We Don't Have to be Buddies - The Week That Was w/ Brian Hall

How many of you have been asked, perhaps while trying to explain your career choice to a family member over a beautifully cooked holiday dinner, what it is exactly that you do all day? (If your hand's not up, you are an abject liar and you know it)

Product people think of problems to solve and stuff to build.  Engineers then build that stuff.  Salespeople SELL that stuff.  And accountants count the MONEY from that stuff!

But, as Rachel Provan says so eloquently in this episode, “What the hell do we [in CS] do all day?”

In this episode, we try to answer that.

Classic CCO behavior: Kristi breaks it down academically.

With some aphorisms tossed in, Dan Ennis begins to describe what it might take to get there.

Anita Toth, meanwhile, explains CS’ unique position in the feedback loop.

Rachel points out what we shouldn’t be doing.

Mohammed Alqaq gives the playbook for challenging your customer along the way.

Greg Daines builds the bridge to expansion.

Stijn Smet shares how this all gets turned on its ear depending on your company’s size and maturity.

It can be a tough question to answer. Maybe this episode makes it just a little bit easier.

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This season of Lifetime Value is sponsored by The Segment, a new kind of Customer Success newsletter bringing you the latest news, analysis, and references only true Lifers will know.  Subscribe today by clicking lifetimevalue.link/subscribe or send us an email at subscribe@lifetimevaluemedia.com.

Season 2 Guests: Kristi Faltorusso, Greg Daines, Dan Ennis, Alex Turkovic, Jeff Kushmerek, David Epperly, Mohammed Alqaq, Rachel Provan, & Stijn Smet

Welcome to Season 2 of the Lifetime Value show, your destination for Customer Success content.

In this new season of LTV, we talk with just 9 guests about all the burning questions in CS in an effort to see each issue from all angles.  Join us as we explore the infinitely multi-faceted nature of Customer Success.

In this first episode, Dillon starts with a history lesson - what, exactly, *is* Customer Success?  Where did it begin?  And what has it become?

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This season of Lifetime Value is sponsored by The Segment, a new kind of Customer Success newsletter bringing you the latest news, analysis, and references only true Lifers will know.  Subscribe today by clicking www.lifetimevaluemedia.com or send us an email at subscribe@lifetimevaluemedia.com.

Season 2 Guests: Kristi Faltorusso, Greg Daines, Dan Ennis, Alex Turkovic, Jeff Kushmerek, David Epperly, Mohammed Alqaq, Rachel Provan, & Stijn Smet

Tim Conder is the founder and CEO of consulting and training firm CXology. Tim joins the show to discuss the long-term exponential impact increasing your retention rate has on revenue, how CS departments can properly measure their value and effect, and he shares the surprising response he’s gotten when firing his customers in the past.

Who is Tim Conder?

• LinkedIn
• CXology
• CS Jobseekers Cohort

Links:

• CS Player(s) of the Week:
  • Jesse Kurth
• Referrals & Recommendations:
  • The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber

About this podcast:

If you like what you've heard,  please rate this podcast and subscribe to be notified of new episodes.

This podcast is written, produced, and edited by Dillon Young.  You can find him on LinkedIn.

Please direct all inquiries to dillon@lifetimevaluepodcast.com.

Brian Hall is the founder of Carema Consulting and has been doing Customer Success since before it had a name. Brian joins the podcast to explain why seasoned CS leadership is key, why he believes CS is at the center of the universe, and where the profession is headed next.

Who is Brian Hall?

• LinkedIn
• Carema Consulting

Links:

• CS Player(s) of the Week:
  • Joel Passen
• Referrals & Recommendations:
  • Myers Briggs
  • Predictive Index
  • Culture Index
  • Headspace

About this podcast:

If you like what you've heard,  please rate this podcast and subscribe to be notified of new episodes.

This podcast is written, produced, and edited by Dillon Young.  You can find him on LinkedIn.

Please direct all inquiries to dillon@lifetimevaluepodcast.com.

Bhavika Kochhar is the founder CS Ladies, is a regular in the CS meetup scene, and an all-around ray of sunshine on a cloudy day. Bhavika joins the show to chat customer renewals, how she views the renewal conversation, and Dillon convinces her to abandon her positive attitude and commiserate with him for another session of BS in CS.

Who is Bhavika Kochhar?

• LinkedIn

Links:

• CS Player(s) of the Week:
  • Jay Nathan
• Referrals & Recommendations:
  • The Chief Customer Officer Playbook by Rod Cherkas

About this podcast:

If you like what you've heard,  please rate this podcast and subscribe to be notified of new episodes.

This podcast is written, produced, and edited by Dillon Young.  You can find him on LinkedIn.

