We are seeking an experienced and consultative Principal Customer Success Manager (CSM) to lead strategic engagements with a portfolio of high-value customers. In this role, you will serve as a trusted advisor to stakeholders at all levels, including the C-suite, ensuring customers realize sustained business value from our solutions. You will leverage your deep solution expertise and industry knowledge to identify opportunities, propose tailored strategies, and guide customers toward achieving and expanding their desired outcomes. As a senior leader in customer success, you will proactively manage escalations, foster executive relationships, and champion innovation to support customers' evolving business needs across the lifecycle.
WHAT YOU'LL DO- Maintains a strong understanding of the company's solutions and emerging cybersecurity trends to offer valuable insights to customers and protect their interests.
- Provides expert guidance on product capabilities, ensuring solutions are customized to fit customer-specific needs and industry requirements.
- Prescribes the adoption and use of product features, functionality, and services to help customers achieve their desired outcome goals.
- Clearly articulates the return on investment (ROI) and long-term business impact of the company's solutions to help customers achieve their strategic objectives.
- Establishes and manages the customer journey, ensuring each phase-from onboarding to renewal-drives satisfaction, adoption, and retention.
- Understands customers' business drivers and success criteria to develop and advise on tailored Customer Success Plans.
- Develops strategic recommendations based on comprehensive data insights, identifying trends, risks, and opportunities to improve and enhance customer outcomes, guide and influence decision-making and advance customer success strategies.
- Develops and implements tailored action plans based on customer goals, ensuring alignment with both customer objectives and internal business strategies.
- Maintains high customer retention and recurring revenue retention rates.
- Manages customer satisfaction, ensuring an exceptional customer experience throughout the customer lifecycle.
- Creates and maintains referenceable and healthy customers while establishing and maintaining executive-level customer relationships.
- Fosters strong relationships across customer organizations, collaborating with stakeholders from frontline teams to executive leadership to align company solutions with customer goals.
- Partners with executive-level customers to identify business challenges and develop tailored solutions by promoting Fortra offerings.
- Works closely with Sales Engineers and Account Executives to design solutions, create account plans, and identify cross-selling opportunities within Fortra's portfolio to meet performance and revenue targets.
- Ensures customer success by aligning product value with desired business outcomes, fostering long-term partnerships and customer advocacy.
- Delivers clear, impactful presentations tailored to various audiences, ensuring complex topics are understood by both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Actively participates in diagnosing and resolving escalated customer concerns, serving as the leadership focal point for communication of outcomes and troubleshooting in critical situations.
- Manages complex customer relationships with empathy, engaging customers on a personal level to better understand their needs and provide timely solutions.
- Develops and maintains strong relationships with assigned customers, gaining insight into their industry, business, and operations, and serving as a trusted advisor to key influencers and decision-makers.
- Prioritizes customer needs and responds swiftly to any potential risks or challenges, ensuring quick resolution of issues to maintain high satisfaction levels.
- Ensures accuracy and consistency in all customer deliverables, maintaining high-quality standards in both communication and strategy execution.
- Regularly updates CRM and tools with new opportunities, current account details, and other relevant business information.
- Identify and nurture upsell opportunities, collaborating with the sales team to drive additional business from existing accounts.
- Collect and communicate customer feedback to internal teams, ensuring the company's solutions continue to evolve in line with customer needs.
- Responsible for cross-departmental influence with sales, product, and services teams to ensure successful onboarding, proactive support, and alignment of strategic solutions to add significant business value to align with customer requirements and business outcomes.
- Assists CSM team members by sharing best practices and offering guidance to promote high performance within the customer success function. Provides training and mentorship to less experienced CSMs, helping them develop their skills and improve their performance.
- Lead special projects aimed at enhancing customer engagement, optimizing processes, or contributing to broader business initiatives.
- Take ownership of high-value and strategic customer accounts, working closely with these customers to identify opportunities for growth and maintaining executive-level alignment on goals and value.
- Proactively identifies potential churn risks and implements proactive strategies to address them.
- Drives actions with cross-functional teams to resolve critical issues and minimize customer attrition.
