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Josh Schachter:

John, keep dancing for the folks that are watching us. I was gonna ask him to stop. He’s making me storm. I mean, I haven’t had lunch yet, and I am getting a little nauseous from it, but I think it’ll be good fodder for our our followers. I was looking for a good fodder. So thank you. Oh, man. Hey. Hey, guys. John, introduce our guest. John, you you set this one up, and and I’m excited to have just met Julie and get more into it. we can carry on the conversation we had off air. Maybe.

Jon Johnson:

Well, hey, guys. This is, this

Kristi Faltorusso:

Guys, he just asked me to do something. You’re already interrupting me. John, introduce yourself. Forget it. Josh, let me go first. I’m gonna introduce myself. Then John can go and he can introduce Julie. Ready? set. Go. Hi, everyone. Welcome back. My name is Kristi Falteruso. I am the chief customer officer at client success. We are a customer success management solution. helping our customers manage from new to renew. I’ve spent the past 12 years in customer success, building, scaling, and transforming customer success teams, and thrilled to chat with our guest, Julie, today. Nailed it. And my name is John Johnson.

Jon Johnson:

I am the principal customer success manager at user testing. We are a UX UI insights platform helping, leading brands build products that their customers actually use. I’ve been in customer success for 12 in a half years now. and I had the honor. Oh, really? So you had to take the half over me. Thank you. Okay. Yeah. But you’re far better at everything than I am. So titles matter too. So I’ve I’m still sitting in the in the swamp over here. I’m thrilled to bring on a dear friend of mine, Julie Raider. Thank you so much for joining us today. I’m gonna let her introduce herself, but, just a little bit about what we’re doing here today. we’re gonna bring kind of a conversation around what customer success, was before somebody joined the industry and kinda what it looks like after a little bit of time into So, Julie, why don’t you give us a quick little, it’s not gonna be as Dallas as Christie’s intro, but,

Speaker D:

who are you? What are you doing here? Yeah. John Johnson, thanks so much for having me. You’re awesome. so I’m Julie Raider. I am a customer success manager at Dually. I’ve been there for a year and a half. my first, customer success job in SAS. I came from the education industry and transitioned in the tech. So I spent 6 years in education, teaching special education, and then utilize those skills and customer success today. So spend a good ride so far learning about customer and I’m excited to chat about it today.

Kristi Faltorusso:

Julie, when you’re not when you’re not CSMming, tell us about all of your fitness endeavors. Didn’t you just finish your first triathlon? Yeah. I did. a sprint triathlon. A sprint? Okay. Well, listen. You know how many people haven’t done a sprint? Josh can’t even spell triathlon. No. Is it with a y or an I? Doesn’t matter. So, Julie, tell us about your experience.

Speaker D:

Yeah. Okay. So I did a triathlon in June. yeah, it was super awesome. It was, like, five meters swim, sixty mile bike, and 3 k run. So or no. Yeah. 5 k run. 5 k run. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, it was awesome. I think I could probably, like, push myself a little bit more, but, yeah, it was great. I got 3rd in my age group. I was surprised about that. So, yeah, it was in Eller, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Super cool views and

Kristi Faltorusso:

but, yeah, that was, like, one of my goals this year to just complete one. So — Yeah. I know you, you’re in the fitness, Chrissy. Well, that’s why I wanna hear about your fitness journey because I’d rather this be a podcast about fitness, but, unfortunately, we’ve talked about customer success.

Josh Schachter:

Yeah. No. I will finish too. I’ve gained £10 of summer. Does that count? Nope. Is it muscle or

Jon Johnson:

Nope. No. I you’ll you’ll I just I just signed up for orange theory. so, yeah, so I have my 1st orange theory class. I did. Yeah. My my first class is on Wednesday. When is your 1st class? He he just said that. He just said that. That’s amazing.

Kristi Faltorusso:

and also have a delayed version of John. Okay. So why don’t you just hush up there, Josh? Wednesday?

