Growth and Upselling With Your Team

If your Customer Success team is responsible for driving growth and meeting a quota, it's essential to assess their sales skills and their comfort level with this aspect of the role. Surprisingly, this area often receives the least amount of training, despite its critical importance to the business.

In sales, farming is different from hunting. Successful hunters are skilled at cultivating new relationships, identifying pain points, and offering strong solutions to close deals. Farming, however, involves nurturing existing relationships and finding new opportunities within those relationships. In the context of Customer Success, your team should be experts in understanding the customer’s existing solutions, identifying areas for improvement, and suggesting appropriate solutions.

The old adage, "never sell to an unhappy customer," typically holds true—especially in the farming model. To grow the account, you first need to prove the success of the current product or service, unless there is an immediate and urgent need from the customer. It's about building trust and showing ongoing value.

Given the importance of this aspect of the role, it’s critical that your team receives specific training in sales techniques for account growth. Without it, they may struggle to recognize opportunities or feel uncomfortable in those conversations. By providing the right training and resources, you’ll empower your team to drive revenue and build stronger, more profitable customer relationships.