- Responsible for Strategic customers customer risk mitigation and developing and executing risk mitigation plans to ensure long-term customer retention.
- Develop, implement, and refine best practices, methods, and processes that enhance the efficiency and scalability of the Customer Success team, driving consistency in outcomes across accounts.
- Regularly assess and report on customer health metrics, providing insights on account status, retention risks, and growth opportunities to upper management.
- Develops and executes customer success strategies at the organizational level, working closely with C-suite leaders and managers to ensure alignment with business objectives that will drive key company initiatives, increasing revenue, improving operations, or enhancing customer satisfaction.
- Schedules and leads regular meeting cadence and executive business reviews with customers, focusing on the customer's business and key initiatives, providing product and feature updates on Fortra offerings to deliver on the customer key business objectives and create success plans to outline strategies.
- Ensure key subject matter experts and other relevant stakeholders are engaged to provide the intimate direction needed for the customer's strategic discussions.
- Continuously refine and improve business analysis processes to enhance efficiency and outcomes.
KEY COMPETENCIESInnovation
- Generates creative, solution-focused ideas that drive improvement and add value.
- Challenges conventional thinking, learns from setbacks, and delivers enhanced outcomes.
Accountability
- Takes full ownership to deliver assigned tasks, goals, and outcomes.
- Delivers high-quality work on time, with clear expectations and proactive
communication.
Service Excellence
- Anticipates and responds to customer needs with professionalism, ensuring a positive and solutions-oriented experience.
- Collaborates across teams, applying feedback to continuously improve service quality and satisfaction.
Teamwork
- Works collaboratively with team members to achieve shared goals and support team success.
- Values diverse perspectives and fosters an inclusive, respectful, and collaborative team culture.
QUALIFICATIONS- Minimum length of time in current role: Typically, 10 to 12 years
- Related work experience: 15+ years of related experience in strategic account management/customer success management in a technical environment
- Education requirements: Typically requires a bachelor's degree with 15+ years of experience; or an advanced degree with 12+ years of experience; or equivalent
- Excellent presentation, written, and oral communication skills .
- Possesses strong interpersonal skills, high energy, and enthusiasm, paired with unwavering integrity and authenticity.
- Demonstrates flexibility, results-oriented focus, resourcefulness, and exceptional problem-solving abilities.
- Excels in managing demanding situations and effectively prioritizing tasks.
- Strong organizational and time management skills with the ability to manage multiple projects
- Cross functional leadership and team coordination skills.
- Ability to gain credibility, motivate and provide leadership; work with a diverse customer base; maintain a positive attitude.
- Proven ability to navigate difficult and complex customer concerns with ease
- Creative problem-solver who acts confidently - spearheading solutions to problems that arise
- Proven ability to thoroughly investigate and resolve issues resourcefully before escalating
- Subject matter expert in multiple brands
- Exhibited exceptional negotiation and persuasion skills, combined with unwavering tenacity
- Account ownership and ability to effectively navigate all levels, including executive levels, of client organizations to build strategic, healthy business relationships
- Able and willing to travel on-site for customer visits as required by the business (up to 25%)
- Physical Requirements: keyboarding of 80% per day and primarily phone and computer work
- Analytical mindset: Strong problem-solving and analytical skills with keen attention to detail.
Compensation: 130,000 USD - 150,000 USD
At Fortra, our compensation philosophy prioritizes fair market value and internal equity, aligning with your experience and specialized skill set.
As a full-time, exempt employee at Fortra, you'll enjoy a comprehensive benefits package that includes:
- Health, dental, and vision coverage as of hire
- Immediate enrollment in 401(k), HSA, and FSA plans
- Flexible PTO policy
- Tuition and personal enrichment reimbursement
- Option to enroll in ID Theft Protection Program
At Fortra, work is only part of the story. Explore what Life at Fortra is all about, from perks that support holistic wellbeing to a culture that keeps you connected and empowered to make an impact beyond the job.
Visit our website to learn more about why employees choose to work for Fortra. Remember to connect with us on LinkedIn.