Josh Schachter:

Is this what it’s like, like, when as you listen to your customer, Christy. So I’d like to renew next week. Do you wanna renew? No. Because they have better Wi Fi than you. Yep.

Jon Johnson:

yeah. So I’m I I used do, circuit training up before I moved to North Carolina. It was, you know, three times a week. I was really in the habit of it. It’s been like a year and a half and I’ve been coaching my son’s soccer team and, those little idiots are just winning me. Like, I am out of breath halfway through the game, and it’s it’s just really really kinda encouraged me to, spend a little bit more time on my health. So not just my customer’s health, but my physical health. So and there’s an orange theory, like, like, two Blocks away for my house right now. So oh, look. You you get an award? Yeah. Look at you, Christy. Yeah. Didn’t you get an award, Christy? I get awards all the time. I crush things at Orange Theory. I’m like, right now, we’re in the middle of marathon month, and I’m in first place

Kristi Faltorusso:

for females. So I’m pretty impressed. — intimidated

Jon Johnson:

solely because I know you and you go to orange theory. And if I walk in and they’re all Christie Faltaruzzos, I’m I’m gonna have a They’re not spirit. They’re not. They’re not.

Josh Schachter:

I am proud of you all, Julie. Tell us about customer success at Julie.

Kristi Faltorusso:

No. No. No. 1st first. No. No. No. No. We have to start with Julie. Wait. Hold on. But you decided a while back, you decided to transition out of education

Speaker D:

and found customer success. Let’s start there. How did you even hear about customer success? That’s a good question. So I got on LinkedIn because I I knew that I had to get a job and get a LinkedIn. So I got on LinkedIn, and started just, like, you know, doing my thing on there. And then, yeah, I just met a ton of people in in the CS space. And, like, I actually met, like, this group of people, and one of the the girls in there looking at customer success. That’s kinda where I got introduced it. And then I kinda, at one point, just decided like, oh, I’m gonna go through I’m gonna go for customer success. This seems like something that I would like and some skills I have, like, that could transfer over. And then that’s kinda where I began my networking journey and just met a ton of people in CS like, one of them being John Johnson and, like, him essentially being my mentor. And then, yeah, met you too, Christy. You helped me a lot, and then a ton of other people and then and that helped me really just, like, understand it at a base level. So — Well, and, you know, the since this is a part of CS insider, Julie was also

Jon Johnson:

the winner of our first giveaway over a year and a half ago when we did the raffle. Yeah. You want all those books and Oh, yeah. Remember? That’s how you and I started converting. Oh, apparently, it was more important to me.

Speaker D:

I didn’t know that it was a win. I just thought that you got me books. Yeah.

Jon Johnson:

yeah, but so, you know, kinda to the point, One of the things that we’ve been really interested in, we’ve been talking a lot about, kind of our opinions and thoughts on customer success. Christy and I have been in this industry for a long time. Josh has kinda been in the fringes. Obviously, he’s got experience knowing people in the industry, but we don’t let him talk as much. One of the things that I’m really interested in is this kind of like the the the difference between what you thought got coming into your first job versus what your experience has been. You and I have talked a lot over the last year and a half over DMs and chats and and Zoom calls and all that kind of stuff about, like, god, I thought X was gonna be different. Like, I’d love to have a little bit of that discussion. and, kinda focus in on maybe what your what you thought it was, what you thought the ideal outcome was. And then obviously, you know, we’re not looking for any, you know, salacious details here, but kinda what your experience is, not just with your, Christy. Not just with your job at Dually, but also the industry at large. Like, what are what are some of the things that you

Kristi Faltorusso:

which maybe were different or that you thought would have been different or disappointed or excited about. No. No. No. Just start with did you start with what you thought it was? Let’s just start there. Just He asked 4 questions in one question, John. You like to do that. Julie, just to — We can multitask. Before you landed your 1st job in customer success, what did you think was gonna happen when you when you started. What did you expect? What is what did the role look like in your imagination?

