How to Set CS Career Goals That Actually Lead to Promotions
Download the CS Promotion Tracker: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/offers/wh6BFvEc/checkoutIn this episode of The Customer Success Pro Podcast, Anika Zubair reveals why so many talented CSMs get overlooked for promotions and how to fix it with a clear promotion-focused goal-setting strategy. She explains the difference between performance goals and promotion goals, why revenue alignment matters even in support-heavy roles, and the three career-limiting mistakes most CS pros make during review season. You will learn her three-step Promotion Plan Framework, how to speak in business impact language, and how to track, package, and pitch your work so you can move from overlooked to the obvious next choice for senior roles. If you want to accelerate your career growth, rewrite promotable goals, and position yourself for your next title, this episode gives you the roadmap.Chapters:00:00 Why you keep getting overlooked for promotions00:42 Performance goals vs promotion goals03:37 Why talented CSMs get passed up05:59 Why business impact language matters08:18 Mistake 1: Goals that are too generic10:38 Mistake 2: Waiting for your manager to set your goals12:49 Mistake 3: Not tracking wins all year15:06 The Promotion Plan Framework17:32 How to create a promotion-focused North Star goal23:48 Weekly challenge and next stepsConnect with Anika Zubair:Website: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anikazubair/CSM RevUP Academy: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/revupGrab our FREE resources here: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/resources Want to be our next podcast guest? Apply here: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/podcast-guest Book Anika as a speaker at your next team event: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/team-event
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How to Build Digital Success Plans That Actually Drive Adoption with Alana Stoltzfus
Grab your copy of the 2025 Customer Experience Benchmarks Report: everafter.ai/benchmarkIn this episode of the Customer Success Pro podcast, host Anika Zubair speaks with Alana Stoltzfus, a leader in digital customer success at Okta. They discuss the evolution of customer success, the importance of digital growth, and how Okta's Success Hub enhances customer experience through personalized recommendations. Alana shares insights on the tools and systems that power their digital success plans, the challenges faced in data management, and the lessons learned from building a scalable customer success program. The conversation emphasizes the need for continuous improvement and the importance of delivering value to customers.Chapters00:00 Introduction 02:52 Alana Stoltzfuss: Journey into Digital Customer Success05:46 The Evolution of Digital Customer Success at Okta08:43 Understanding Digital Growth and Customer Segmentation11:50 The Success Hub: Enhancing Customer Experience15:04 Personalization and Business Goals in Customer Success17:59 The Role of Digital Customer Success in Business Growth27:58 Tailored Customer Experiences for Gold and Silver Clients30:06 Personalized Communication and Value Realization32:29 Differentiated Messaging for Admins and Executives34:38 The Importance of Personalization in Customer Success36:36 Tools and Systems Powering Digital Success42:41 Lessons Learned and Future Directions in Customer SuccessConnect with Anika Zubair:Website: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anikazubair/RevUP Academy: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/revupConnect with Alana Stoltzfus:Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanastoltzfus/Alana leads the Automation & Scaled Insights team at Okta, where she drives efforts to increase customer adoption, retention, and growth at scale as part of the Digital Success motion. Through the delivery of data and insights to customers and customer-facing teams, as well as AI-powered experiences, she has enabled Okta to serve all customers from SMBs (via self-service) to its largest enterprise customers, not just to scale but also to more effectively drive better customer outcomes through deeply personalized experiences. Prior to Okta, Alana worked in roles across customer success, voice of customer, and digital success, most recently at LinkedIn and Atlassian. She lives in the Bay Area with her husband and 2 sons.Grab our FREE resources here: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/resources Want to be our next podcast guest? Apply here: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/podcast-guest Book Anika as a speaker at your next team event: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/team-event
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Driving More Value in Executive Business Reviews
