The CFO on the line
Your champion is on leave, the bill jumped 40%, and the CFO is calling you directly. He is not interested in your roadmap.
The brief
You are
A customer success manager at a collaboration platform.
The situation
Diane Okoro, CFO at Calder & Wren, is on a call you did not schedule. Your champion, Tomás Reyes, went on parental leave three weeks ago. The annual invoice renewed at 84,000 — up from 60,000 last year — and Diane wants to know why before she pays it. Tomás never mentioned a renewal conversation.
What you want out of it
Find out what is actually driving the increase, fix what you can on this call, and keep the account — without promising a discount you cannot give.
What you know going in
- Bill went from 60,000 to 84,000 on renewal.
- Tomás has been the sole contact for two years.
- Seat count in the admin panel shows 210 active users.
- Last quarter's business review was cancelled when Tomás went on leave.
Who is on the other end
Diane
Chief Financial Officer, Calder & Wren
She opens guarded, and she is holding 4 things back — 0 near the surface, 2 that take real questioning, and 2 you will only get to if the conversation genuinely goes well. What they are, and what makes her say them, is the part you have to find. She is not scripted to volunteer any of it.
What the debrief marks
The objectives for this scenario, and the four axes every customer success call is graded on.
Reading the account
Did they surface the real state of the account — adoption, champion strength, unspoken dissatisfaction — rather than accept 'everything's fine'?
Making the value case
Could they connect what the customer has actually got to what the customer originally wanted, in the customer's own numbers?
Asking the hard question
Did they ask the uncomfortable one — about the renewal, the quiet users, the new stakeholder — or manage the relationship around it?
Result
Did the account move: a commitment, a plan, an escalation path, or a named risk with an owner?
How the call can end
Renewal or expansion committed
winA real commitment with a date behind it.
Plan agreed
partialNo commitment yet, but a specific plan with owners.
Pleasant, nothing moved
partialA nice call. The risk is exactly where it was.
Risk missed
lossThe account is in trouble and the call did not find it.
Other customer success calls
Take this call
Handling an executive escalation by diagnosing the account, not defending the invoice. 15 minutes, live voice, and a scored debrief you can replay. The first call is free.