Speaker D:

I kind of came into a different role than, like, a CSM. I came in more of, like, a content type role because I was doing, like, a webinar and then also managing some accounts that were, like, smaller. So it’s more of like a one to many approach. but then I quickly kind of became a high touch customer success manager with, like, just the ever changing flow of the business, but like, I’ll say this when I got on LinkedIn and was learning about all of it, you kinda get this idea state of, like, what it’s gonna be like. And you also think, you have an idea of what it’s gonna look like. You know, you can be strategic and all these things. And then you also think that it’s gonna be similar in all businesses, right, which is is funny to think when you say it out loud, but like you obviously it’s not. And then I think to you read things in these these, courses that I take and you’re kind of expecting things to be that way and then like, it’s not right. Those are just like, ideal states are like an example, and I I remember one conversation we had Chris about that and you’re like, you know, just use that use that as like a a a little bit of a guide, right? Like, it’s gonna be different for each customer. You’re gonna have to change your own things. And so I think one of the biggest things for me that was really a surprise is I assumed, and this is just me not having background experience, right? But, like, I assumed a lot of people knew would know what customer success is, like, internally, and then also, like, you know, in in, like, other businesses as well. And I think that is the biggest thing that I ran in into a challenge because, right, I’m just coming into to, a company for the first time, and I have to, like, make sure that I’m setting the right expectations around what customer success is, but, like, I’m still kind of figuring out what it is, you know, and what it means at our business. And then, And then and then slowly over time, you realize, you know, you’re constantly advocating for what customer success is so that you’re allocating your time in the right right places. And, yeah, that’s that’s really challenging, especially when you don’t have, like, background experience. I’m like, what it is? You’re kind of figuring it out as you go. I I’d love to know, Julie, like, how what have you taken from your your time and education,

Josh Schachter:

what what have you applied towards being successful in customer success? I think one of the biggest things is when I taught

Speaker D:

in education, specifically special education. I always had to be thinking about, like, the student and, like, what I’m teaching and specifically, like, learn different learning styles that I’m I’m teaching too, and you’re always thinking about the other person. And that’s something that I can take into CS that I’ve taken into CS, I’m always thinking about the customer. Okay? Like, what email am I sending? Okay. Is this is this gonna bring value? Like, Are they gonna is this meeting, like, something that we actually need to have, or can it be done async? Like, things like that and and really keeping the customer in the forefront. And I think that’s something I try to bring to, like, all meetings even internally because it everyone should be doing that that at the business, right? Like, even in product, even in marketing, like sales, like, the customer should be at the forefront of every decision. So

Jon Johnson:

That’s one thing that I’ve taken away from education that I can — Empathy. You’re empathetic. Yeah. And, you you know, I I think we talked a little bit about this too is that, I’d love to hear kind of your thoughts around, you know, you spend a lot of time with lesson plans versus success plans and kind of the kind of the marrying of those 2 things. Right? It’s it’s more that from from what I’m hearing, it’s more that just empathy. It’s actually, you know, you have had to individualize what you learn. Like, I I need to solve for X. Right? This my our outcome is this. And then especially in special ed when you’re working with just a broad number of kind of, you know, different things, like, all kinds of different things from personalities to emotionals to the physical space itself. Like, you have to have a different plan of attack. to try to reach some sort of standard outcome. Right? And that’s, I mean, that’s like what we do. Right? So we have to look at those nuances and the and the factors that kinda play into what are inhibitors to success or what are challenges or what are obstacles? what’s been your experience with, kinda looking at taking that lens? And I know it takes a while to kinda get into this space. you know, it’s a year and a half in. are you seeing kinda similar

