A CSQL Playbook for CSMs and AMs

When both CSMs and AMs own the relationship, nothing builds a wedge between those two teams quite like CSQLs (Customer Success Qualified Leads).

Who is responsible for them? Who gets credit? And which team gets compensated? 

These may sound like procedural questions, but they can be a major pitfall for your CSM and AM teams. That’s why we were thrilled to have Linnea Olson and Nina Wilkinson join us for a recent webinar on this very topic. Linnea and Nina are leading experts on scaling CS orgs, so read on to see how your CSMs and AMs can work together rather than against each other.

Meet the Experts

Nina has managed six Customer Success orgs over the years at companies ranging from Series A to D – including standouts like Apollo, Lob, and Canary Technologies. Nina has built CS teams in-house while helping individuals build their CS careers, and now, through ScaleUp CS, she and Linnea partner with B2B companies to build and scale their CS orgs.

Linnea has worked in CS since 2014, managing CS operations at Apollo and Jamf after beginning her career in sales; it was the relationship-based approach to sales that gave her a taste – and love – for the operational side of Customer Success. In addition to working with ScaleUp CS, Linnea heads Customer Experience at When I Work.

Why Does This Matter? Simple: Compensation

Salespeople are great at what they do, and they’re largely motivated by cash. That’s why they’re sales reps, and you can use that to your advantage.

Nina shared an example at a prior company where CSMs were comped on GRR, logo retention, and CSQLs. Every quarter, each CSM had a CSQL target to hit, but they were only compensated based on generating validated CSQLs for the AM team, whether or not those opportunities closed.

There’s a problem here: CSMs did all the legwork to create CSQLs, gift-wrapped them for the AM team, and got crickets in return. AMs weren’t following up because they weren’t the ones comped on it, leading to a serious mismatch in motivations.

Fixing this took two moves:

1. A weekly alignment meeting: The team added a weekly meeting with the head of account management to go line item by line item through every CSQL. In that meeting, they asked for status updates and whether the AM had followed up.
2. A change to AM comp: They changed the AMs' compensation so a portion was tied to completing or securing CSQLs, not just additional closing revenue. There’s data behind this too: Nina asked her analytics team what percentage of CSQLs were closed-won, and the rate was around 93%.

In the end, the CSM team got credit for their hard work, and the AM team prioritized leads that were much more likely to close. All it took was a comp structure that aligned with the right incentives, and direction from leadership.

A 90 Day CSQL Action Plan You Can Follow

Fixing the CSQL handoff is achievable, but it will take work and plenty of communication between your teams. Nina shared a 90-day action plan broken down into three phases:

• Audit and RACI mapping
• Define a handoff structure
• Pilot your rollout and adjust

Audit and RACI Mapping

Nina is a big fan of the RACI framework, which defines who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. 

In other words, who is responsible for CSQLs, who is accountable for the result, who should be consulted during the process, and who needs to be kept in the know. You can read more about this framework in our guide to establishing swimlanes for CSMs and AMs.

For CSQL handoffs, audit your current handoff process and touchpoints, and set a goal that is fair to all parties involved. Narrow those touchpoints so customers don’t have too many people that they are speaking to, and map out responsibilities between your two teams. And don’t forget to talk to your customers. For CS leaders, it’s your job to understand what’s going on and where friction points pop up in your accounts.

Define a Handoff Structure

The handoff is where you lose the most traction. We've all seen a badly thought-out baton pass from sales to onboarding: no notes in HubSpot or Salesforce, no idea what the customer purchased, a contract you have to review with wonkiness and no context. The same applies here.

As a CSM, you're responsible for giving your AM partner as much context and color as possible about the opportunity. You can't just pass the baton and hope they catch it; you need to make sure they're there and understand what they're receiving.

Define your handoff structure clearly, and make sure everyone understands and follows the process.

Pilot Your Rollout and Adjust

Even the best thought-out plan will have a few bumps in the road. Listen for them and adjust as you go. Nina recommends gathering honest feedback as you implement your handoff process, scaling what’s working while addressing what isn’t.

Whether it’s a weekly alignment meeting, a Slack channel to source feedback, or even a simple Google Form, find a way to source feedback from the team. 

Messaging is critical. If you fail to communicate the objective and what you're building between the two teams, you won't get far. People often need to hear things two or three times, and they need to understand why you're enforcing a new process.

Final Tips for CSQL Handoffs

CSMs and AMs play different parts in the same equation, but everyone shares the same result: a healthy customer who stays on the platform and grows their account. Arriving at that side of the equation takes a few shifts in thinking that Nina has seen work well at organizations like Apollo:

• Measure CSQL volume, not just dollars
• Lean into PLG

Measure CSQL Volume, Not Just Dollars

At Apollo, Nina’s team set CSQL volume targets. Each quarter, an enterprise rep with 40 accounts identified five expansion opportunities, regardless of mix or dollar amount. This reinforced the commercial instinct to always look for a way to grow an account and keep the customer sticky.

On the AM side, comp could be tied to CSQL value or deals closed; Nina preferred the latter. It's the same logic as NRR versus GRR: if you only measure on dollars, one big expansion can hide six churns, or a rep might ignore twenty smaller opportunities to chase one big fish. The goal should be how much volume you can actually close, not just the dollar amount.

Lean Into PLG

Let your product do some of the heavy lifting. At Apollo, Nina had both self-serve and human-led upsells. On the PLG side, though, they capped what customers could do themselves before needing to speak to a rep.

CSMs didn't get comped on the PLG upsells. Nina tracked them as a business to see how customers were doing, and they factored into the overall health score. Those increases counted toward NRR if we were targeting it, but CSMs didn't get CSQL credit because they weren't creating the lead.

If you are going to limit what customers can do themselves, position it as "your purchase needs a quick conversation to validate this," or lead with "a purchase of your size is eligible for discounting." That starts a conversation and moves the interaction forward, rather than letting the customer buy silently through the product.

Salaries. Burnout. Secret Job Hunts: Read “The Secret Lives of CSMs” Report

Nothing adds to stress and burnout like fractured team relationships and stepping on everyone’s toes. 

AM and CSM relationships don’t have to be that way, though. And dare we say, the two teams can even enjoy working together? It all starts with clear responsibilities, communication, and hand-offs. 

CSMs today have a lot more on their plates than that, though. And we wanted to know what. That’s why we surveyed 679 B2B Customer Success Managers about the things they only discuss behind closed doors: salaries, burnout, and the love/hate relationship with their jobs.

“The Secret Lives of CSMs” explores the unvoiced concerns and day-to-day experiences of today’s Customer Success Managers with no sugar-coating whatsoever. Through original research and first-hand quotes, we sought to offer an in-depth look at the challenges, triumphs, and internal dialogues of B2B CSMs from their perspective.

Click the button below to download the report.