ABSTRACT
The initial task of the CSM when engaging for the first time with the customer is to gain that customer’s agreement to allow the CSM to help them with onboarding, adoption and ultimate value realization for the products and services they have purchased. This may be very straightforward for the majority of customers—after all, the service that the CSM is offering does not (generally speaking) cost any additional money and most customers can therefore say “yes” to working with the CSM without too much deliberation. At other times it might require a little more effort to break through any barriers that might exist, perhaps due to a misunderstanding from customer stakeholders about what customer success management is all about, or a mistrust of the CSM’s company’s motivations for providing this service (Figure 5.1).
