Daphne Costa Lopes

Interviewing for a Customer Success Manager role? Most CSMs wing it. Top performers come prepared, with STORIES. Here are the 7 most common CSM interview questions I ask (and how to stand out when answering them) 1️⃣ How do you define and measure success in your role? Talk about metrics like NRR, adoption, and product usage, but also strategic wins like building trust and creating value. Get specific, don’t just say that you had a 100% NRR rate. Talk about the details underneath, how much of that was driven by expansion, churn and what the total portfolio was you held. 2️⃣ Tell me a story of how you grew seat utilization or expanded an account. Be specific. Walk through the signals you saw, the conversations you had, and the value you delivered. 3️⃣ How have you handled a renewal that was at risk? Show commercial acumen. What data did you use? What stakeholders did you engage? What was the outcome? How did you plan the strategy out, did you multi-thread and how… 4️⃣ What are early warning signs that a customer might churn? Mention things like drop in engagement, exec turnover, missed QBRs, and how you take action fast. Show that you have a bias towards action. 5️⃣ What’s your playbook when an account goes dark? Go beyond just “follow-ups.” Think multithreading, value emails, and reactivation campaigns. How are you really adding value for your customers? 6️⃣ How do you partner with Marketing or other teams to drive advocacy? Share a real example of a case study, webinar, or customer story you co-created. 7️⃣ What’s one way you’ve sped up time-to-value or onboarding? Show your process thinking. How did you reduce complexity, improve documentation, or drive engagement early? Which of these would YOU want to be asked in an interview? Let’s hear your strongest story in the comments.

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A CSM looked me in the eye last week and asked: “𝘈𝘮 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘊𝘚 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸?” (Spoiler: If you have to ask, it’s not normal) One week looked like this: → A renewal call (AE’s job) → A no-show training → Back-to-back escalations (zero product support) → A surprise QBR deck (due EOD) → A Friday push to “just get onboarding moving” All while juggling 80+ accounts. Then she said something I’ll never forget: “𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐’𝘮 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.” That’s not a performance problem. That’s a design flaw. → Bloated books of business → Vague definitions of “success” → No cross-functional air cover And leadership still says: “𝗕𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰.” But how? When your calendar’s packed. When “success” means something different to every team. When you’re measured on outcomes but buried in tasks. You can’t be strategic if you’re stuck reacting. You can’t deliver success when no one can define it. So here’s the shift: Log every non-CS task. Block 90 mins a week for real success planning. Loop in leadership on capacity gaps before they explode. This is the new wave of CS. Not burnout. Boundaries. Not “do more with less.” Do what matters. If you’re leading CS right now: → Set account caps → Define what isn’t CS work → Build air cover so your team can focus on impact Because you don’t scale success by grinding your team down. You scale it by designing a job worth doing.

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Customer Success requires 5 c's: 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲, 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹, 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. What sets the high-impact, curious CSMs apart who can confidently consult with confidence is the knowledge of what is happening in the modern landscape. To stay in the know with the latest tech, techniques & trends, you 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗧 make it a habit to listen to podcasts every week. On a podcast, I heard about the latest Indeed XML job feed change & had relevant information that impacted my customers to talk about... & that, my friends, is 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁. Here is my weekly line up as someone who operates in the Talent Acquisition / Recruiting world:   • 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗱 & 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁, Chad Sowash & Joel Cheesman - Candid hot takes, interviews, & 'shredded' segment that is a quick (5 min) recap of tech/vendor news   • 𝗥𝗲𝗰 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵, 𝗛𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 Chris Russell - Short form (10 min or less) Direct, no-fluff news about tech/vendors in the TA/HR space   • 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 Matt Alder- He's had this pod for 10+ years & is filled with so much knowledge. Longer form interviews (20-30 min)   • 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗛𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 Ryan Dull - (25 min interviews) Intriguing & relevant topics with impressive TA leaders   • 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱 - (30 min) Commercial/sales focused to build relationships with integrity Yes, I listen to these every single week. Playing in the background while getting ready for the day, dropping my kid off at daycare, walking my German Sheppard in the evenings -- I dedicate time to stay in tune with the industry & news, you you should too. Keep calm & listen on,  -Allie 👂