Speaker D:

successes with that with that experience? Yeah. I think there’s 2 different pieces that have applied kind of like thinking about the different needs, and then I also wanna talk about, like, customer journey and how that applies. And I had a conversation about that previously, so I wanna talk about that. But like, I have customers in a lot of different, like, countries and, you know, different yet. So, like, that applies. Right? Like, where are they from? where they’re coming from, like, culture wise and all that. I think that applies, but then also, obviously, different industries. We’re working with different businesses. I also think it applies to, like, talking to different personas that you have to talk to and, like, what they care about, and always keeping that at the forefront too, like, when you have a meeting, like, where you talk to VP of sales or rev ops or, or are you talking to an end user? Like, that all implies that all applies too. But I also think and so, like, differentiating piece really hit me the other day with like, a customer journey that you’re following for cuss or that you’ve laid out, I guess, for customers and really hit me the other day that, like, for example, if I if I was teaching 2 kids with reading disabilities, but one had a reading disability in but one had a reading disability in in decoding. I wouldn’t, like, put them on the same plan, right, because they have 2 different needs. Just like I wouldn’t put customer on the same customer journey if they have 2 different needs. Right? So you have to, like, tailor the journey to what the customer needs and, like, what what their goals are in use cases. So that’s definitely something like I’m still learning and figuring out, but I’m starting to realize, like, yeah, not everyone’s just gonna fit in, like, this box of, like, a journey and, like, have this quarterly call here and, you know, so, yeah, that’s something I would I would love Christy to talk about, honestly.

Josh Schachter:

Christy.

Kristi Faltorusso:

Jesus here. No. You wouldn’t. This isn’t about me, Julie. This is about you. Stop trying to use this as a learning session. I know you have a very so Julie Julie messaged me with some very specific question. And I was supposed to get back to her, and I said I couldn’t type because it was, like, late. I was in the middle of something. I was like, I will record a response because it was too lengthy of something for me to type, and I forgot to do it. So, she’s probably using this as an opportunity to get and answer the questions she had, but Julie, I will get you. I will get you that response, but I’d actually be interested in hearing. So, like, you’ve landed your job from education — to tech. Those are 2 very different worlds. What what are you loving and what are you not enjoying as much? Give me give me some pros and cons of, like, tech versus education because I’ve got a ton of friends that are teachers, and I’ve got a ton of friends that are in tech. both. I think that there is pros and cons for both. I think everyone can equally talk about things they love, things that they don’t. You’ve actually been in both worlds, And I’d love to hear kind of Can I just take a guess? Can I guess that it’s like free lunches versus pension? No. You can’t guess her answer because you’re leading the witness. If I were a shoe in her shoes, I would say free lunches versus having a pension. Can you stop? Nobody even goes to the office anymore, Josh. Julie, tell us about your experiences in education and now tech. Yeah.

Speaker D:

I would say overall, I’m, like, really, really glad that I made the decision. Obviously, there’s benefits to both. I think I do miss I miss working with kids. for sure. I mean, that’s one thing I miss. I think that I just kinda have like a nap with kids, and I think they’re curious and fun. And, like, they just ask the craziest questions. And, like, I worked with like kindergartners and 1st graders and second graders. I do miss that. I wouldn’t say adults are, like, worse or anything, but I just think that — It is. It’s just a lot more just a little more fun, you know. I would say one thing, managing schedule, like being able to have more flexibility is like one thing that I’m really, really happy about. I also think how businesses run is just a really important skill and, like, to learn and understand. And, like, that’s how our, like, society runs, you know, like, So it was I’m glad that I have that perspective. Like, I didn’t have that in education. and so I really like that part of it. And I also think It’s just really interesting learning about all these different businesses and meeting a ton of different people. I would never have been, like, outside of my box this much if I would have been in a still an education. I’m really glad that I had the experience though because I just learned so much about learning or working with kids with different disabilities. I think it foster, like a lot of skills in me, patience. Like, I use a ton of that in customer success. Like, you know, a customer is upset their their, you know, their super hostile on a message or something. Like, I it’s not gonna razzle me too much because I’ve I’ve dealt with scenarios where, like, a kid has completely, like, went off inside of a room. Like, he had a behavioral challenge. So it’s like, I I can I can, utilize a lot of those skills from education into tech. So I also I think one thing though, remotely, I love the flexibility of it, but I do think that I miss the in person connect in person connection.

