Contract ratification doesn’t automatically smooth the ride for the vendor. Numerous hurdles still need to be addressed before the next contract renewal. Customers intentionally reduce the renewal time to test the vendor and its software solution.
It is incumbent on the vendor resources involved, under the leadership of the CSM, to pave the way from this point on and in the next two phases. Sales account representative who got the deal to this stage will look for upselling and cross-sell opportunities and are dependent on these vendor resources to turn the account into a successful reference and continued buyer of the vendor’s solutions. The CSMs are and should be part-sales professionals to continue the selling process. They need to be polite, patient, persistent, diplomatic, and 100% wedded to the success of the project.
On the customer’s end, contacts involved in the sales process may not be the same as earmarked for implementation and deployment. Due to attrition and reorganizations, customers may reassign resources, bringing in new faces and voices that may not have the full perspective, incentives, or the motivation of the original group. Further, customer contacts typically have top priority ten to fifty tasks at a given time, and their preferences may regularly change for your project.
It is easy to get frustrated with the slow pace. Against these odds, CSMs need to stay on top, work with the client’s speed, and balance their time with other customer projects. If the project makes sense and is compelling, it will bubble up in priority sooner than later. Most vendors assign several customers per CSM based on this expected pace of response and execution speed. In this setup, keep yourself motivated with projects that excite you and have customers’ commitment and time. There is usually an exciting customer project in your assigned customer list that will keep you, as CSM or implementation manager, excited and engaged in your roles.
Your influencing capabilities become critical to moving your tasks to the top of the queue. By default, a show-and-tell approach works the best. The sooner you can help realize proof of concepts, show progress, implement faster with minimal help from the customer, the better. Just talk will not help and will likely push your tasks and projects to the bottom of the customer contacts’ to-do list.
Key Takeaways:
Don’t assume the project will continue after contract ratification
Customer success and implementation manager need to be part sales professionals to drive the project forward
Appreciation of Sales Process
Young customer success and implementation managers may not appreciate the effort and opportunity provided by the salesperson to lead the implementation process. It is crucial for vendor implementation personnel to understand that many stakeholders’ time, numerous touchpoints, and investments were required to provide them this opportunity. We recommend exposing customer success and implementation managers to at least one complete sales cycle, and the related conversions: from sales lead -> to opportunity-> to demonstration-> to RFP response-> to contract negotiation-> and to closure. This lead conversion process will help them appreciate their role more and their employer’s business better. With a strong understanding of the proposed value presented during the sales process, they will be much more able to realize that value for their customers.
Key Takeaway:
With a strong understanding of the proposed value presented during the sales process, customer success and implementation managers will be much more able to realize that value for their customers