Download The Objection Handling Guidebook for Customer Success: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/offers/Z6Ng26vg/checkoutIn this episode of The Customer Success Pro Podcast, Anika Zubair takes a deep dive into one of the most misunderstood tools in Customer Success: the Quarterly Business Review (QBR). Too often, QBRs turn into reporting sessions that fail to create impact or executive alignment. She shares her 5-step framework to elevate your QBRs from tactical updates to strategic, revenue-focused discussions that executives actually care about. You’ll learn how to connect product outcomes to business value, align with executive priorities, and close each review with a clear call to action that opens commercial doors. The episode wraps up with a practical challenge for listeners to apply the framework and transform their next QBR into a partnership-driven session that drives growth.Chapters00:00 Welcome to The Customer Success Pro Podcast03:14 Why Most Business Reviews Fall Flat07:57 The Missed Opportunity in Every Business Review10:15 Mistake #1 – Treating QBRs Like Usage Reports12:36 Speaking the Executive Language: Revenue, Risk, and Efficiency14:52 Mistake #2 – Talking At the Customer Instead of With Them17:13 Mistake #3 – Ending Without a Clear Next Step19:28 Turning Objections into Opportunities21:41 The 5-Step Framework for Value-Led Business Reviews35:42 Listener Challenge: Reframe Your Next QBR37:41 Final ThoughtsConnect with Anika Zubair:Website: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anikazubair/CSM RevUP Academy: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/revupGrab our FREE resources here: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/resources Want to be our next podcast guest? Apply here: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/podcast-guest Book Anika as a speaker at your next team event: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/team-event
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Rethinking Health Scores in Customer Success with Sean Reid
Want to win a free pair of airpod pros, sign up for a demo with Vitally: https://www.vitally.io/csproDownload The Value Storytelling Handbook: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/offers/bwVCZUYL/checkoutIn this episode of the Customer Success Pro Podcast, host Anika Zubair speaks with Sean Reid, an award winning CS leader. They explore why “green” health scores can mask real risk, how to spot hidden churn signals, and why renaming the metric to a Renewal Probability Score improves forecasting and cross functional alignment. Sean explains his model that blends human captured sentiment with product signals, how multithreading and stakeholder engagement change renewal odds, and why NPS should be treated as a trend over time rather than a single moment. The conversation offers practical guidance on structuring sentiment fields in your CRM, coaching teams to score consistently, avoiding a rushed rollout, and turning QBR data into executive ready value stories that drive renewals and expansion.Chapters:00:00 Introduction02:40 Meet Sean Reid10:11 Why “green” accounts still churn14:45 Multithreading and hidden influencers22:26 From health score to Renewal Probability Score25:28 Building the model, 60 to 40 sentiment to signals34:49 Value storytelling and outcome-focused QBRs37:10 Rethinking NPS as a trend, not a moment44:28 Lessons51:51 Wrap-upConnect with Anika Zubair:Website: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anikazubair/RevUP Academy: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/revupConnect with Sean Reid:Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-reid/Grab our FREE resources here: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/resources Want to be our next podcast guest? Apply here: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/podcast-guest Book Anika as a speaker at your next team event: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/team-event
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Dealing with Customers That Ghost You 👻
Train AI to be Your Revenue Generating Co-Pilot Guide: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/offers/P66P25Uw/In this episode of the Customer Success Pro Podcast, Anika Zubair explores the phenomenon of customer ghosting, particularly during the Halloween season. She discusses the reasons why customers may go silent, the common mistakes made by customer success professionals, and effective strategies to re-engage ghosted customers. Anika shares personal anecdotes and emphasizes the importance of understanding customer needs, setting clear expectations, and adapting communication styles. The episode concludes with actionable takeaways and a challenge for listeners to apply the discussed strategies.Chapters00:00 The Haunting of Customer Relationships03:07 Understanding Customer Ghosting05:37 Common Mistakes Leading to Ghosting08:42 Communication Styles and Customer Engagement11:46 Reviving Ghosted Customers17:47 Strategies for Re-engagementConnect with Anika Zubair:Website: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anikazubair/CSM RevUP Academy: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/revupGrab our FREE resources here: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/resources Want to be our next podcast guest? Apply here: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/podcast-guest Book Anika as a speaker at your next team event: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/team-event
This is The Customer Success Pro Podcast, hosted by Anika Zubair. Customer Success is not a destination, but a a journey. Join me on this crazy CS journey as I chat to leaders, strategists and experts in customer success about their experiences and definitions of customer success and share with your their best practices on how to build and scale world class CS organization. Each interview will unlock tips, tricks and best practices to help scale your customer success career and company. I will dive into important and relevant topics to help spread knowledge about customer success in order to help companies put the customer at the center of their business. Because at the end of the day when customer are successful, so is the company.Learn more at: thecustomersuccesspro.com
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