What does a client success manager do?
The role of a client success manager is to work closely with clients to ensure that they are receiving the right support and tools they need to achieve their goals. You will typically perform a few tasks, which include advising clients on purchasing decisions and onboarding new customers the following purchase, advocating for the company, and following-up on renewals to maintain customer retention and loyalty. As a client success manager, you must encourage upselling and cross-selling to maximize a customer's lifetime value.
Client success manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real client success manager resumes:
- Perform client set-ups and manage work flow through SalesForce.
- Lead the overall client program management function providing leadership, coordination and management of PMO activities.
- Manage partner relationship with EMC and develop go-to-market strategies.
- Lead tool workshops to maximize CSM communication efficiency both internally and externally.
- Represent major OEM brands i.e.
- Build JavaScript libraries and design site enhancements.
- Maintain various points of data in CRM records.
- Consult with clients to establish critical goals, KPIs, and timeframes.
- Increase CRM suite solution adoption, expansion, and upgrades with all clients.
- Work with internal Facebook team on administrative processes in relation to business pages.
- Advise brands on competitive intelligence, ad performance, media strategy and conversion analytics.
- Identify and implement HTML architecture changes within client sites to improve their natural search.
- Deliver value and in-depth ROI metrics to prospects/clients to prove value of solution and investment.
- Promote a franchise business model and strategies for improving productivity and ROI to home service contractors.
- Mature over $225K in revenue opportunities from support and product analysis through SaaS third party solutions.
Client success manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Client Success Managers are proficient in Client Facing, Client Satisfaction, and Cloud. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Leadership skills, and Analytical skills.
We break down the percentage of Client Success Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Client Facing, 12%
Serve as escalation point for client facing issues by speaking with clients directly to understand and resolve concerns.
- Client Satisfaction, 9%
Provide strategic and tactical recommendations to clients to ensure efficient use of company software and maximize client satisfaction.
- Cloud, 8%
Act as primary point of contact and liaison to Enterprise clients on Oracle Service Cloud's best practices.
- Project Management, 7%
Participated in the project management of setting up initial company site and importing information into software for hundreds of individual companies.
- Customer Satisfaction, 7%
Managed over fifty client relationships, drove customer adaptation, provided digital marketing consultation and increased revenue and customer satisfaction.
- Account Management, 7%
Provide a disciplined approach to account management including regular governance calls and quarterly business reviews with the customer team.
Common skills that a client success manager uses to do their job include "client facing," "client satisfaction," and "cloud." You can find details on the most important client success manager responsibilities below.
Customer-service skills. One of the key soft skills for a client success manager to have is customer-service skills. You can see how this relates to what client success managers do because "when helping to make a sale, sales managers must listen and respond to the customer’s needs." Additionally, a client success manager resume shows how client success managers use customer-service skills: "managed portfolio of 50+ enterprise customer relationships for social campus connectivity product, on facebook platform. "
Leadership skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling client success manager duties is leadership skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "sales managers must be able to evaluate how their sales staff performs and must develop strategies for meeting sales goals." According to a client success manager resume, here's how client success managers can utilize leadership skills in their job responsibilities: "recognized with a technology business management analyst certification and with an it leadership business review certification. "
Analytical skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of client success managers is analytical skills. This skill is critical to many everyday client success manager duties, as "sales managers must collect and interpret complex data to target the most promising geographic areas and demographic groups, and determine the most effective sales strategies." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "matured over $225k in revenue opportunities from support and product analysis through saas third party solutions. "
Communication skills. For certain client success manager responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "communication skills." The day-to-day duties of a client success manager rely on this skill, as "sales managers need to work with colleagues and customers, so they must be able to communicate clearly." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what client success managers do: "demonstrated customer service, good organization and communication skills. "
The three companies that hire the most client success managers are:
Compare different client success managers
Client success manager vs. Manager, sales person
A sales and event manager is responsible for overseeing event planning and preparations intended for marketing and sales purposes. Sales and event managers handle the contracts with suppliers and third-party vendors for equipment and materials to be used during the event. They also finalize the guests' list, as well as managing digital promotional content and announcements for public awareness. A sales and event manager works with the public relations team for press releases and media communications, attracting potential clients, and identifying opportunities to increase revenues.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a client success manager are more likely to require skills like "client facing," "client satisfaction," "cloud," and "project management." On the other hand, a job as a manager, sales person requires skills like "strong customer service," "payroll," "product knowledge," and "retail sales." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
The education levels that managers, sales person earn slightly differ from client success managers. In particular, managers, sales person are 4.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a client success manager. Additionally, they're 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Client success manager vs. Sales and event manager
The account sales manager is in charge of the retention of their customer relationship. They have to supervise the portfolio of existing clients, develop new business with them, and seek new sales opportunities. Account sales managers act as liaisons between the company and customer as well as build strong, long-lasting relationships by providing an improved customer experience. It is their responsibility to negotiate contracts and close deals to maximize sales profits. Also, they forecast track sales results and prepare reports on account status.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, client success manager responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "client facing," "client satisfaction," "cloud," and "project management." Meanwhile, a sales and event manager has duties that require skills in areas such as "event planning," "booking," "event management," and "guest satisfaction." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, sales and event managers earn a lower salary than client success managers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, sales and event managers earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $49,461. Whereas client success managers have higher pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $79,560.sales and event managers earn similar levels of education than client success managers in general. They're 4.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Client success manager vs. Sales lead manager
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a client success manager is likely to be skilled in "client facing," "client satisfaction," "cloud," and "project management," while a typical sales lead manager is skilled in "sales floor," "merchandise flow," "payroll," and "bank deposits."
When it comes to education, sales lead managers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to client success managers. In fact, they're 4.9% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.7% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Client success manager vs. Sales account manager
Types of client success manager
Updated January 8, 2025
