The Customer Success Pro Podcast

Navigating your Customer Success Career with Kristi FaltorussoIn this episode of the Customer Success Pro podcast, Anika Zubair interviews Kristi Faltorusso, a four times Top 25 Customer Success Influencer award winner and CCO at Client Success. Kristi shares her remarkable journey from a marketing professional to becoming a leading figure in the SaaS and customer success (CS) space. She highlights the importance of passion, hard work, and taking calculated risks in her career trajectory, culminating in her current role where she significantly impacts her organization and the CS community. The discussion also explores the evolving landscape of customer success, the importance of continuous learning, and the potential of AI in transforming CS strategies. Kristi offers invaluable advice to aspiring CS professionals, emphasizing the need for a data-driven approach, proactive customer engagement, and the courage to pivot when necessary. The conversation is a blend of personal anecdotes, professional insights, and practical tips, making it a must-listen for anyone interested in building a successful career in customer success.Timestamps:00:00 Welcome to the Customer Success Pro Podcast!01:04 Spotlight on Kristi Faltorusso: A Customer Success Trailblazer06:11 Kristi's Journey: From Marketing to Chief Customer Officer11:17 The Reality of Achieving Work-Life Balance in Leadership13:08 Kristis's Future Ambitions Beyond the CCO Role20:35 Securing a Customer Success Seat at the Executive Table27:13 Navigating a Non-Conventional Path to the C-Suite31:00 The Importance of Leadership and Passion in Your Career35:04 Insights into the Role of a Chief Customer Officer43:19 Addressing Gender and Career Progression in Tech45:36 Quickfire RoundConnect with Anika:LinkedInYouTubeTikTokSignup for my newsletter: https://newsletter.thecustomersuccesspro.com/Website: thecustomersuccesspro.comCoaching with Anika: CSM RevUP AcademyConnect with Kristi:LinkedinKristi Faltorusso is a distinguished Customer Success Executive, recognized for her exceptional expertise in building, scaling and transforming Customer Success organizations within high-growth B2B SaaS companies. With a career spanning over 12 years, Kristi has been instrumental in guiding numerous companies through the strategic redefinition of Customer Success, resulting in heightened retention rates, sustained revenue growth, and amplified customer advocacy.Having held pivotal roles in renowned organizations such as BrightEdge, Sisense, BetterCloud, and IntelliShift, Kristi has consistently demonstrated her leadership prowess in steering Customer Success and Experience teams. Presently, as the Chief Customer Officer at ClientSuccess, a leading provider of Customer Success Management soSend Anika a text :) Grab our FREE resources here: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/resources Want to be our next podcast guest? Apply here: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/podcast-guest Book Anika as a speaker at your next team event: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/team-event

Being a Customer Success Pro is no easy job, but this podcast will help. Remember that Customer Success is not a destination, but a journey and I am here to help you on your journey.Imposter Syndrome, Prioritization, and Mindset Shifts in Customer Success. All topics we covered in Today’s talk with Rachel Provan. Today’s podcast will focus on how you have to shift your mindset in order to move from reactive to proactive Customer Success.Rachel Provan, founder of Proven Success, joins the podcast as the first guest to discuss her career transition from acting to customer success and her current role leading customer success coaching. Topics covered include the importance of understanding the Pareto Principle, the necessity of setting aside focus time to work on strategy, techniques for effectively prioritizing tasks, and advice on overcoming imposter syndrome. Rachel also discusses how she built Provan Success and her approach to coaching customer success professionals.Timestamps:00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome03:54 Transition from Corporate to Entrepreneurship09:21 The Role of Mindset in Customer Success16:42 The Importance of Time Management in CS20:29 The Impact of Task Switching on Productivity21:30 The Importance of Proactive Leadership22:06 The Pitfalls of the Player-Coach Mentality22:20 The Art of Prioritization in Leadership23:03 The Struggle of Saying No23:26 The Challenge of Balancing Multiple Roles28:00 The Reality of Imposter Syndrome30:12 The Struggle of Perfectionism and High Expectations38:08 The Future of Customer SuccessConnect with Anika:LinkedInYouTubeTikTokWebsite: thecustomersuccesspro.comCoaching with Anika: CSM RevUP AcademyFollow the Podcast YouTubeSpotifyApple PodcastsConnect with Rachel:Rachel Provan is a top 25 CS Influencer and Coach for Customer Success leaders. She has over 15 years of experience in CS Leadership building and scaling CS departments across diverse markets from seed stage to Fortune 500 Companies.  With a passion for fusing psychology with business strategy and leadership techniques, Rachel teaches new CS leaders to build and scale revenue-generating customer success departments. Her flagship course, The CS Leadership Academy, helps former CSMs nail their transition to accomplished CS Leaders. You can find her on LinkedIn, provansuccess.com, or psychologyofcustomersuccess.comSend Anika a text :) Grab our FREE resources here: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/resources Want to be our next podcast guest? Apply here: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/podcast-guest Book Anika as a speaker at your next team event: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/team-event

This is The Customer Success Pro Podcast, hosted by Anika Zubair. Customer Success is not a destination, but a a journey. Join me on this crazy CS journey as I chat to leaders, strategists and experts in customer success about their experiences and definitions of customer success and share with your their best practices on how to build and scale world class CS organization. Each interview will unlock tips, tricks and best practices to help scale your customer success career and company. I will dive into important and relevant topics to help spread knowledge about customer success in order to help companies put the customer at the center of their business. Because at the end of the day when customer are successful, so is the company. If you have specific topics you would like me to cover in this podcast please message me on Linkedin!Make sure you hit FOLLOW so you don’t miss out on any new episodes when they drop every month.I can’t wait to chat with you soon!Connect with Anika Zubair:Website: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/anikazubair/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheCustomerSuccessProSend Anika a text :) Grab our FREE resources here: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/resources Want to be our next podcast guest? Apply here: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/podcast-guest Book Anika as a speaker at your next team event: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/team-event