Responsibilities of Customer Success Manager

1. Develops Healthy Customer Relationship

2. Enhances Customer Training
3. Evaluates and Analyzes Customer Needs
4. Builds Trust and Transparency with Clients
5. Onboards New Clients
6. Acts as a Customer Advocate
7. Encourages Customers to Upgrade their Products
8. Promotes Customer Loyalty
9. Provide customer resolutions swiftly
10. Promoting their product and brand in an effective manner

Qualities of Good Customer Success Manager

1. Project Management Ability

2. Proactive Approach
3. Emotional Intelligence

Customer success process:

1. Identification of customer preferences

2. Formation of customer success journey map
3. Creation of a customer success team
4. Getting the right tool
5. Establishing your metrics
6. Customer onboarding
7. Customer engagement

Different type of Customers

1. Loyal customers
2. Impulse shoppers
3. Bargain hunters
4. Wandering consumers
5. Need-based customers.

Customer Success Framework :

1. Brand awareness
2. b)    Product/service education
3. c)    Customer acquisition
4. d)    Guided onboarding
5. e)    Customer support
6. f)     Value realization
7. g)    Customer loyalty
8. h)   Expansion offers
Customer success answers to search in google tomorrow

1. What makes you interested in customer service?

2. Why do you think that you can fill this position successfully?
3. Can you provide an example of your greatest weakness and your greatest strength?
4. Why do you enjoy communicating with customers?
5. How do you handle rejection or confrontation with a customer?
6. What is your previous leadership experience?
7. How do you create customer rapport?
8. What does customer loyalty mean to you?
9. What's your goal-setting approach?
10. Can you tell me why you applied for this position?
11. What aspect of your personal values align with our corporate policies?
12. Can you provide an example of telling a customer bad news or rejecting a request?
13. What's the most challenging case you encountered, and how did you manage the
scenario?
14. Did you engage with colleague initiatives or partake in any professional development at
your previous job?
15. How might you suggest changes or initiatives in your previous workplace?
16. In what ways did you advance yourself professionally during your last role?
17. In your opinion, what's the ideal way to communicate with clients?
18. On average, how frequently do you speak with your clients? Meet with them?
19. Could you provide an example of when you could not resolve a customer inquiry or
concern? How did you handle that situation?
20. What's your proudest achievement as a CSM professional?
21. When have you experienced a staff shortage and managed a workplace crisis?
22. Do you have experience with point-of-sale and inventory-tracking technology?
23. What's the largest team that you have experience managing?
24. Could you list three reasons customer success management is your ideal position?

25. How do you handle scheduling conflicts when managing a team in a storefront
situation?
26. What strategies do you use to avoid issues related to customer discomfort or
disinclination?
27. Can you explain how to train an employee to upsell a specific product?
28. What are your systems for maintaining customer success metrics?
29. Could you explain the customer lifetime value and how it applies to retail?
30. Do you have any ideas about how our store can improve and increase customer
success?
31. Explain our product's features and how they could help a customer.
32. How would you pitch our products to customers?
33. How do you work to improve customer satisfaction?
34. What are some methods you would use to improve customer success while keeping
costs low?
. Why are you a good fit for this job?
Skill: Self-presentation

This is a very general question but you should ask it at some point
nonetheless. It gives your candidate an opportunity to fill in some
core details. Do they have the necessary experience? What
personality traits or achievements do they value in themselves?

If they are struggling with presenting their strengths, it may be a

problem. A customer success professional must be able to convince
customers that your products are the best choice. If they can’t even
present and “sell” themselves, it’s not a good sign.

Example answer

I’ve been working in this sector at a similar job for several years. My
role wasn’t managerial but I had an amazing opportunity to work with
awesome leaders. I learned many things from them. And it turned out
that working with customers is something that I really enjoy. Every
case offers a slightly different challenge. And figuring out the best
way in which customers can apply our solutions gives me a lot of
satisfaction. After I joined the previous team, we managed to increase
our NPS from 49 to almost 60.

