The Three Biggest Myths in Customer Success About Time Mastery And Why They Are BS!
This is a guest post by Nils Vinje. Nils is the founder of Glide Consulting, A Certified NLP Coach and the former VP of Customer Success at Jhana. The combination of Nils’ deep expertise and experience as a coach is a powerful combination that makes him Built to Serve. Follow him on Twitter at @NilsVinje or connect with him on LinkedIn. Find more great articles like this on the Glide Consulting blog.
If I asked you what you were going to do today for your customers, would you:
- Repeat the phrase: “I have to…” over and over for every statement?
- React to your email?
- Put out fires?
- Try to keep your head above water until the end of the day?
If you answered yes to any of these statements, you’re not alone. Time mastery in Customer Success is one of the most difficult aspects of the job.
I talk to CSM’s, Directors and VP’s frequently and they always wish they and their teams had more time :).
What’s the real impact of not mastering your time in Customer Success?
- You feel busy, which does feel good for a time, but you are not necessarily productive
- Accounts will fall through the cracks, especially at renewal time
- Expectations are not set correctly which will cause chaos down the line
- You work 50–70 hours a week and burn out in less than 2 years
Before you can master your time, you have to acknowledge what you are doing today. To help you see reality for what it is, I’d like to share the 3 biggest myths in Customer Success about time mastery and explain why they are BS!
Myth #1 — You Can’t Master Your Time Because Your Situation is Different
Myth #1 is BS because …
Your situation is not different and it’s not unique.
Your situation has the same characteristics as everyone else in Customer Success. You have…
- Clients to serve
- Bosses to please
- Processes to run
- Executives to answer to
- Sales to support
- Interactions with the product team
- Interactions with the support team
- ….
Myth #2 — You Can’t Master Your Time Because Your Customers Are Different
Myth #2 is BS because …
Your customers interact with you in the exact way you taught them to.
Did you purposefully or accidentally…
- Set unreal expectations about your availability (cell phone calls on evenings and weekends)?
- Build a habit of responding to any client email within minutes?
- Answer their call when you don’t respond within minutes?
Your customers are not different, but you may have taught them to interact with you differently than others on your team.
Myth #3 — You Can’t Master Your Time Because You Don’t Have Time
Myth #3 is BS because …
- You have exactly the same amount of time as everyone else, There is no extra time in life.
- You make a choice every day, whether you consciously know it or not, to spend your time a certain way.
- The most successful people in life, who get the most done, have figured out how to master their time.
If you have fallen victim to believing one or more of the three myths above, acknowledge that it’s not true and make a decision to change.
Change starts with a destination and a compelling reason. To help support you in mastering your time, I have created the only Time Mastery Course designed specifically for Customer Success Managers. This course is available either stand-alone or you can also experience it through the new CSM Coaching program offered by SuccessHacker.
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