©2015 Gainsight. All Rights Reserved.

Customer Success: The New Track to CEO

Nick Mehta Gainsight

Annie Tsai DoubleDutch

Lawrence Coburn DoubleDutch

Randy Wootton RocketFuel

Ben Saitz RocketFuel

©2015 Gainsight. All Rights Reserved.

Today’s Panelists

Annie Tsai CCO, DoubleDutch

Lawrence Coburn CEO, DoubleDutch

©2015 Gainsight. All Rights Reserved.

Randy Wootton CEO, RocketFuel

Ben Saitz CCO, RocketFuel

Today’s Panelists

©2015 Gainsight. All Rights Reserved.

Get To Know Your Panelists

Annie Tsai DoubleDutch

Randy Wootton RocketFuel

Lawrence Coburn DoubleDutch

Ben Saitz RocketFuel

Which of your panelists was…

a bombardier / navigator in the A-6E intruders?

©2015 Gainsight. All Rights Reserved.

Get To Know Your Panelists

Randy Wootton was in the A-6E intruders – he made sure bombs were on target and on time!

©2015 Gainsight. All Rights Reserved.

Get To Know Your Panelists

Annie Tsai DoubleDutch

Lawrence Coburn DoubleDutch

Ben Saitz RocketFuel

Which of your panelists was…

“Mayor of Millbrae” for a day in 1997?

©2015 Gainsight. All Rights Reserved.

Get To Know Your Panelists

Annie Tsai served as “Mayor of Millbrae” for a day... and she still has her tiara to prove it

©2015 Gainsight. All Rights Reserved.

Get To Know Your Panelists

Lawrence Coburn DoubleDutch

Ben Saitz RocketFuel

Which of your panelists…

…has been to more than 30 Grateful Dead shows?

…qualified for the Red Bull King of Rock 1-on-1 National Basketball Championship at 41 years old?

©2015 Gainsight. All Rights Reserved.

Get To Know Your Panelists

Ben Saitz loves the Grateful Dead and has

been to 30+ shows Lawrence Coburn qualified for the Red Bull King of Rock 1-on-1 at the ripe age of 41

©2015 Gainsight. All Rights Reserved.

Panel Discussion

©2015 Gainsight. All Rights Reserved.

Experience and Skills for a Customer Success Leader

Sample Job Description for a VP of Customer Success

1.  5+ years experience in leading customer-facing organizations

2.  Ability to manage influence through persuasion, negotiation, and consensus building

3.  Ideally combined background of post-sale and sales experience

4.  Strong empathy for customers AND passion for revenue and growth

5.  Deep understanding of value drivers in recurring revenue business models

6.  Analytical and process-oriented mindset

7.  Demonstrated desire for continuous learning and improvement

8.  Enthusiastic and creative leader with the ability to inspire others

9.  Excellent communication and presentation skills

10. Relevant Bachelor’s degree; preference for computer science or related degrees

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Top 10 Questions a CEO Should Ask Their CCO

1.  What does success mean for our clients?

2.  What are early indicators of risk?

3.  How can we tell if a client is sticky?

4.  How should we segment our clients?

5.  What segments should we not serve?

6.  How do you decide on how many accounts your team members manage?

7.  What’s our cost model?

8.  What’s your economic value – how should I measure you?

9.  What do you need from the rest of the company to drive success for our clients

10. What should I do and not do to culturally support Customer Success?