Cybersecurity CSM's Trusted Advisor OR Renewal Specialist? IDENTIFY Opportunities For Expansion Sells -- By Dr. Erica B. Wattley

Cybersecurity CSM's Trusted Advisor OR Renewal Specialist? IDENTIFY Opportunities For Expansion Sells (Renew, Up-Sell, Cross-Sell, & Demo New Features To Your Customers) -- By Dr. Erica B. Wattley

Balancing the role of a trusted advisor and carrying a quota can be a challenging task for a Cybersecurity Customer Success Manager. A trusted advisor is someone who customers can rely on for unbiased advice and recommendations. This person is an expert in their field and has a deep understanding of the customer's business and needs. A trusted advisor is focused on helping the customer achieve their goals, even if it means recommending a product or service that the advisor's company does not offer.

The role of a trusted advisor is to provide value beyond the product or service itself. This can include providing industry insights, best practices, and personalized recommendations that are tailored to the customer's specific needs. A trusted advisor is also focused on long-term relationships and is invested in the customer's success. Being a trusted advisor is different from focusing on the sales strategies. While up-sells, cross-sells, renewals, and expansion sells are focused on increasing revenue and customer value, being a trusted advisor is about building a relationship of trust and providing expert guidance to customers.

In contrast, up-sells, cross-sells, renewals, and expansion sells are focused on selling more products or services to customers. While these strategies can be beneficial for both the company and the customer, they are not focused on building a relationship of trust and providing expert guidance.

Overall, being a trusted advisor is a more holistic approach that goes beyond selling products or services. It involves building a relationship of trust and providing value through expert guidance, industry insights, and personalized recommendations.

But Dr. Erica, How can a Cybersecurity Customer Success Manager be a trusted advisor and carry a quota without losing the customer's trust? ..... Don't worry I've got you covered!

Here are some strategies to consider. Balancing the role of a trusted advisor and carrying a quota can be a challenging task for a Cybersecurity Customer Success Manager.

However, it is possible to achieve both without losing the customer's trust by following these strategies:

Build a relationship of trust:

The key to being a trusted advisor is to build a strong relationship with the customer based on trust and transparency. This means being honest about what the product or service can and cannot do, and providing unbiased recommendations that are in the customer's best interest.

Understand the customer's needs:

To be a trusted advisor, it is essential to understand the customer's business and cybersecurity needs. This means listening to their concerns and challenges, and providing personalized recommendations that address their specific needs.

Provide value beyond the product or service:

To build trust, it is important to provide value beyond the product or service itself. This can include providing industry insights, best practices, and personalized recommendations that are tailored to the customer's specific needs.

Focus on the customer's success:

A trusted advisor is invested in the customer's success, not just in selling more products or services. This means being proactive in identifying areas for improvement and providing solutions that help the customer achieve their goals.

Be transparent about quotas:

While carrying a quota can create pressure to sell more products or services, it is important to be transparent about this with the customer. This means being upfront about sales goals and quotas, and focusing on how the products or services can help the customer achieve their goals, rather than just meeting sales targets.

Provide exceptional customer service:

Finally, providing exceptional customer service is key to being a trusted advisor. This means being responsive to the customer's needs, providing timely and effective support, and following up to ensure that they are satisfied with the product or service.

But Dr. Erica, I am not sure how to discover opportunities for up-sells, expansion sells, cross-sells, and demoing new product features and to prepare for renewals. ..... Don't worry I've got you covered

As a Cybersecurity Customer Success Manager, it's essential to ask the right questions when it comes to renewals, up-sells, expansion sells, cross-sells, and demoing new product features.

Here are some questions you can ask to help you identify these opportunities:

Renewals:

• Are you satisfied with the product/service?
• Have you experienced any issues with the product/service?
• Has the product/service met your expectations?
• Are there any features or functionalities that you wish the product/service had?

Up-sells:

• Are there any additional features or functionalities that you think would benefit your business?
• Have you considered upgrading your current plan to access more features or resources?
• Have you had any challenges that you think could be solved with additional products or services?

Expansion sells:

• Are there any other departments or teams within your organization that could benefit from our product/service?
• Have you considered implementing our product/service in other areas of your business?
• Are there any upcoming projects or initiatives that could be supported by our product/service?

Cross-sells:

• Have you considered integrating our other products/services with your current one?
• Are there any other products/services that you think could complement your current one?
• Are there any business challenges that you think could be solved with our other products/services?

