Is Customer Success Becoming Sales? w/ Jason Noble

Introduction

In this episode of the Scale Tale podcast, host Mausmi Ambastha (COO & Co-founder, ZapScale) engages in a thought-provoking conversation with industry veteran Jason Noble (VP of Global Customer Success of Vinli Inc.) on a topic that is capturing the attention of many in the SaaS world, the evolving role of customer success and it’s alignment with sales.

About The Guest

Jason Noble is a recognized industry leader in CS and customer-led growth!

Over the last 20 years, Jason has held leadership positions in all of the customer-facing roles with a number of major global brands including Sony and Reed Elsevier.

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Key Takeaways

This enriching discussion between Mausmi and Jason provides valuable insights into how customer success is adapting to new expectations and responsibilities in the business world.

1. The Intersection Of Customer Success And Sales

This episode dives into the intriguing notion that customer success is becoming increasingly intertwined with sales function.

Mausmi and Jason discuss the trend of CS teams taking on sales responsibilities, as a recent survey shows that many CS executives now have sales quotas.

Jason views this trend as a natural revolution rather than a shift.

He believes that CS has always been involved in sales activities like renewals and upsells, aligning well with sales goals.

2. Advantages Of Combining Roles

Combining sales responsibilities with CS roles can strengthen customer relationships by providing a single point of contact for both success and commercial discussions.

However, this integration requires upskilling CS teams to handle sales conversations effectively.

Proper training is essential for this transition.

3. Market Influence

The push for profitability over growth has increased the need for CS teams to demonstrate their impact on revenue.

Jason notes that aligning CS activities with revenue goals can help justify the investment in customer success as a strategic function.

4. Challenges And Pitfalls

Jason cautions about potential issues, such as customers perceiving sales teams as overly sales-driven.

Maintaining transparency and delivery value is crucial to avoid damaging customer’s trust.

Additionally, support and training for CS teams are necessary to manage shifts without causing discomfort.

5. Role Specialization Debate

This episode focuses highly on whether CS roles should be specialized (e.g. renewals specialist) or generalist.

Jason argues that a generalist approach, where a single CS manager handles various aspects of the customer relationship, may be more effective.

He suggests improving operational efficiency and scaling processes to support CS teams in balancing customer success and revenue generation.

Conclusion

Jason’s insights highlight the evolving role of customer success as it increasingly overlaps with sales functions.

This integration offers benefits like stronger customer relationships but poses challenges that need careful management.

As the industry adapts, CS's role will likely continue evolving in response to market demands and organizational needs.

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Connect With Experts

If you found this podcast valuable and wish to connect with Mausmi and Jason on LinkedIn, here are the links

Mausmi - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mausmiambastha/

Jason - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonnoble1/

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