Jon Johnson:

it would be cool if I had, like, a hybrid scenario. Yeah. What do you hate about tech? Like, what’s the bullshit? Give me that bullshit. I can just read the text messages. Do you want me to just read the text?

Kristi Faltorusso:

I I opt for John to read the text messages. I want the unfiltered response.

Speaker D:

I don’t know. Like, nothing’s really coming straight to mind right now, but I think — I mean, tech is weird. Like, this is weird. Like, what we do is weird. Right? A little bit. What do you mean by that, though? Just because, like, it’s on the internet or what? I mean, we sit. It are

Jon Johnson:

it’s not the strangest way to make money on the internet. Let me tell you. No. We sit in our little desks with our little laptops and we talk about trying to get other people to click other buttons and software. Like, I mean, it’s just it’s it’s the strange like, if you explained what we do to someone a 100 years ago or even a 100 years from now, like, it is if if you really think about what our goals and our task are on a daily basis, especially if we’re remote and working from home. I can see it’s kinda chaotic. It’s kinda chaotic.

Speaker D:

I think I think one of the most like challenging slash frustrating things is when you’re you’re given, like, an expectation or, like, a customer account. And, like, it’s almost like you were you were given, they were given a promise that you can’t really you can’t really follow through with actually, you know, and and that can happen, like, with — Sales or products, something like that. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. So, like, that’s — Hey, Julie. Listen. I have — Go ahead.

Kristi Faltorusso:

Sorry. Sorry. You buzzed and I’m delayed. It it’s no. I’m apparently delayed, so I thought there was a moment I could ask you a question. And then I it appeared that I was cutting you off, so I apologize. The way the way that this podcast works is that, like, you need to pounce if you if there’s a millisecond, a free time of of dead dead air. You need to — That’s what I was doing. I was pouncing Josh. I was pouncing no dead air. So, Julie, listen, I have to imagine that working with kids is super rewarding because you could feel a direct impact. Right? Like, I a child changes the behavior as a result of something that you’ve helped guide them through or they learn something new because of you. I have never been a teacher, not of young children. I taught at college, and that’s very different. They don’t they don’t care, and my impact is different. But working with small children’s gotta be super rewarding and impactful. Do you feel like you’re having the same level of impact in this role? Does it kind of does it give does it fill that box for you the way working with children had? I don’t think you can feel it as much sometimes. Like and that’s a good point because

Speaker D:

one thing. It’s like, you know, communication through the internet is just a little strange. Sometimes, like, you can’t always get the feeling, the energy, you know, you don’t know. But, yeah, I think I think you you can get in, like, kind of like a negative state. Sometimes if you’re if you’re looking for, like, rewards in terms of, like, oh, adoption or, you know, you helped out you did a training, and then maybe their adoption wasn’t high after you’re like, oh, what did I do wrong? You know, yeah, I think that that’s the hard part about tech. I think sometimes to customer success, you can be doing all these things and then nothing’s working or, like, you just like you’re kind of on an island and your your solo trying to fix things and and, yeah, nothing’s nothing’s working. And it just feels like a thing. do I how do I how do I move the needle here? Like, how do I get some sort of win?

