Are you tired of being seen as "super support" instead of a strategic business partner? 

For too long, Customer Success Managers (CSMs) have had a brand problem, focusing on “helping” customers without explicitly tying their efforts to the financial and strategic outcomes that truly matter to the board. 

The truth is, until you can talk about revenue, margins, and asset efficiency, you're not speaking the language of value.

In this article, I'm going to pull back the curtain on how money flows within your customer’s organization – from the shareholders down to the day-to-day operations. You'll get three powerful frameworks to reframe your conversations, transforming you from a helpful vendor into an indispensable advisor who guides customers to increased shareholder value.

The shift from “helper” to business partner

A lot of CSMs feel like Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire (1996), screaming at Cuba Gooding Jr.’s character, Rod Tidwell: "I am out here for you! You don't know what it's like to be me out here for you." It's an exhausting, pride-swallowing siege. 

But here’s the problem: that "help me help you" mentality, while well-intentioned, is part of our brand problem in customer success. We turn up and tell customers we’re here to help, but that makes us sound like Support.

Framing your value as an outcome

Instead of being the help, start positioning yourself as the customer’s business partner.

When you're a business partner, you’re now delivering outcomes, not just providing super support. The goal is to move past simply showing customers how your platform works and, instead, showing them how they’re going to meet their board's objectives. That’s where you start delivering real value.

We need to be the ones joining the dots, guiding the customer's journey directly to shareholder value. Don’t show them the software; show them the money. If you truly understand the flow of money, you understand the business.

Understanding the board's long-term strategy

Rule number one in business is: follow the money. The factors that affect your customer’s business are what their board thinks about every day. 

The board's primary task is the long-term viability and survival of the company. They're always looking down the road, asking, "What’s coming for us next?" – a lesson learned by companies like IBM, which had to reinvent itself multiple times, moving from cash registers to typewriters to personal computing.