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Only 4.4% of RevOps professionals in EMEA are VPs, compared to 13.6% in the US. When will EMEA close the gap? Globally, we see the following: - 8.5% VPs - 17.5% Directors - 55% are senior ICs - 17.5% entry-level The US shows greater maturity with a strong concentration of leadership. → 13.6% are VPs and 22.7% are Directors. → But only 9.1% entry-level. To me this shows clearly that RevOps is more strategic in the US. In EMEA, RevOps is earlier in its journey. → Just 4.4% are VPs and 15.9% Directors. → 22.2% are entry-level, the highest share across regions. To me this shows clearly that RevOps is more execution heavy in EMEA. I’ve spoken with several companies recently that are trying to hire a VP of RevOps. They’re struggling. The talent pool is too thin. And there’s no easy fix. Europe will need to wait until its talent base matures or companies will need to source senior RevOps leaders from the US. The contrast is clear: the US is leadership-heavy, while EMEA is entry-heavy. However, the gap is closing fast. 2023: around 3,000 RevOps in EMEA 2025: around 4,500 RevOps in EMEA EMEA is the fasting growing market for RevOps. The VP gap will sure close over time. Join the journey! P.S. Is the US really more mature in RevOps or just handing out inflated VP titles?

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The Strongest Partner Signal? They’re Hiring. Forget co-sell dashboards for a second. The best signal that a partner program is working is when your partners are growing and hiring to support it. Case in point: Two of our outstanding Gong partners, Go Nimbly and Outbound Funnel a 2X Company have both publicly planted their flag. They’ve built practices around Gong, staked their GTM on it, and are now adding headcount to keep up with demand. Why this matters: • Growth eats bandwidth. Hiring means the practice is producing real pipeline and revenue. • It’s a visible, public commitment to your ecosystem. • It’s a feedback loop, more people = more customer touchpoints = more influence. If you’re running a partner program and you’re not tracking when your partners are adding roles tied to your product, you’re missing one of the most reliable early indicators of impact. I’ve seen this pattern over and over: the fastest-growing partners aren’t just selling with you, they’re investing in you. Who else has seen “they’re hiring” as the ultimate partner green light? PS - Both companies have Incredible leaders who are also great people leading the way.

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For decades, enterprise sales were seen as a grind. Quota-chasing, cold-calling, transactional. Today, it’s something very different. In tech especially, carrying a number has become one of the most aspirational seats in a company. Modern sales means directing complex gtm systems that move billions in enterprise spend. Our recent blog maps out this tectonic shift: the unbundling of sales tech, and the rise of GTM automation platforms that rebundle not around features, but outcomes. Here’s a sneak peek 🧠 : ~ A breakdown of the MAPE-K loop, turning workflows into self-tuning systems ~ The business model reshaped: vendors get paid by outcomes, not seat counts ~ Why the role of SDRs is shifting, from execution to revenue engineering If you care more about revenue than tools, this is your new North Star. 💫 Read the whole piece here: https://lnkd.in/dCtg36GJ

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RevOps is THE MOST misunderstood role in tech. Ask 10 people what RevOps does and you’ll hear many different answers: - CRM admin - Board reporting - Sales enablement - Process implementation … the list goes on. Here are the 5 core responsibilities of RevOps (+ how they play out in practice): 1. Strategic Planning  • Tie RevOps to company goals  • Shape GTM strategy with leadership  • Design territories, quotas, and comp plans  • Align resources to maximize revenue impact 2. Process Alignment  • Define stage exit criteria  • Lead -> opp -> customer -> renewal  • Align Marketing, Sales, and CS handoffs  • Document & train team on process compliance 3. Data & Systems Management  • Enforce clear data standards  • Own the CRM + connected tools  • Build a stack that scales without chaos 4. Analytics & Forecasting  • Build dashboards people trust  • Deliver forecasts execs can rely on  • Spot revenue leaks before they hit the quarter 5. Enablement & Efficiency  • Eliminate manual work where possible  • Equip reps with playbooks and insights  • Automate CRM hygiene & reporting (Weflow 😉) What would you add? Comment 👇 __ PS: Get a free copy of our RevOps cheat sheet. 1. Comment “RevOps rocks” 2. Add me on LI (so I can send it to you)

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