What you should pay attention to as a candidate: Be careful not to

brag too much. This may seem exaggerated or dishonest. Focus on
your results. But if you want to mention how good you are at
something, try to quote a happy customer or a teammate. Otherwise,
it may sound like just your opinion about yourself and not a fact.
An extra follow-up question for recruiters: Have you ever received
negative feedback about the quality of your work?

2. Have you ever gone above and beyond for a customer?

Skill: Customer focus

If you want to make customers happy, you should always show that
you are willing to go the extra mile. Some companies make it an
official rule. You can even find it in Disney’s customer service
training manual.

If your candidates care about customer satisfaction, they shouldn’t

have any problems with describing at least one situation that proves
it. You can ask some follow-up questions about the final outcome of
their actions too.

Questions of this sort work really well with the STAR methodology:

 Situation (circumstances)
 Task (what had to be done)
 Action (step by step description of the actions taken)
 Result (what was the end result)

Example answer

(S) One of the customers at my previous job wanted to integrate our

app with a third-party solution. At that point, the integration was not
possible. (T) But the customer really had to connect the tools. (A) I
decided to personally walk the customer through using Zapier. It took
some time but we’ve managed to set up an advanced workflow. (R) It
worked like a charm. The customer keeps the whole configuration to
this day and even bought a higher plan.
What you should pay attention to as candidates: Make sure that the
situation you describe is aligned with the company’s values. Being
helpful and going the extra mile is usually appreciated. But don’t
confuse it with the lack of assertiveness. Be prepared that recruiters
may challenge you and ask if it was the right call.

Extra follow-up question: What was the most unpleasant interaction

with a customer that you have ever had?

3. How would you deal with a customer who is wrong and

insists on something?
Skill: Conflict resolution

Some customers are more difficult to cooperate with than others.

Usually, they just want things to work according to their plan. And
the fact that their plans are sometimes ludicrous is an entirely
different matter.

The way your customer success job candidate answers this question is
critical. If they immediately start to argue or try to prove customers
wrong, they are likely to make them churn. You can learn more
about difficult or angry customers here. A good CSM candidate knows
that a frustrated customer is not necessarily a lost customer.

Example answer

Well, I’ve noticed that there is no point arguing with them. Instead, I
try to understand their position and ask additional questions. If I’m
challenging their views, I try to soften the blow as much as possible.
I’d say something along the lines of “Yes, I understand you. I too find
it confusing. This feature is not very intuitive.” It allows the customer
to keep their face. Then, I’d try to shift the focus of the conversation
towards helping them achieve their initial goal. If they were wrong,
let’s start from scratch and find a new solution.

What you should pay attention to as candidates: Recruiters ask

about difficult customers to get more insights about your composure.
A good candidate for a CSM job will never try to prove that the
customer is wrong just for the sake of it. The goal is to make them
realize the mistake on their own. It requires patience and tactfulness.
Try to convince your recruiter that you understand this role.

Extra follow-up question: Did it ever turn out that the customer was
right after all?

4. What does our product do exactly? Have you tried it?

Skill: Technical knowledge 

A good customer success manager should be curious enough to try

out your products. Or at least have a good understanding of what they
do. If they didn’t have the opportunity to use them yet, the way they
justify it will also give you some insights.

If you want to test their ability to summarize and explain complicated

problems, you can also phrase this question differently. For example,
you can try something like: My grandma is not good with computers—
how would you explain our product to her?

Example answer

Tidio is a customer service tool that allows you to add a live chat
widget to your website. It gives you the possibility to chat with visitors
and customers in real-time. It is much more convenient than writing
emails—both for customers and support teams. I’m not a very
technical person, but I managed to set it up without any problem in
minutes. I see a lot of potential in this software.

What you should pay attention to as a candidate: You are not

applying for a product manager position but having a general idea
shows that you did your homework. Recruiters may also want to
check if you can explain complex matters in simple words. Your role
is to communicate it in an illustrative way. Use analogies and
comparisons to other products if you can.

