We met up with Totango's own Kirsten Bardwell (CSM), a top record holder for number of touchpoints! She shared her first "a-ha!" moment in Totango and tips for using segments to manage her outreach.
Read more about the conversation below. And join us next time live for Coffee Chats!
1. CS "flavor" wheel
Kirsten is formally known as an "Customer Success Manager," but her role is unique because she's a CSM for Totango. While her goal is to drive outcomes for clients through her own performance, she also takes on all the other roles with her clients, as the CSM for CS—including helping them rally their troops, manage settings, configure, integrations, analyze user behavior, and manage communications at scale.
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"My primary goal is to drive outcomes for my customers, including engagement, timeline superpowers, and updating data." |
Kirsten's "Totango constellation" is well-rounded and over-achieving. No surprise there! 
2. My first Totango "a-ha!" moment was...
Kirsten summarized her moment when she realized the power of Totango's marketplace. After working with a different Customer Success Platform (CSP) that was blank, the difference in using a SuccessBLOC that was pre-configured was clear. Starting with a template, rather than blank space, was key.
"When I [...] went into the canvas to see it all mapped out, I think that's when I really understood the power of Totango—not only in what it could do but the foundation of starting with best practices."
3. How do YOU use Totango?
Kirsten showcased two techniques for how she uses Totango on a daily basis:
Notifications: If you are not filtering your notifications, YOU NEED TO! If you're logging in and seeing hundreds, you must filter to drown out the noise. Kirsten uses these filters: Touchpoints, Milestone Celebrations, Team Notifications, and CSAT/NPS (if available). Then she reviews her agenda to see what is needed for today and what she can complete early. She also keeps in mind her calendar of meetings to manage her time.
My Folder: Keep a numbered list of your most-used segments. Some examples include:
1- My Accounts
2 - My Accounts at Risk
3 - My Accounts in Poor Health
4 - My Accounts w/ Last Touch over 60 days ago
4 - My Accounts w/ Zero TP in 30 days
5 - My key contact campaign bounced
6 - This quarter's renewals
7 - Next quarter's renewals
8 - Possible expansion opportunities
4. Leaving room
Thanks to our coffee chatter friends who sweetened our brew with great questions:
- Crowd-source your CSM team to turn their most-used communications into touchpoint templates (e.g., cancellation notice, meeting summary, etc.)
- The best piece of advice for a new CSM is to use Totango daily! Many of the incredible automations and workflows aren't possible without your consistent efforts at the input.
- Although drafts in tasks aren't saved, you may consider drafting your notes within a task so that you have all the options for follow up within the same screen.
- To share insights with team members who aren't in Totango, consider trying Zoe assistant, integration write-backs, or a Viewer license.