Job Description
The Customer Success Manager (CuSM) is an integral member of the Account Sales management teams focused on the ADOPT and EXPAND selling motions. This role is introduced by Cisco into its most relevant customers to drive and accelerate mutual success through an effective ADOPTION and EXPANSION of Cisco offerings around solutions, services subscriptions and software either direct or with a partner. The CuSM Is assigned to transformational and investment or high touch accounts where Cisco has previously positioned a relevant set of its products and services through the LAND sales motion.
The Customer Success Management Charter is to lead the long?term ADOPTION and EXPANSION strategies of Cisco offerings through the Integrated Account Plan (IAP), regular Executive Business Reviews with the customer along with the Services Business Interlock (SBI) framework and an Adoption Engagement Plan.
The CuSM helps Cisco customers to accelerate their planned ROI for Cisco investment, facilitates forward Solutions Planning and improves mutual operational readiness and performance and it promotes the quality of the relationship. This role is executed in close alignment with Cisco Sales and Cisco Service Delivery.
As an additional result derived from the appropriate execution of this role, a timely and extended RENEW sales motion is facilitated to the respective Cisco Sales teams.
Among its main responsibilities are:
? Develop a clear and concise understanding of the customer needs, strategies, operational maturity and business goals as well as those of the industry in which they function.
? Leverage the acquired knowledge of the customer to ensure Cisco enables Customer Success and achieve their Business Outcomes through its set of current (ADOPT) and new (EXPAND) Cisco solutions
? Focus on ensuring Cisco customers successfully maximize the value they receive from our solutions and attain their business outcomes through Cisco AS, TS, Manage & Operate, Consulting Services, Software, Cloud and XaaS solutions, as well as any other components that are suitable for a subscription model.
? Drive ADOPTION, and positioning of solutions throughout all stages – Plan, Build, and Manage – of the Lifecycle inclusive of all Cisco offers, leading to appropriate renewal rates and referrals along with the development of new opportunities.
? Facilitate the consumption of Cisco Solutions
? Measure and the report the impact of the offerings currently in place, so that the customer and Cisco have a common understanding of the value they are receiving toward achieving their expected outcomes.
? Lead to the EXPANSION of current solutions as new opportunities are identified through an intimate business relationship with the key roles of the customer.
? Proactively qualify, communicate and transition the identified opportunities into Cisco Sales
? Drive the successful introduction of the new solutions based on the customer expected outcomes.
? Establish a common understanding with the customer for the ROI they are receiving from Cisco Solutions as the ADOPTION and EXPANSION strategy is executed.
? Advocate on behalf of the Customer ensuring a superior Cisco experience.
? Follow the execution of the ADOPT and EXPAND motions of Cisco Solutions as described in the documented Playbooks.
Essential Job Responsibilities
ADOPT
1. Account Startup
a. Interlocks with Sales teams to contribute to overall Account Strategy and Planning, especially with respect to the ADOPT and Expand motions.
b. Builds customer relationships with key executives and staff beyond the traditional Network Engineering and Operations customer organizations
c. Create a full customer profile identifying key business needs and priorities.
d. Function as a Strategic Business Advisor to Customer executives leveraging a strong understanding of the Customers’ industry benchmarks, challenges, and available best practices.
e. Define a joint services strategy and statement of future requirements in collaboration with delivery and sales teams
f. Build key pre?sales relationships with Customer’s Senior Management. Aligns Cisco Services offers with the people, processes, and tools in support of the customer’s business strategy and vision.
2. Deployment of the Solution.
a. In conjunction with the account teams negotiate, document and communicate a governance structure for the account, ensuring all parties (Cisco, partner, and customer) understand their respective accountabilities within the customer relationship.
b. Collaborate with Services Delivery in the initial deployment of the Solution.