Extra follow-up question: Do you have any suggestions on how we

could improve it?

5. Is customer success a philosophy or methodology? How

would you define it?
Skill: Persuasive speaking

This question may seem slightly academic and pretentious. But a

customer success specialist should be able to adapt to a variety of
situations. If someone invites them to give a lecture on customer
success at a reputable university, they should be able to handle it.

By asking this theoretical question, you’ll learn a lot about their

communication skills. Being down-to-earth and pragmatic is much
more useful on the customer service frontline. But a true professional
should also know how to project authority. If it means using fancy
words, so be it.

Example answer

I’d lean towards philosophy. It’s not just about the things you do. It’s
more about the way your whole company thinks about customers and
their obligations to them. Obviously, these shape the attitudes of
employees and approaches to the customer. In turn, it affects good
practices and specific processes and procedures. But at the highest
level, customer success is a state of mind.

What you should pay attention to as a candidate: Don’t try to

memorize complex definitions. Nobody will expect you to recite
them. And it’s way too easy to get stuck if you forget specific wording.
You’ll get a better grasp of the terminology by reading articles
about good customer service.

Extra follow-up question: What is the difference between customer

success and customer service?

6. What would you do to increase our customers’ loyalty?

Skill: Problem-solving

The role of a CSM requires creativity and logical reasoning. Working

with customers is not a type of job that’s based on following
commands and not showing any initiative. Customer success experts
must be resourceful and full of ideas. And customer churn is
something that should always be at the back of their minds.

They need to improvise and solve difficult problems that require

creative thinking. That’s why they should be able to convince you that
they know what they are doing and it makes sense.

Example answer

I don’t know your exact metrics but I’d try to identify the key
moments when we are losing users. Do they abandon shopping carts?
Cancel their orders or subscriptions? Leave because they don’t know
how to use the tool? The simplest way to find out would be to add a
very short pop-up or chatbot survey to collect feedback and ask them
for the reasons. Then we can address specific pain points one at a
time and see if there is any improvement.

What you should pay attention to as a candidate: Your familiarity

with techniques for building customer loyalty reveals very much
about you. Convince them that you know what you are talking about
and that you understand how specific strategies work. Learn more
about their advantages, disadvantages, and different ways of building
customer relationships.

Extra follow-up question: How would you measure the effectiveness

of your work?

7. What is the toughest customer problem you have ever

handled?
Skill: Customer relationship management 

The answer to this question will show how your candidate handles
difficult situations. Apart from understanding the needs of customers,
customer success professionals must be problem-solvers.

Do they approach challenges heads on? Or do they seek help from

others? How do they cope with stress? Are they able to remain calm
in every situation? This question is a great opportunity to discover
some insightful tidbits about them.

Example answer

One of our customers had very limited technical knowledge. She

drew a very complex workflow and described the whole process in
detail. But she had problems with configuring everything on her own.
At some point, I took over and set up the whole thing but she kept
asking for additional things and updates over the following weeks.
That’s when I realized that it’s not worth the effort and I had to give
up. It was a tough choice. But I was forced to handle the problem by
not handling it anymore. I knew I shouldn’t get involved in anything
like that ever again. Instead, we prepared a selection of knowledge
base materials and redesigned our support policy. We decided to
encourage customers to do things on their own and instruct them.
But never set up anything complex for them. They will never become
fully activated if they don’t use the tool on their own.

What you should pay attention to as a candidate: Customer

happiness writes white. But “bad” experiences give you an
opportunity to finally say something really exciting. Try to recall
several tough situations with some juicy details before your
interview. But also remember that the story should demonstrate you
can make good choices while working under pressure.

Extra follow-up question: Have you ever acted out of character to

satisfy a customer? What were the results?

8. What skills do you hope to improve in this role?

Skill: Personal and professional development

Asking this question will help you learn about their aspiration and
self-consciousness. In today’s workplaces, continuous development is
essential. Improving skills and learning new things is a constant part
of the job.
A good customer success specialist or manager should be aware of
areas they need to work on. Are they good active listeners? Do they
want to practice their communication skills? Maybe they want to
learn some hard skills to get a better understanding of the product?

