Your champion is on leave, the bill jumped forty percent, and the CFO is calling you directly. He is not interested in your roadmap.
A customer success manager at a collaboration platform.
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.
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.
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.
The objectives for this scenario, and the four axes every customer success call is graded on.
Did they surface the real state of the account — adoption, champion strength, unspoken dissatisfaction — rather than accept 'everything's fine'?
Could they connect what the customer has actually got to what the customer originally wanted, in the customer's own numbers?
Did they ask the uncomfortable one — about the renewal, the quiet users, the new stakeholder — or manage the relationship around it?
Did the account move: a commitment, a plan, an escalation path, or a named risk with an owner?
A real commitment with a date behind it.
No commitment yet, but a specific plan with owners.
A nice call. The risk is exactly where it was.
The account is in trouble and the call did not find it.
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.