Pylon

記事で取り上げていただきありがとうございます！ Read about Pylon in Nikkei, one of Japan's biggest media outlets: https://lnkd.in/gKKjhUZt Thank you Ryotaro Yamada and team for featuring us!

🔆 Michelle Kistler, MPS 🔆 is in the Spotlight today! Michelle is a multi-disciplinary expert with deep experience across fintech, customer success, and implementation. Currently at Pushpay, she's done everything from leading SaaS onboarding for mid-enterprise customers to spearheading a program for better Implementation → CS hand-off. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀? Having started my career in various people-facing roles across different organizations and industries, I discovered a passion for customer-facing interactions and delighting clients. I initially joined Pushpay in an Implementation role, which provided a strong foundation in the technology. After about eighteen months, I transitioned to a Customer Success Manager position on our Enterprise team. Since then, I've had the privilege of moving into our company's Strategic division, where I support our most valued customers. I truly feel I've found my calling in customer success and plan to remain in this field long-term. This team allows me to utilize my expertise in consulting and the software I now support. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗶𝘁? I once thought that making a difference for customers required me to be the most knowledgeable person in the room, capable of moving people to action. However, I've learned that while knowledge is important, the ability to ask questions, truly listen, and empathize with customers' concerns can be far more valuable. When I understand their frustrations, my empathy and willingness to create space for their feelings build stronger relationships than simply being the "smartest." I may not have all the answers, but by kindly re-directing thoughts, guiding with curiosity, and holding teams accountable, I can develop trust and become their most valued advisor. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀? My approach to leadership centers on a fundamental principle: clarity of purpose. I consistently challenge customers to articulate a clear mission, define specific goals, and establish measurable objectives. This same principle applies within our team; I regularly initiate discussions on how we can strategically realign our daily work to directly contribute to broader department and company outcomes. This isn't just about efficiency; it's about fostering a sense of shared direction and collective impact. I see teammates as valued customers, celebrating their successes as they strengthen our collective. Clear, kind, and open communication is vital to minimize misunderstandings. I prioritize building trust and empathy, valuing each individual's unique humanity. As an individual contributor, I believe everyone can demonstrate leadership and act as a culture carrier in their role. (continued in comments!)

If you work in B2B support, you’ve probably heard of Pylon — and for a good reason. My first guest on 𝘍𝘪𝘹 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘍𝘭𝘰𝘸 is Marty Kausas, Co-Founder & CEO of Pylon. What makes Pylon special is that it helps teams scale their customer support and success all in one place. They’ve built a strong core and continue to improve it with thoughtful updates. Some are simple, some are complex, but all of them make a real difference. Their AI is impressive too, practical and genuinely useful. Marty creates a space where people grow, build something meaningful, and have fun while doing it. I also love how open Pylon is about their journey. They share numbers, talk about what’s working and what’s not, and even as they keep growing, you can still reach out and have a real conversation with the founders. That’s exactly what we’re going to do on 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟳, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 | 𝟲 𝗣𝗠 𝗖𝗘𝗧 / 𝟭𝟮 𝗣𝗠 𝗘𝗦𝗧. Join us for a real chat about what happens when knowledge exists but is not properly used. 💜 𝘍𝘪𝘹 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘍𝘭𝘰𝘸 — Live on LinkedIn 👉 𝗥𝗦𝗩𝗣 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: https://lnkd.in/dbakx3Uy

Today's Spotlight is on 🔆 Megan Johnstone 🔆 ! Megan partners with companies to design, build, and scale secure, AI-driven workflows and information systems that enable strategic growth. At fal, she helps enterprises deploy full-stack multimodal AI systems including text, audio, video, image at scale. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀? The common assumption regarding customer success is that it is a reactive process with the sole focus of keeping customers happy. In reality, customer success is proactive and growth-oriented. In addition, customer success is about building such a compelling use case that the customer views expansion as the only logical outcome. 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲? Katya Alfaro-Serassio at Glean is my role model, because she consistently excels in everything she does. She collaborates with leading companies, manages complex cross-functional teams across multiple time zones, and still finds time to positively shape company culture. I look up to Katya because she creates a positive and driven environment where colleagues want to perform their best. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁-𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗜? No one wants to explain their problems 3 different times and get bounced around to various teams. Taking additional time to figure out the problem at hand is exhausting for the customer and wastes time for providers. With AI, post-sales orgs can respond quicker than ever, however they are often missing the context specific to the customer and struggle to see why generic solutions might not be the best fit. I predict that teams who use AI as an enabler, instead of a standalone solution, will be able to reduce friction and build stronger relationships and expansions. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗶𝘁? When I first started out, I often responded to the literal question being asked instead of taking a step back and thinking about the "Why" behind the question. I struggled before a mentor gave me advice to ask for the “Why” and to dig deeper for more information. I learned people open up a bit more if you ask questions outside of the straightforward norm, because the conversation almost always comes back to work. Taking time to explore areas of interest or weird questions allows the conversation to continue in an organic way and can lead to some unique perspectives or problem understanding.

The Spotlight is bright on 🔆 Matt Williams 🔆 today! Matt has 10+ years of experience building customer success organizations from the ground up. He currently leads customer experience at Paragon, where he helps B2B teams ship powerful integrations. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗫 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿? The old notion that “the customer is always right” has evolved into “the customer deserves to be validated." There’s always a reason for a customer asking something of a CX team member, no matter how silly or simple that request could be. Validating the customer for their concern goes a long way in building a working relationship. At the end of the day, they’re just a human looking for some help. This can be as simple as saying, “Thank you for bringing this to us, it’s always great to hear from you. Help me understand more about this request." Helping your customer feel heard, while getting the proper context behind what your customers are trying to do with your product, creates value and trust. Building relationships is always at the core of a great customer experience, and that starts by helping your customers feel heard before anything else. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗖𝗫? Most folks in CX are far too focused on knowing their product and how it works, rather than knowing their customer. Your goal in CX is always to enhance the product value your company is delivering by curating an experience that unblocks your customer faster than they could have done so independently. That’s why you’re here, doing your job every day. However, you’ll take this to the next level by understanding how your product fits into your customer’s business. Why are they using your product, and why does it matter to their business? When you can properly apply your product knowledge to your customer’s business, you evolve from being a support resource to a trusted advisor. That becomes an integral part of the value proposition they receive from your product. This pays massive dividends down the road when you encounter a difficult renewal or issue. You'll have earned the right to work through this challenge with your customer, rather than having them lose trust in your product and begin the process of jumping ship. (continued in comments!)

Support tickets and Slack messages only tell part of the story. That's why we integrate with Fathom.ai to turn your call recordings into proactive customer success. When you sync meetings to Pylon, we automatically ingest that conversational data so you can... → Understand and monitor customer sentiment in account notebooks → Flag churn risks or upsell opportunities in AI fields → Auto-generate actionable tasks from your calls → Deliver personalized support with complete customer visibility We're the only B2B support platform that natively integrates with powerful call recorders like Fathom. AI-powered meeting intelligence → unified customer intelligence → proactive customer success ---- Learn how to connect Fathom in Pylon: https://lnkd.in/gH5dH2yc Build with Fathom's new public API: https://lnkd.in/gYmgF6zM