Example answer

Since much of the interaction with customers happens in a written

form, I’m trying to perfect my writing skills. I’m currently reading a
book about technical copywriting. Explaining how a piece of software
works via email or live chat can be difficult. But I believe I’m getting
better at it. I was also hoping to discover how process management
works in your company.

What you should pay attention to as a candidate: You can try to

mention some of the brands, tools, methodologies, or institutions
that your recruiters could recognize. For example, if you are hoping
to learn more about Scrum, don’t hesitate to mention it. Just don’t
overdo it with the name-dropping.

Extra follow-up question: Have you ever invested time, effort, or

your own money into learning something completely new?

9. If you had to handle multiple problems at the same

time, what would you do?
Skill: Task prioritization and time management

Customer success jobs require good work organization and flexibility.

Usually, teams are understaffed and this means that they need to
juggle between many cases each day. Choosing which ones require
their attention at any given time is a skill. And an important one too.
A good candidate should prove that they know how to prioritize tasks
and align them with the business goals of your company.

Example answer

I would go through them one by one and not try to do everything at

once. The most natural thing to do would be to prioritize tasks by the
amount of time they require, their urgency, and overall importance.
However, evaluating them can also be time-consuming and
ineffective. That’s why it is better to do it in real-time. In my previous
job, we designed a system of tags and labels. It used to automatically
organize task priority in our customer database software. And if
someone was busy they could assign it to a different agent with one
click.

What you should pay attention to as a candidate: Many employees

take on too many tasks. Therefore, the ability to delegate tasks or
schedule them over time is critical. Especially for managerial
positions. You’ll be better off if you admit that sometimes it is
impossible to handle everything all at once.

Extra follow-up question: Do you know or use any good time-

management techniques?

10. What would you do if a customer misused our

product to gain profits in an unethical way?
Skill: Emotional intelligence

This question is tricky and there is no right or wrong answer. But

probably your candidates are not expecting it. Ask it to see what
values they put first.
Working with customers involves helping them with things you don’t
approve of personally. A real professional should be able to know
when to hold their judgment and when to intervene and in what way.

Example answer

Do you mean like an online casino? It depends. If something was

illegal, I’d definitely inform the customer or consult our legal team.
But as long as they are our customers and want to use our tool, I
wouldn’t try to moralize. I’m there to serve our clients and help them
achieve their goals. If they meet our terms and conditions, who am I
to judge? On the other hand, it may also mean that maybe we should
specify in what circumstances our products can be used or not. In
some cases, it may harm our reputation and, in the long run, we
should ban them from using our software.

What you should pay attention to as a candidate: A professional

employee of a customer success team knows that they should keep
their personal opinions to themselves. Recruiters may be examining
if you can take an adequate distance. Or intervene if the situation at
hand calls for it.

Extra follow-up question: Have you ever had a customer try to trick

you into giving them a discount?

11. What is your management style? (For customer

success management roles)
Skill: Team management

There are many approaches to management and different companies

need different leaders. However, there are still some types of
management that could be considered good or bad.
A good manager should be able to organize, inspire, consult, and
communicate. Clear vision and hands-on approach help. Conversely,
bad managers don’t know their goals, can’t share their ideas with the
team, and want too much control over their subordinates.

Example answer

I think my approach to leadership evolved over time. Initially, I

wanted to micromanage everything and sometimes I wanted to have
too much authority. It doesn’t work in the long run. I’ve learned to
trust my team and focus on the outcomes. Many times, it turned out
that other members of my team are doing great without my input.
Instead of hijacking every meeting, it is better to observe, suggest,
and experiment. I don’t believe in bossing people around. It is better
to become their partner and help them develop their natural skills.

