Segment your sales territory for Customer Success Managers.
You have been asked to segment the sales territory for customer success managers, but it's not as simple as it seems. In reality, it depends on how customer success (CS) is integrated into the corporate strategy and whether the organization understands its value.
This method will help you have a productive conversation with your VP of Customer Success about which accounts should have a CSM assigned and which should not. Keep reading for more information.
Step 1: Understand the Territory and get the base data
To begin segmenting your territory, have a chat with your friendly Sales Ops person and request a list of all accounts in the territory. Ideally, this list should include existing ACV/ARR and current pipeline for the next three quarters. If Sales Ops cannot provide this information, get whatever data you can.
Additionally, note the name and location of the seller for each account, current services revenue, and any engaged partners. This will give you a good starting point.
As you move up the management chain, you may encounter a "one size fits all" approach. Be mindful of this. Remember that the purpose of Customer Success is to protect base revenue by driving adoption and generating demand for other services through awareness building and relationship management. Senior managers may only assign a CSM to accounts with ARR over a certain value. Using this data-driven approach will help you advocate for Customer Success engagement on the most appropriate accounts, which may not necessarily be the ones with the highest value.
Once you have gathered all the necessary data, you can organize it into a spreadsheet. This is considered quantitative data, which is typically collected from a specific section of a population and has a numerical value associated with it. For more information on quantitative data, see [Article]
Step 2: Talk to salespeople
Customer success (CS) teams often work with salespeople in accounts. This collaboration is crucial for accurate segmentation of accounts, as salespeople have a good understanding of what is happening in their accounts. However, sometimes salespeople may not have the necessary knowledge about CS operations.
To ensure a smooth collaboration, filter your spreadsheet by sales rep and set up a 30-minute meeting to explain the CS process. Ask sales reps to review the list of their accounts and associated metrics, and to provide their opinions. Take notes during the conversation, as this is qualitative data.
At the end of the discussion, ask the sales rep to rank their accounts. For example, ask them for the top three accounts that they believe will gain value from having a CSM assigned.
Be cautious of sales reps who see customer success managers as business development managers (BDMs). These reps may only see value from you in terms of the opportunities you will find and close for them.
Step 3: Review the list with the Sales Manager
Once you have both the data and the sales reps' comments, the next step is to arrange a meeting with the sales manager. During the meeting, review the sales reps' territories and identify which accounts they would like to nominate a CSM for.
Sometimes, the sales manager may dismiss the sellers' opinions, so it's important not to skip this step..
Step 4: Review the list yourself.
You have a lot of information. Let's add a CSM perspective to the task. Ask yourself what makes an account successful from your perspective. You may consider the following:
Is there C-level engagement from the customer side?
Do the sales teams understand the client's strategic objectives?
What is the size of the client?
Does the client fit the type of client your organization wants?
For those of you who are 100% remote (like me) and not located near the customer, you may also consider whether the customer is willing to work with remote CSM resources.
Step 5: Review with the VP of Customer Success
Review all of this data with the VP of Customer Success, and come prepared with your perspective on which clients would benefit the most from a CSM engagement, and where your organization would benefit the most from such an engagement.
During the meeting, aim to agree on a final list of accounts. Once this is complete, consider which CSM should be assigned to which account.
Afterwards, seek formal approval and communicate the list to the sales managers. Allow for some flexibility for minor changes, and you'll have your segmentation list.
