Two CSMs used specific questions to shift customer conversations from product features to business priorities. One asked "What needs to be off your whiteboard in the next 90 days?" and secured a renewal; the other asked about board priorities and uncovered an expansion deal.
Chapters
Man, it was a good day. It was a good day today. Thought I would tell you about it. For those of you don't know, I'm Bob London. I coach— one of the things I do is I coach and teach customer success teams to have more strategic conversations with their customers. So I had done a very productive workshop with a company, a software company, a couple weeks ago. I gave them homework. The homework was ask to just try it, ask two of these disruptive questions that I recommend on a couple different customer calls. Get back to me in 2 weeks. We're going to meet and you'll tell us how it went. So the first person stepped up to the virtual microphone on the Zoom call today and said, well, I was a little nervous going into this customer call because they're renewing in January. And I actually had a strong feeling based on a lot of data points that they would not renew. So during the call, I said, well, let me ask you this. What needs to be off your whiteboard in the next 90 days? And that's the question straight from the playbook, straight from my playbook. And the customer said, well, one of the things I need to get done in 90 days or sooner is to get this renewal signed. So there you have it. By asking a 10-second question whose the words, the composition of that question is designed to get a customer talking about something they wouldn't normally talk about. And this customer service manager who was bold enough to ask that question, although she was given the homework to ask these kind of questions, was rewarded with a renewal and also the relief that she didn't have to worry about this customer renewing. So that was one example. Okay, go to the next person. This person, this CSM, said to his customer, customer. Let me ask you this. What do you think the board is— what's the big issue the board is wrestling with or prioritizing right now? Another one straight out of my playbook, straight out of my playbook. The answer: Well, the board's— they're focused on this acquisition we're making. Oh really? Tell me more. Oh yeah, well, we're acquiring another company smaller than us and Oh, well, do they have a platform like we offer? No. In fact, it's an opportunity for you guys to serve this acquisition and show the breadth of your offering because we're only using you for part of what you can possibly do. And this acquisition probably is an opportunity for you guys. So boom, boom, two questions. They took 10 seconds each to ask. But the formulation of those questions, the words that were used, caused the customer to open up a little bit more. And by the way, you're asking about their business, not the product. You're asking about them, what's going on in their world. Those are just two examples of the instant payback that you can get. I don't care if you're in sales, customer success, account management, or product. When you ask better questions that penetrate the normal BS and clichés that customers and vendors usually talk about, you're gonna hear some things. Now, you may not always hear great things that lead to immediate opportunities, but I think you are gonna hear some things that are gonna move your business forward. Two questions, 10 seconds each, right out of my playbook, and both yielded very, very quick rewards. And that's why, ladies and gentlemen, it was a good day for me. It was a good day for my coaching client. And I hope that they will continue to ask these questions, to adopt these questions and this listening methodology and bake it into their processes as a customer success team, um, forever.
