Transferring Skills: From Assistant Coaching to Customer Success
When you first think of customer success, what do you think of? You may think of the typical call center full of overcrowded desks and people answering a flood of questions with only pre-written responses.
However, for me, it looks way different. I work in a customer success role teaching kids Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, barefoot, in a gi. I have been doing this for 7 years, and it has helped me grow as a person and has taught me skills that an outsider may not automatically assume it would.
What Skills Have I Learned in my Time Coaching?
For some context, I aid in teaching kids aged 5–13 alongside typically 3 other coaches. In the classes that these kids are in, there are typically 15 participants.
In these classes, I am constantly working with the other coaches to ensure the kids’ and parents’ satisfaction with the class as well as to make sure the kids stay safe. I am also communicating with the kids throughout the class to answer any questions they have or to understand any issues they may be facing.
The skills I have earned doing this are the following:
- Group work
- Being able to guide someone through a process they may not understand
- Dealing with others that may be in a frustrated or overall vulnerable state
- Working in a fast-paced environment
- Understanding and fixing problems in real-time
How Do I Use These Skills Outside of Coaching Jiu-Jitsu?
I don’t just use the previously listed skills in coaching. I also use them in my day-to-day life.
The skills that come in handy the most are working in a fast-paced environment, group work, and dealing with others that may be in a frustrated or overall vulnerable state.
A quick example of why the former is the most often used skill for me is that you are not always given the luxury to take your time in responding to someone, especially when the person you’re talking to is frustrated and/or stressed. You need to give them genuine real-time responses. This skill helps immensely in relationships both professional and personal.
Final Thoughts on my Introduction to Customer Success
Do you ever hear the term “don’t judge a book by its cover” and think “well, duh? That’s a pretty easy lesson to live by”? Well, I’m learning that while it is easy to go by that rule day to day, sometimes in the professional world it isn’t as easy.
As I’ve shown, customer success isn’t just full of people in a crowded office with headsets on. It is a role that has no specific look but has the core value of having real people that want to help make your experience with their company better. It is a job role that takes empathy, patience, and overall good people skills. I personally have had experiences with customer success in which someone has helped me try and solve a technical problem for hours.
So step out of your comfort zone. Try roles outside of your own to gain new skills to implement in your own career, or just to be able to see from a new point of view. You might just see that you are interested in a role type that you never thought you would be.