Please direct all inquiries to dillon@lifetimevaluepodcast.com.

Mickey Powell is a co-founder and the head of Go To Market for UpdateAI. Mickey is a dedicated student of the generative AI movement, and he joins the pod to help us run the bases, including how AI tools have helped him be more productive, where to be cautious with AI’s usage, and a short historical primer on the Spanish Flu - who knew!

Who is Mickey Powell?

• LinkedIn
• UpdateAI

Links:

• CS Player(s) of the Week:
  • Daphne Costa Lopes
  • Brandon Cestrone
  • Jon Johnson
• Referrals & Recommendations:
  • Therapy

About this podcast:

If you like what you've heard,  please rate this podcast and subscribe to be notified of new episodes.

This podcast is written, produced, and edited by Dillon Young.  You can find him on LinkedIn.

Please direct all inquiries to dillon@lifetimevaluepodcast.com.

Larry Raines is the founder and principal consultant for his brand new consultancy, Customer Success v3. Larry joins LTV to share his theories on Customer Success - where it is today and where it’s headed tomorrow. He and Dillon also touch on why a CSM plugged into the current events of their industry will always perform better and why Larry doesn’t think AI will steal all of our jobs (yay!).

Who is Larry Raines?

• LinkedIn
• Customer Success v3

Links:

• Hakan Ozturk’s tweet on staying up to date
• CS Player(s) of the Week:
  • Taylor Hodges
  • Terry Byerly
  • Praful Akella
  • Matt Harber
• Referrals & Recommendations:
  • Participate, learn, and share your experiences with others!

About this podcast:

If you like what you've heard,  please rate this podcast and subscribe to be notified of new episodes.

This podcast is written, produced, and edited by Dillon Young.  You can find him on LinkedIn.

Please direct all inquiries to dillon@lifetimevaluepodcast.com.

Find us on Instagram and TikTok at @lifetimevaluepodcast.

Jay Goy is the Head of Customer Success at Voltaiq. He joins Lifetime Value this week to share his unique path from military service to DEA Agent to Customer Success leader, how he handles the Customer Support function with a highly technical product, and Jay brings the heat with his take on BS in CS.

Who is Jay Goy?

• Jay is a former federal agent and enjoys his privacy. Reach out to Dillon to get in touch with Jay.

Links:

• CS Player(s) of the Week:
  • Jason Lemkin
• Referrals & Recommendations:
  • Ikigai
  • Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher, William Ury, & Bruce Patton

About this podcast:

If you like what you've heard,  please rate this podcast and subscribe to be notified of new episodes.

This podcast is written, produced, and edited by Dillon Young.  You can find him on LinkedIn.

Please direct all inquiries to dillon@lifetimevaluepodcast.com.

Find us on Instagram and TikTok at @lifetimevaluepodcast.

Rob Zambito is the founder of Customer Success consultancy Success Scaled. He joins the show to debate whether Customer Success can follow a formula, what separates good from better from best when it comes to being a CSM, and why making a customer problem sound worse than it really is may help you in the long run.

Who is Rob Zambito?

• LinkedIn
• Success Scaled
• hello@robzambito.com

Links:

• Ziv Peled on why he loves the role of CSM
• Max Bevilacqua & Mindful Negotiating
• CS Player(s) of the Week:
  • Ryan Johansen
• Referrals & Recommendations:
  • Women of Customer Success
    • Lauren Salanitro

About this podcast:

If you like what you've heard,  please rate this podcast and subscribe to be notified of new episodes.

This podcast is written, produced, and edited by Dillon Young.  You can find him on LinkedIn.

Please direct all inquiries to dillon@lifetimevaluepodcast.com.

Find us on Instagram and TikTok at @lifetimevaluepodcast.

Brittany Casey, Lead Customer Success Manager at Docusign, joins the show to discuss the criticality of partnering closely with your Sales org (and, really, every org at your company) and the danger of getting caught just going through the motions.

Who is Brittany Casey?

• LinkedIn
• TikTok

Links:

• Kevin Chiu’s post on why Sales is paid more than CS
• CS Player(s) of the Week:
  • Marija Skobe-Pilley
  • Daniel Garcia
  • Danny Luu
• Referrals & Recommendations:
  • The Challenger Sale by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson
  • Customer Success by Nick Mehta, Dan Steinman, and Lincoln Murphy

About this podcast:

If you like what you've heard,  please rate this podcast and subscribe to be notified of new episodes.

This podcast is written, produced, and edited by Dillon Young.  You can find him on LinkedIn.

Please direct all inquiries to dillon@lifetimevaluepodcast.com.

Find us on Instagram and TikTok at @lifetimevaluepodcast.