What you should pay attention to as a candidate: Goal-driven

managers who trust their team are better leaders than control freaks.
However, you should also inform your recruiters that you know
where to draw the line. Managers who expect great business results
only because they keep their team happy usually end up
disappointed.

Extra follow-up question: What would you do to keep your team’s

morale high and motivate them to work?

12. What would you do if two of your teammates got into

a conflict?
Skill: Team player
People are only people. Sometimes they get on each other’s nerves or
try to assert their position too much. In the end, everyone wants to
work in a friendly and peaceful environment.

Conflict management is a skill that is helpful both in dealing with

customers and your coworkers. An answer describing a real situation
would be great. But if your customer success candidate can’t think of
a real-life incident, it doesn’t need to be a bad sign.

Example answer

This is something that actually happened. Two of my teammates got

into a fight over a neglected customer case which backfired. They
tried to put blame on each other and it escalated. The only way was to
intervene and I happened to be an accidental mediator. We had a
meeting and talked the matter through. I listened to their positions
and tried to focus on investigating what went wrong communication-
wise. I tried to justify what happened and ultimately we decided to
blame the tools that we use. We focused on improving the process
and now we joke about the incident.

What you should pay attention to as a candidate: Don’t make your

ex-coworkers look bad. Describe the situation in a way that shows
that you understand their motivation or feelings.

Extra follow-up question: Describe a good experience you had while

working as a member of your team.

13. What tools would you use to monitor and improve

customer success rates?
Skills: Technical know-how
This question will tell you a lot about the candidate’s hands-on
experience. If you know the same tools and platforms, it will give you
an instant common ground. You can discuss different features,
compare their usefulness, talk about pros and cons.

If their answers make sense it is a quick test to check if they know

their line of work. It is hard to make this sort of stuff up, so you will
know that the candidate worked with the tools or not.

Sometimes developers invent different names of programming

languages and ask if someone has used them. It is an instant lie
detector. You can try something similar. Just invent a name of
fictional CRM software or a customer success metric. But double-
check if it really doesn’t exist!

Example answer

In my previous company, we used HubSpot as our CRM and handled

most of our customer interactions there. However, I think we should
create a custom dashboard in Airtable. It gives more flexibility and is
more appropriate for our volume of customers. And I would also use
Tidio for automated FAQ, customer feedback, and live chat. We
can integrate it with Airtable and sync our data across all teams. For
example, a customer request can be instantly sent to Airtable.

What you should pay attention to as a candidate: It is OK to use

different tools or not recognize some of them. You can try to turn this
into a conversation and ask about solutions currently used by your
interviewers. Show that you understand that each company develops
its own workflow and you are not intimidated by learning how to use
new software.
Extra follow-up question: If the company were on a tight budget,
how would you reduce the costs while keeping the same quality of
customer experience?

Pre-Sales
Post-Sales, during Implementation
Post Implementation & go-live
 Align with account team in pre-sales phase for a new and existing customer to understand
business case & value prop, also ensuring post-sales challenges/pitfalls are identified and
mitigated
 Leverages Salesforce Customer Success methodology and partners with customer C-level
to build a comprehensive success strategy that aligns with the customer initiatives and
programs
 Provide guidance & governance through implementation to ensure timely roll-outs with
planned license consumption. Delivery experience, SDLC, and change management are
highly desired.
 Establish a wide network across the company beyond the success team and leverage the
full potential of Salesforce, bringing in technical experts, success managers, executive
sponsors, product managers, and strategic programs to transform the customer’s business
 Grow and increase adoption of our strategic customers by increasing business value
delivered through Salesforce
 Acts as a Trusted Advisor providing strategic guidance and a path to value to Customer
Executive Leadership and internal account teams, demonstrating cross-functional
collaboration
 Establish relationships with key executives and decision-makers and participate in
customer’s internal meetings to gain insights for recommending valuable and actionable
solutions
 Influence the mindset of customers by challenging the status quo and constantly
delivering innovation to grow our customer’s business
 Bring expertise and experience to ensure the right governance model to lead a digital
change, ensure business value and objectives are created