Jon Johnson:

Yeah. I also think it it probably there this is probably one of those major differences too, right, when you’re in education, you’ve got 20 kids or how many kids are in the room, and you can actually, like, see, like, the input and the outputs. Right? It’s like I’m doing these things differently, and and we don’t have that in in CS. Right? And And I feel like the feedback, not even just like it’s something that I I struggle with. If I don’t get feedback, like, I don’t need somebody to praise me or give me all of these accolades, but I do need somebody to tell me, like, if we’re moving in the right direction, right, just like that kind of that feedback response right, of just not just customers, but also like my leadership and my boss. If I’m not getting that, I kinda feel like I’m I’m I’m helpless. And I wonder if maybe, you know, 6 or 7 years of that in the classroom, maybe led into this model where that doesn’t exist rarely ever. You have a weekly one on one with your boss and it’s like, okay. Good job. You know, like, what but I I don’t know how to weight these decisions and and weight these things. You and I talk a lot about data and analytics and how to get data And if we don’t have data, then it’s it really is, like, kinda going back to what I said before about this being weird. It’s like, we’re just kinda sending emails. Right? We’re just kinda like, throwing stuff against the wall and seeing what sticks? Like, how do you, you know, how’s been the the mental state there for going from something that has, like, a good amount of feedback from parents and educators and and, you know, all all the folks that you have in the education system into a system that actually doesn’t have much support at all.

Speaker D:

Yeah. That’s really interesting. I think I think I wanna touch on, like, when you said, if you’re in a room of kids, right, you can, like, feel, you know, you can, like, get a sense of, like, who’s paying attention or not. Like, I think, because I do trainings. One thing is, like, how do you engage people? And it’s, like, so challenging to get a sense of, like, who’s paying attention or not. I’m like, this training’s so important. It’s like, we can keep you to, like, focus on this because, like, this is gonna help with adoption. It’s like, you don’t you can’t really get a sense. You know? Like, I can I can get I it’s like it’s it’s a different skill set. Right? Like, you’re happy to engage people on the computer, but you don’t have people are eating lunch or they’re like, looking at their phone or whatnot and so it’s just one piece to to adhere to adoption. So that’s one challenging thing I would say. you also said feedback. So I would get feedback from parents, right, and it would be, like, at the end of the year, or, like, I would get this, like, I would get this super challenging kid, and then I, like, made a huge impact. And then parents would send me, oh, he signed up for wrestling and, like, he was never, like, doing anything positive. And it’s like, okay. That’s amazing. Right? Like, I had an impact on that kid’s life, but I also think when you have such challenging kids and you only you only work with them for a year, you almost feel like you’re a little bit helpless due because they need they need 8 years of how Right? Like, more than that. Like, and you’re only gonna be with them for a year. So I think I think that’s that’s similar things with tech, but one other thing I will say is In terms of, like, feedback, I’m a feedback person. Like, I like feedback. I want feedback. I wanna continuously learn. If I’m not continuously learning, like, it’s just I I that’s not good for me. Like, I’m just a grinderer. Right? Like, I I like to work out. Like, I like to get better. Like and so if I’m not doing that in my head, like, it’s just it I struggle a bit. But I think one thing is giving feedback strategically in a really good way is is a skill that is, like, really high level. And I I, you know, I don’t I think leader I don’t know. Like, a lot of leaders, I don’t know if they have it or, like, it’s just something to build. Right? Like, it’s it’s something that a lot of leaders need to improve on. Like, you have to understand person that you’re working with, motivation. Like, I don’t know. I just I think that was an education. Like, I didn’t get that. I also think that feedback in tech can improve too. Like, I don’t know. It’s it depends. Like, how do you run run your one on ones? Like, is it is it more like a coaching call around, like, your your co calls that you have or, like, you know, how you’re running certain parts of your journey or whatever. But, yeah, I think I always want more feedback. And I always want, like, coaching feedback. Right? Like, I want I want strategic help. Like, I wanna know how to improve myself strategically. How can I think outside of the box versus like

Josh Schachter:

more granular feedback, I guess? I’d I’d love to, if it’s okay, shift gears and, you know, we we got your your bio up front a little bit, Julie. but I’d love to learn about your day to day at at dually, right, kind of lend some context for folks that are listening to you. tell us a little bit about Well, first for those that don’t know, perhaps you can introduce Julie, and tell us a little bit about how you guys segment, what your operating processes, you know, how you engage with customers, given that the nature of your product is engaging with customers.

