2024

Brian Hansen, Director of Customer Success at Aurora Solar, discusses innovative compensation strategies in the solar industry. He shares insights on aligning product usage with customer success and sales efforts. The conversation explores the benefits of transitioning from traditional commissions to ongoing payouts, promoting accountability and collaboration. Hansen emphasizes the importance of a mission-driven culture and how qualitative data can enhance customer engagement. The chat also highlights career development and the challenges of resource allocation in a rapidly evolving market.

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Intro

00:00 • 2min

Karaoke Laughs and Solar Aspirations

01:32 • 18min

Exploring Ongoing Payouts and Customer Success Incentives

19:10 • 3min

Adapting Compensation for Customer Success

22:22 • 8min

Evolving Customer Success Management and Resource Allocation

30:42 • 4min

Strategic Customer Prioritization Through Data and Insight

34:45 • 3min

#updateai #customersuccess #saas #business Hosts Kristi Faltorusso (CCO, Client Success) and Josh Schachter (Founder & CEO, UpdateAI) sit down with Brian Hansen (Director of CS, Aurora Solar) to discuss how Aurora Solar is reinventing its approach by aligning product usage metrics with sales and customer success efforts. They are adopting a long-term strategy that prioritizes customer growth while tackling the unique challenges of the solar industry. The conversation covers everything from the intricacies of compensation models to how the company is fostering accountability and collaboration across teams. Timestamps 0:00 - Preview, BS & Intros 5:30 - Work Culture and Mission Drive 7:36 - Solar Coaster 10:15 - Supporting Employees' Career Paths 11:55 - Focusing on "Product Usage" as a Unifying Metric 17:00 - Transition to Incentives-Based Compensation 22:22 - Getting the Board Onboard 24:21 - Impact on Users & Customers 25:52 - Focusing on Qualitative Data Insights 28:50 - Increased Accountability Across the Organization 30:50 - Resource Allocation and Prioritization ___________________________ 👉 Follow the podcast Youtube: https://youtu.be/JprAz-o-dWk Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3dfWXmD Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3KD3Ehl 👉 Connect with the guest Brian Hansen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bhansendoes/ 👉 Connect with hosts Jon Johnson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonwilliamjohnson/ Kristi Faltorusso: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristiserrano/ Josh Schachter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/ 👉 Sign up for ⁠UpdateAI⁠ - the only Zoom virtual assistant for customer-facing teams. 👉 Be the first to know when a new episode of Unchurned is dropped. Sign up for our newsletter at ⁠https://blog.update.ai/⁠ ________________ Keywords: How to keep your customers happy, customer success manager, customer support, customer success management, Customer Success Manager role, Sales compensation, ongoing payments, customer success strategy, usage value targets, UpdateAI, ideal customer profiles, customer growth, digital strategy, data insights, solar industry challenges, leadership development, product usage metrics, product roadmaps, voice of customer, long-term strategy, accountability, resource allocation, LumoPath partnership, CSM activities, prioritization data, usage value focus, product adoption, sales incentives, credit system, company-wide targets. ______________________ Unchurned is presented by UpdateAI About UpdateAI At UpdateAI our mission is to empower CS teams to build great customer relationships. We work with early & growth-stage B2B SaaS companies to help them scale CS outcomes. Everything we do is devoted to removing the overwhelm of back-to-back customer meetings so that CSMs can focus on the bigger picture: building relationships.