CSMs vs AMs: How to Build Swimlanes Without Stepping on Toes

In a rivalry that could stand up against the World Cup final, it often feels like CSMs and AMs compete with each other rather than work together.

It’s natural. Both feel responsible for the account relationship and are held accountable for their accounts' success. But if your CSMs and AMs do not work in sync, customer relationships will fracture, and revenue opportunities will slip through the cracks. These two parts of your org can work together, and with minimal tears. 

It’s simply a matter of defining your swimlanes to ensure no toes get stepped on. Linnea Olson and Nina Wilkinson are the leading experts in leveling up CSM teams through ScaleUp CS, and we were lucky enough to have them on a recent webinar on this very topic. Read on to see how your CSMs and AMs can work together and have smoother hand-offs.

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 partners 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. Currently, Linnea heads Customer Experience at When I Work.

The Biggest Post-Sale Pain Points

Nina kicked things off on our webinar asking where CSM and AM relationships run into tension the most. Which of the following rings true for your team?

• Customers are confused about who to call
• Internal friction or competition over deals
• Expansion opportunities slipping through the cracks
• Teams operating in data silos

If any of these sound familiar, you’re not alone. 41% of our webinar participants mentioned operating in data silos, and 30% shared that expansion opportunities slip through the cracks. There is a fix, and it’s much simpler than you’d think.

The Cost of Chaos Between CSMs and AMs

The broken relationship between AM and CSM teams is an org problem, not a people problem. 

Left unchecked, the CSM and AM relationship can be defined as a three-ring circus. Customers receive emails from two different places, have multiple meetings thrown on their calendar, and end up confused at best or annoyed at worst. 

Nina has had CSMs and AMs arguing with each other in conference rooms over who gets what, leaving her to break up the disagreement. Not fun. This is what happens, though, when CSMs and AMs compete instead of collaborate.

And there’s a real cost to it: 15-30% of your expansion revenue is lost when your CSM and AM teams are competing, not collaborating, and not talking about those opportunities. Nina has seen that translate to up to $2M in ARR at risk, all because of poor communication. 

The fix is simple: communicate better. In practice, you need to draw clear lines and responsibilities for each team.

How to Draw Lines Around CSM and AM Handoffs

You can fix this three-ring circus between AMs and CSMs by building clear swimlanes for each team. 

Many companies view their CSMs as the health guardians. CSMs are treated as the defensive team that manages relationships, watches out for churn signals, and ensures customers get value from the product. In other words, they protect the new business that you’ve won. AMs, on the other hand, are seen as the offensive team. They’re the growth catalysts, growing what’s already working to expand existing business.

In theory, these two teams should operate in sync: CSMs activate and protect new business, AMs expand existing business. How do you ensure that happens?

Follow the RACI matrix. 

The RACI matrix is a project management tool that maps project tasks against team roles. It stands for:

• Responsible - Who is responsible for doing the work? For CSMs, that would cover onboarding, EBRs, and health monitoring.
• Accountable - Who owns the outcome? You need clear definitions for each team so they know what numbers they own.
• Consulted - Who gets to weigh in on the decision before you make a plan to interact with a customer?
• Informed - Who needs to be kept in the know? Often, this will be leadership and other teams, not just your CSM and AM teams.

For example, CSMs are responsible for a clear CS task like onboarding, but for commercial negotiations, a CSM might be consulted but not necessarily fully responsible. A CSM could be consulted, though, as they will have the account history, product activation data, and support sentiment all at their fingertips. (If you use a CSP like Vitally to bring all that data together in one system, this can help streamline the swimlanes even further by giving your CS and AM teams access to the same customer data.)

For each responsibility your teams think they own, run down the list and ask who is actually responsible, who is held accountable for the results, who should be consulted, and who should be informed. 

Note that there will be times where the same person will be responsible and accountable. For example, an AM is going to be responsible for commercial negotiations and probably accountable for the outcome of the deal. In contrast, a CSM will be responsible for flagging CSQLs (Customer Success Qualified Leads), but the AM will be accountable for closing the deal.

Don’t be deceived by how simple this framework seems. 

Without clear swimlanes, your teams will bounce around like a three-ring circus, with no clear point of contact for a customer. With the RACI framework, your CSMs and AMs can work in harmony, handing off customers as they meet adoption milestones to protect and expand every account.

Salaries. Burnout. Secret Job Hunts: Read The Secret Lives of CSMs report

There’s nothing that 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 present an in-depth understanding of the challenges, triumphs, and internal dialogues of B2B CSMs from their perspective.

Click the button below to download the report.