Speaker D:

Yeah. Yeah. For sure. We’re a sales pro productivity tool, so we help AEs, update Salesforce faster. Also get more information, transferred across teams as well when they take notes for their meetings and also just updating field Salesforce. But in terms of what I do day to day, I do all of the onboarding and implementation for a new account. I also manage, like, the journey for my other that I have, and then I am also running renewals. I also do a I I did support more, a little bit earlier on now, not as at all, but depending on where you’re such a small team, like, I’ll I’ll be doing some support as well. So that’s that’s the one of the things, like, I was actually thinking about this week and, like, just really thinking about prioritizing and, like, where I spend my time because I’m doing a lot. It’s, like, where where are my efforts most,

Josh Schachter:

beneficial at this time. That’s that’s really interesting because everybody in the CS world is going through the same that everybody in the world is going through the same exercise. So, like, let’s get therapeutic. What what’s going on here? Like, what’s the what’s triggering for you right now to think about that? Like, why? There there must be. There’s some kind of and your pain there. Right? and then, like, what are the different priorities that you’re balancing? And where’s your head at as far as balancing them? I think when you’re, when you have all these big buckets that you to focus on? Like, what? I want specifics. You don’t have to reveal any any any PII,

Speaker D:

but, like, you know, the, like, people wanna hear, like, the real stuff in a podcast. Right? So, like, as specific as possible. Yeah. Like, when you’re managing, like, 10 renewals, but then you’re also having to onboard a new account, like, your time is spent, like, those are 2 big chunks of time. And if you’re trying to 2 big bucks of things, I guess I’ll just call them. If I really wanna, like, run the renewals right, Like, that takes a lot of strategic efforts and time. If I wanna do the implementation really well and onboarding, like, I have to do that. And it’s like, you know, that’s quick. That’s like lots of calls and and I wanna make sure that the customer’s set up for success. Like, you kind of feel like, oh, well, how do I spend my time here? Something’s gotta give, then I feel like, you know, maybe I’m not doing traveling off, things like that. What usually falls through, and this isn’t a way that this isn’t like, let’s let’s pick it and do it. Your boss is also listening. Under cover boss, Yeah. Yeah. We’re gonna go to your boss. Yeah. And, by the way, John, if you want more feedback, I am happy to oblige. I’ve actually thought about we could do a segment of, like, jaw feedback from John at the end of every said.

Josh Schachter:

but, yeah, but, no, but I’m asking, like, what what generally falls through the cracks or, you know, is, like, the hardest to solve for because again, like, everybody else is going through similar stuff out there right now.

Speaker D:

Yeah. I think when a new account comes on, like, that’s my main focus. Right? Like, I have to onboard an implement and so that’s where a lot of my focus kids, quit. But I also think, like, the customers that are, like, let’s say they’re a yearly subscription, they’re at, like, the 6 month mark and, like, I’m I’m essentially, like, I would love to see, like, oh, they could add this other feature that they’re not utilizing, but would help them. or, like, looking at the data more and and being able to just, you know, increase the health of the customer. Like, I’m unable to do much of as much of that as I’d like because of all the other, like, things that I’m spending my time on.

Josh Schachter:

Like support issues or prepping for renewals.

Speaker D:

Well, yeah, and, like, that product stuff will come up all the time. And, like, if you have to dive into what’s the issue, yeah, fires you know, those happen all the time. I can I can be like completely derailing off your schedule and and spend so much time. So yeah, that always happens. Also, if you’re, like, sending looms and, like, how to help a customer, you know, navigate something, you know, that that all takes time, customer content too. Like, I’d love to do more of that as well. Like, instead of a call, let’s just send, a resource that I create tailored to the customers needs versus, like, you know, having to walk them through on a call, I’d love to do more of of that type of stuff and think strategically on how to, like, just help us customers overall in in bucketing them, which I just I just, yeah, I’m just having it. Yeah. Makes sense. — the time. That’s good. Those are good answers.

