Customer Success Manager Course

Lesson 1 • The CSM Role and Responsibilities

Maps the day-to-day duties, ownership areas, and stakeholder relationships of a CSM. Clarifies role boundaries within a revenue organization.

Lesson 2 • Defining Customer Success

Establishes what customer success means, its origin in SaaS, and its core philosophy. Grounds all subsequent learning in a shared definition.

Lesson 3 • Success Metrics and KPIs

Covers the primary metrics used to measure CSM performance and customer health. Establishes a measurement vocabulary for the rest of the course.

Lesson 4 • Business Models and Revenue Mechanics

Explains subscription economics, recurring revenue, and why retention drives company growth. Connects CSM work directly to financial outcomes.

Lesson 1 • Kickoff Calls and First Impressions

Teaches how to run a compelling kickoff call that aligns stakeholders and sets expectations. Strong kickoffs reduce early churn and build trust.

Lesson 2 • Onboarding Strategy and Design

Covers the principles behind effective onboarding design and how to align it with customer goals. Sets the strategic foundation for all onboarding execution.

Lesson 3 • Measuring Onboarding Effectiveness

Defines how to evaluate whether onboarding is achieving its goals using quantitative and qualitative signals. Enables continuous improvement of the onboarding process.

Lesson 4 • Driving Product Adoption Early

Focuses on techniques to accelerate feature adoption during the critical first 90 days. Early adoption is the strongest predictor of long-term retention.

Lesson 1 • Customer Health Score Fundamentals

Explains what a health score is, what inputs drive it, and how it predicts churn or expansion. Provides the conceptual model for all health monitoring work.

Lesson 2 • Portfolio Management and Prioritization

Addresses how to manage a large book of business by prioritizing attention based on health and revenue. Prevents CSM burnout and missed risk signals.

Lesson 3 • Usage and Engagement Data Analysis

Teaches how to read product usage data to identify engaged and disengaged customers. Usage analysis is the primary quantitative input to health scoring.

Lesson 4 • Proactive Intervention Strategies

Defines when and how to intervene before a customer reaches a critical risk state. Proactive outreach is more effective and less costly than reactive rescue.

Lesson 1 • Building Champion Relationships

Focuses on developing internal advocates who promote the product and protect the renewal. Champions are the CSM's most valuable asset in any account.

Lesson 2 • Executive Business Reviews

Covers the structure, preparation, and delivery of executive business reviews that demonstrate ROI. EBRs are the primary vehicle for strategic relationship development.

Lesson 3 • Multi-Threading Account Strategy

Explains how to build relationships across multiple levels and departments to reduce renewal risk. Multi-threading is essential for enterprise account stability.

Lesson 4 • Managing Difficult Stakeholders

Provides techniques for handling skeptical, disengaged, or hostile contacts within a customer account. Difficult stakeholders are a normal part of enterprise CSM work.

Lesson 1 • Save Plays and Recovery Strategies

Covers structured approaches to recovering at-risk accounts through targeted interventions. Save plays convert risk into renewed commitment when executed correctly.

Lesson 2 • Root Cause Analysis of Churn

Explains how to conduct post-churn analysis to identify systemic causes and prevent recurrence. Root cause analysis turns lost accounts into organizational learning.

Lesson 3 • Qualifying and Scoring Churn Risk

Teaches how to assess the severity and urgency of identified risks to prioritize response. Accurate risk scoring prevents wasted effort on low-risk accounts.

Lesson 4 • Building a Churn Prevention Culture

Addresses how CSMs can influence cross-functional teams to prioritize retention outcomes. Churn prevention requires alignment beyond the CS team alone.

Lesson 1 • Expansion Revenue Fundamentals

Defines upsell, cross-sell, and expansion revenue and explains why CSMs are uniquely positioned to drive it. Establishes the commercial mindset required for growth plays.

Lesson 2 • Running the Expansion Conversation

Provides a framework for conducting expansion discussions that are consultative rather than transactional. The right conversation approach protects the relationship while advancing revenue.

Lesson 3 • Identifying Expansion Opportunities

Teaches how to use usage data, business conversations, and lifecycle signals to surface expansion potential. Opportunity identification must precede any growth conversation.

Lesson 4 • Tracking and Forecasting Expansion

Explains how to maintain an expansion pipeline and forecast growth revenue accurately. Reliable forecasting makes CSMs credible contributors to revenue planning.

Lesson 1 • Post-Renewal Engagement Strategy

Defines how to re-energize the customer relationship immediately after a renewal is signed. Post-renewal engagement sets the foundation for the next renewal cycle.

Lesson 2 • Renewal Forecasting Methodology

Explains how to build and maintain an accurate renewal forecast that leadership can rely on. Forecasting accuracy is a key measure of CSM operational maturity.

Lesson 3 • Renewal Process Architecture

Defines the stages, owners, and timelines of a structured renewal process. A well-designed process prevents last-minute surprises and revenue loss.

Lesson 4 • Renewal Readiness Assessment

Teaches how to evaluate a customer's likelihood to renew well before the contract date. Early assessment enables timely intervention and accurate forecasting.

Lesson 1 • CS Technology Stack Management

Introduces the tools CSMs use to manage accounts, track health, and automate workflows. Technology proficiency multiplies CSM capacity and data quality.

Lesson 2 • Designing Scalable CS Processes

Covers how to build repeatable, scalable processes that work across a growing customer portfolio. Scalable processes are the foundation of a high-performing CS team.

Lesson 3 • Cross-Functional Influence and Advocacy

Explains how senior CSMs influence product, sales, and marketing using customer insights. Cross-functional influence amplifies the impact of CS work across the organization.

Lesson 4 • Data-Driven Decision Making

Teaches how to use portfolio-level data to make strategic decisions about resource allocation and priorities. Data fluency separates strategic CSMs from reactive ones.