Demoing new product features:

• Are there any new features or functionalities that you are interested in learning more about?
• Are there any pain points or challenges that you are currently experiencing that our new features could help with?
• Are there any upcoming projects or initiatives that our new features could support?

Remember, these questions are just a starting point. The key is to listen carefully to your customers and ask follow-up questions to gain a better understanding of their needs and pain points. By doing so, you'll be better equipped to identify opportunities to renew, up-sell, cross-sell, expand, and demo new features to your customers.

By following these strategies, a Cybersecurity Customer Success Manager can be a trusted advisor and carry a quota without losing the customer's trust. It is important to focus on building a strong relationship with the customer based on trust, understanding their needs, providing value beyond the product or service, and being transparent about sales goals and quotas.

Ultimately, the goal is to help the customer achieve their goals and be successful, which will lead to long-term customer loyalty and revenue growth.

#butdrerica

#dontworryivegotyoucovered

#expansionsells #upsells #crosssells #demonewproductfeatures #trustedadvisor #renewalspecialists #csmquota #businessoptimization

#goalalignment

#increasedsecurityposture

#siloedoperatingsystems

#integration

#containersecurity #onpremsolutions

#cloudbasedsolutions

#soc

#csmautomationsolutions

#csmorganizationsolutions

#csmprioritizationstrategies

#csmcollaborationtechniques #cybersecuritytraining #driveuseradoption #cybersecurity #saas #customersuccess #logmanagement #cyber #threatintelligence #networksecurity #infosec #cyber #customerexperience #customersuccess #customersuccessmanager #csm #customerjourney #customersuccessmanagement

#hushcyberllc

#hushconsulting

#excellenceincybersecurity

#excellenceincybersecurityhushcyberllc

#excellenceincybersecuritydrericabwattley

#marquiswhoswhoinamerica

#marquiswhoswhoinamericadrericabwattleyexcellenceincybersecurity

#excellenceincybersecuritymarquiswhoswhoinamericadrericabwattley

#marquiswhoswhoinamericadrericabwattleystrategicinitiatives

#marquiswhoswhoinamericadrericabwattleystrategicpartnerships

#marquiswhoswhoinamericabutdrerica

#marquiswhoswhoinamericadontworryivegotyoucovered

#marquiswhoswhoinamericadrericabwattley

#whoswhoinamerica

#whoswhoinamericabutdrerica

#whoswhoinamericadontworryivegotyoucovered

#whoswhoinamericadrericabwattley

#whoswhoinamerica2023

#whoswhoinamerica2023butdrerica

#whoswhoinamerica2023dontworryivegotyoucovered

#whoswhoinamerica2023drericabwattley

#whoswhoinamericalistee

#whoswhoinamericalisteebutdrerica

#whoswhoinamericalisteedontworryivegotyoucovered

#whoswhoinamericalisteedrericabwattley

#whoswhoinamericainductee

#whoswhoinamericainducteebutdrerica

#whoswhoinamericainducteedontworryivegotyoucovered

#whoswhoinamericainducteedrericabwattley

#whoswhoinamericahushcyberllc

#drericabwattley

#cybersecurityprofessional

#cybersecurityprofessionaldrericabwattley

#networksecuritypolicymanagementdrericabwattley

#networksecuritypolicymanagement

#customersuccessmanager

#cybersecuritycustomersuceessmanagementdrericabwattley

#cybersecuritycustomersuceessmanagement

#globaldirectorofoperations 

#globaldirectorofoperationsdrericabwattley

#cybersecurityoperationscenterdrericabwattley

#csocdrericabwattley

#soc #msp #mssp

#marquiswhoswhoinamericadrericabwattleyatlantagirlschoir

#marquiswhoswhoinamericadrericabwattleyaplusenrichmentservices

#marquiswhoswhoinamericadrericabwattleyframechange

#marquiswhoswhoinamericadrericabwattleykampusinsights

#marquiswhoswhoinamericadrericabwattleyframechangellc

#marquiswhoswhoinamericadrericabwattleyjustpenniesorg

#marquiswhoswhoinamericadrericabwattleyioctc

#marquiswhoswhoinamericadrericabwattleystudioxelitedanceco

#marquiswhoswhoinamericadrericabwattleystudioxelitedancecobrookehicks