Jon Johnson:

so, okay, you’ve been in tech. or SaaS, I should say, for a year and a half. You’re learning how we do and sometimes don’t work with all the other departments. when you’re looking at, you know, the next 2, 3 years, 10 years, you know, you spend a lot of time in education. You spend a lot of time kinda building out a potential career, and this is a big pivot. Like, talk to me about where you maybe wanna go, what you wanna see. is it c s? Is it is it something else? Is it kinda open to interpretation. I’d love to kinda hear what your vision is for, a, what you’ve learned, what you don’t like, and what you do like, and maybe what’s kinda giving you direction and purpose into moving forward. It’s a great question. I think I found her that every day. Yeah.

Speaker D:

I also want it, like, Christie’s so quiet. It’s like freaking me a I’m I’m trying to be better about not talking over our guests.

Kristi Faltorusso:

So I’m trying to allow you space, and I’m saving my question. I have I have like final question I thought would be beautiful to wrap up with. So when I felt like it was appropriate to ask my last question, I felt like I would step in and and wrap us up strong with a really good question that you could answer for us. Well,

Jon Johnson:

we have 5 minutes. So if we wanna do — Is it time for my question?

Josh Schachter:

We can do that. Just by the way, the funniest part here is that Christie was not, like, being silent because she wanted to give you more space or blah blah blah. she wanted to save the best for last.

Kristi Faltorusso:

Okay. Good. My question isn’t even a thousand. So, Julie, he here’s what I got free. Is that the best question? It’s a question, and I think it’s a good question to end on. But, listen, I feel like we talk to people every day who are, like, dying to break into tech, dying to break into customer success. And so you did it. You were successful. but you now also know what you didn’t know before. What advice do you have for folks who are interested in breaking into customer success? real advice, not even how to break in, but once they get there, what is the advice that you have for them? Because they’re entering a world that they are not familiar with.

Speaker D:

That’s a great question. Yes. I think I think when you’re networking, ask the tough question to be like, what’s the good in the batch? you know, like, what’s the ugly and what’s the good? I think I think to get more of a picture. I think you’ll always, like, you’ll always lack some of that, right, and you’ll have to get, into the nitty gritty of it. I think if you’re gonna go into customer success and you enter a job, one thing I wish I would have known more about is just like get on sales calls under stand, what the the sales team is selling, what’s our value, get to know the product super quick, and start just meeting people around the business and start learning, about different parts of the business and how they just kinda start gauging, like, how do they think about customer success? Like, how do they think how are they making decisions, around, like, developing the product? all these things and I I I think you can learn a ton just like watching a ton of calls too, but I think I would have done more of that. I wish I would have done more of that. I also think just diving in all case studies too and really understanding, like, what those mean and how you’re gonna utilize that type of information in customer calls. Julie, what’s one question you would advise anybody who’s interviewing

Kristi Faltorusso:

to ask in the interview process? One question that you think that they should ask whomever is interviewing them so that they will be that much closer to reality.

Speaker D:

Who’s your thoughts about for cheering?

Josh Schachter:

Good one.

Jon Johnson:

That’s a good one. It’s a really good one.

Speaker D:

I think you told me that one. Yeah. John. That sounds about right.

Kristi Faltorusso:

So that was my last question, Josh. I hope that was okay.

Jon Johnson:

Well, thank okay. So, Julia, folks want to, you know, learn more about you. Where do they find you?

Speaker D:

what’s what’s the deal for follow ups here? You can just find me on LinkedIn, Julie Raider. Yeah. Cool. Yeah.

Jon Johnson:

Awesome. Josh. Thanks. Everybody’s home. for joining.

Kristi Faltorusso:

We have such, like, a big — I mean, usually, he doesn’t even give that, but usually it’s just like an end, and then we all are offline.

Jon Johnson:

And that’s that’s fun too. Thank you for listening. We’ll see you again next week.