QBRs, Check-ins and Upselling: Are you peddling bad drugs?

Let me tell you about a rabbit hole I fell down this week.

A few of my fellow Customer Success trainees and I were doing a role play. One person was the Customer Success Manager (CSM), one was the customer, and the rest of us observed and gave feedback on what we felt was good, what needed work, and just generally offered constructive feedback.

In one scenario, the CSM was representing a fictitious gaming company and was making a routine check-in call with the dual purpose of sharing information about a new version they were about to beta test. During the conversation, the customer shared that they were starting to feel like they were spending too much time with the product even though they really loved it. The CSM acknowledged the point but still proceeded with the pitch for the new version - it was an upsell scenario, after all. And the customer bought it.

In the discussion afterwards I commented that it was like an addict going to a professional for help and the doctor saying ‘Hey, I have a drug for that!’

I said it in jest, but then I stopped to really think about it.

That led me to reflect on a story I heard in a webinar about QBRs (Quarterly Business Reviews) this past week. The subject at hand was whether QBRs were really necessary and/or useful, and one of the participants told a story about a CSM who? ended up having a meal with a client because of an emergency in the building they were to meet in.

At the end of their conversation the client shared that that impromptu meeting where they just TALKED, was one one the best he’d had in terms of verbalising what his goals were and what he needed from the company. They both got more out of that informal exchange than in any of their other meetings.

Now THAT got me thinking about the discussions I’ve been following lately on the role of a CSM, and how we balance our customers' needs and our company’s. Admittedly, it can be a pretty sticky place to be in. We have to advocate for the interests of our customers, but our companies are in the business of making money. These can seem like mutually exclusive end goals sometimes.

So, my question is: Are you, as a CSM, peddling bad drugs?

By that I mean when you schedule QBRs or do periodic check-ins, are you really listening to what your customers have to say about their needs and goals, their pain points or their product wish lists?

Are you selling them on that upgrade or expansion because it’s a great fit or enhancement for what you’ve already provided?

If the main purpose of your check-ins, QBRs and the smallest contact with your client is all about talking about your company’s latest products, presenting some colourful slides proclaiming how awesome you are at selling them things, or simply meeting some job performance metric, then might I humbly suggest that you’re not only doing your customers a disservice, but you’ve also lost touch with the intent and purpose of Customer Success as a profession.

I and my co-trainees can be forgiven (a little) for making a mistake, after all that’s what a sim-gym is for - trial & error and exploring best practice so that we’ll be able to find the right things to do.

However, should you be a practicing CSM in this kind of situation, consider this: the next time you have contact with a customer, try having a real conversation that focuses on their actual experience with your product, and what they really want and need from the relationship. The result might be surprising, and could head off possible churn at renewal time for a customer who simply hasn't felt heard.

Of course, the pivot or change that’s needed in a company to make this standard practice (if it’s not already) isn’t simple or in the control of the CSM, and there are other factors that will play into whether any real change is made, but that's a discussion for another time.