3. Enablement of the Solution
a. Understand the customer’s changing business environment, and critical needs.
b. Understand the customer’s business practices/procedures, business drivers, and corporate culture.
c. Understand the customer’s business vertical, goals, services requirements, and performance expectations.
4. Facilitate Consumption.
a. Ensures that assigned customers evolve and adopt a Smart Solution based operations model based on the Cisco Services Lifecycle Model and One Services Portfolio.
b. Develops a services blueprint and roadmap in alignment with customer needs and business priorities.
c. Collaborates with customers to maximize the business value from Cisco architectures and services through continual operational improvements in people, processes, and tools.
d. Identifies customers’ services adoption inhibitors, then create and execute a plan to drive customer success.
e. Align activities to support customer specific KPIs
f. Improve value of Cisco services to the customer through focused best practices leverage.
5. Measure impact
a. Provide explicit metrics?based support for the ADOPT and EXPAND service sales functions, review regularly with the customer.
b. Manage improvement in number and percentage of Cisco recommendations implemented by the customer (i.e. via NOS deliverables)
c. Improvement in adoption metrics as defined in the Adopt & Expand playbooks (logins, etc)
d. Through the use of metrics, drive ADOPTION of SNTC, NOS, Software, Cloud and XaaS and other suitable subscription offerings.
e. Drive a strategy to increase customer ADOPTION from SNTC and NOS services offerings as measured through metrics
6. Report
a. Ensure continued alignment of the Cisco Services efforts and objectives with those of the delivery, product and services sales teams.
b. Drive Executive Business Reviews with the customer to ensure services adoption, alignment with customer business needs, and outcomes through the use of metrics. Communicate output with the broader team.
7. Identify Opportunities.
a. Identification and Development of New Business Opportunities.
b. Match customer requirements with strategic offerings
c. Maintain an intimate understanding of major account strategies and Cisco products and services, support capabilities and limitations.
d. SFDC pipeline contributions for expansion from supported offers
EXPAND
1. Leverage Opportunities
a. Drive efficiencies in the Planning, Building and Managing of services and network related activities to support expansion opportunity development
b. Drive and innovate new competitive advantages
c. Develop the customer specific roadmap of which services may be offered and in what order ? based on the Plan, Build, Manage lifecycle
d. Leverage customer relationships in supporting Cisco Service and Product Sales
2. Make use of triggers and analytics
a. Provides value realization of solutions delivered to ensure optimal penetration and identify up?sell opportunities.
b. As a support member with Service Sales, will identify services expansion opportunities based on customer’s evolving needs (business requirements, expansion, industry challenges, reductions, proactive vs. reactive needs, etc.)
Skills; Abilities; Core Competencies
? 12+ years of relevant industry experience, senior management experience within a technical organization preferred.
? Executive level communication, consultative and presentation skills are essential.
? A proven track record in business analysis and translating customer needs into a high level statement of requirements for internal product/service package alignment.
? Strong awareness of Cisco, including both the company and solution offers
? A sound knowledge of telecommunications and internetworking technology
? Must have a demonstrated ability to accurately perceive customer and internal relationships as well as an intense desire to turn negatives into positives on behalf of Cisco
? An entrepreneurial approach to business and the ability to establish a holistic business view is essential
? Proven track record in contributing to the establishment of new organizations, procedures, and offerings
? Team?building, organization and time management skills are required
? Should be accustomed to working effectively within all levels of an organization
? Ability to align Cisco Services with customer at a business level
? Value messaging and management, sales skills/experience, driving strategic change/improvements for customer and Cisco
? Process development, consulting or technical services experience required
? Skilled in leadership and influence of virtual, cross?functional teams, with , program management, and quality management experience preferred
? Diversified customer relationship development and interface management
? Skilled at escalation and issue management and managing customer expectations
? Education or equivalent experience: 4 year Engineering, Computer Science, or Business degree, Masters such as MBA preferred
? Industry certifications a plus (e.g. ITIL, PMP, COBIT, Six Sigma)
