How to Nail Your Interviews For Customer Success Managers...

Here are some thoughts on how to interview Customer Success Managers to help find the best-in-class Customer Success Managers, the ones who stand out from the pack… The difference between the right Customer Success Manager and the wrong one is the difference between an account that churns and an account that becomes your biggest advocate. 

1. Can They Build Customer Relationships

Customer Success Managers succeed or fail by the quality of their connections with customers. Get candidates to walk you through an example of a tough renewal scenario or where they managed to bring an upset client full circle to becoming a champion. Look for examples in their answers of active listening, empathy and, importantly, a clear and concise follow-up plan. 

2. How Data-Driven Is Their Mindset? 

The data-driven Customer Success Manager has the ability to be proactive and one step ahead to spot those at-risk accounts then to take actions before they slip away. Ask for examples of which health indicators they focus on with their current platform as well as gathering their thoughts on usage trends, NPS, feature adoption and churn predictors. 

3. Can They Tell A Story

The very best Customer Success Managers can create a vision that shows the value of the platform, and which lands well with the Executive team in the client organisation. At interview, ask them for a 2-minute elevator pitch on their current platform’s ROI. Listen to their answer, do they tailor it for the audience, is it strongly ROI focused and how clear is their messaging?

It goes without saying that best practice is to use a consistent scorecard to evaluate your candidates objectively.

Why This Works

By taking this approach, you are moving beyond some straightforward questions into real examples of accounts they have managed presently or previously to understand how candidates actually perform in role. As such, you have a better chance of hiring Customer Success Managers who are not only strong on paper but, can also evidence from current or previous roles that they are able to be the proactive, data focused Customer Success Manager that you want on your team.