20 Customer Success Interview Questions to Ask Your Next Candidate

出色的客户成功经理（CSM）必须是万事通。

当然，他们专注于客户服务 - 既可以提供反应性客户支持，又可以主动为客户提供解决方案和策略。但是，除了所有这些技能外，CSM还需要在内外学习产品或服务以回答问题。他们需要能够写有用的电子邮件，knowledge base content发送给客户。最重要的是，他们需要能够导航有关畅销和交叉销售。

ph。全天工作，对吗？

这一水平的多学科专业知识需要一系列技能和特征，团队负责人应在所有CSM访谈中进行筛查。可以教授产品详细信息和电子邮件最佳实践，但是情绪智力和其他性格特征是为您的团队添加新CSM的必要交易。继续阅读以了解所有CSM所需的技能，以及要问哪些面试问题来评估您的下一个候选人。

1. Empathy

为了帮助客户，日复一日和日复一日，CSM绝对需要是善解人意的人 -emotional intelligence。

Whether they're answering the same question for what seems like the millionth time, or they'recounseling an angry customer through a pricing change，理解和分享他人感受的能力对于CSM有效地降低了艰难的客户情况，了解客户的目标和期望成果至关重要，并为客户提供公司内部其他团队和部门的倡导。bob全站app

2. Resourcefulness

每天都需要有效解决问题的有效解决方案，也需要一定程度的机智。

CSM需要快速回答客户问题 - 如果他们无法回答他们的问题，他们需要在其他可以的部门中追踪资源或同事。这意味着，潜在的CSM候选人必须表现出愿意和准备跨部门合作的意愿和准备，以及无论大小，能够解决问题的记录。

3.沟通技巧

CSM需要能够与客户，团队成员以及公司内部的其他部门清楚地沟通，以便取得成功。bob全站app

CSMs need to answer questions and teach customers — over the phone, on live chat or email, or in a knowledge base article. They also need to share and teach best practices to other team members — as well as identify trends, feedback, and user data to share with other teams within the organization. Excellent oral and presentation skills are important to evaluate in the interview as well.

4.建立关系

这似乎很明显，但是值得在这里强调：一个好的CSM需要能够建立融洽的关系with just about anyone in order to get the job done. And this is a hard skill to teach.

可以在简短的面试中可以建立融洽关系的友好，开放和真实的个人也可以在更长的客户关系中做到这一点。

5. Technical Acumen

如果他们找到工作，新的CSM将不得不学习如何使用产品或服务，但是在面试过程中，使用（以及解释如何使用）技术的技能水平是有价值的。

Even once they get to an expert level with the products and technologies a company uses, a CSM will need to break it down from the beginning for new customers, or customers thataren'tas technologically savvy — so being able to use和explain different technologies will be key.

6.自我激励

CSM应该是不需要要求额外的英里或排名110％的人。聆听答案，这些答案表明候选人何时超越了问题，以解决问题并为客户获得答案 - 或示例候选人何时花费更多时间和精力来帮助CSM或销售代表以实现他们的共同目标。

Now that we've outlined the skills you should be looking for in a candidate, let's review the questions you should ask during an interview.

客户成功面试问题和答案

以下是在客户成功面试中要问的最佳问题的列表。我们将解释为什么您应该问这些问题以及应从候选人那里寻求的答案。

筛查同理心

1.您如何向客户传达坏消息？bob官网官方网站

事情发生了。询问候选人他们如何在外交上分享艰难的新闻，同时使客户积极和敬业度 - 或者基于过去的客户支持问题CSM必须解bob官网官方网站决的情况 - 以了解他们适应挑战并反弹的能力。

理想答案：

“I deliver bad news to customers by getting on a Zoom call, if possible, since it's easier to gauge their response when I can see their body language. If Zoom is not an option, I'll communicate this information through a phone call as I feel it's important to deliver bad news in a real-time setting where you can answer questions and provide support immediately."

2.如果您无法立即解决问题，如何与客户沟通？

CSMs can't answer every question right away -—and they can't always promise the customer a solution. Ask candidates their strategies for managing long-term requests and following up with customers — and how they handle letting a customer know if their feedback or request won't be taken into account by the product team.

理想答案：

“我会积极主动地进行交流。如果客户要求不存在的产品功能，我会让他们知道为什么此功能不可用以及他们的选择是什么。如果客户坚持不懈功能，我会与我们的产品团队见面以分享此反馈。

If the product could make the feature, great! I'll share the timeline for when the feature will be created. If not, I'd communicate the reason why to the customer, re-emphasize the alternatives provided earlier, then share some channels they can use to pitch this idea formally to my company."

筛选足智多谋

3. What's the toughest case you've ever handled?

候选人的经验和策略将证明他们解决问题的能力以及他们的沟通和解决冲突技巧。

理想答案：

“One customer called me demanding a refund for their purchase. They were clearly upset because they felt they had purchased the wrong product and that the sales rep they worked with only wanted to close a deal. Thing is, the product they had was exactly what they needed, they just needed to learn how it could help them achieve their goals.

I apologized for the frustration they must have felt and asked them to walk me through the problems they had with the product. Once they shared all of their feedback, I aligned myself by telling them that their concerns were fair and that what they wanted the product to do, it wasn't designed to do it. But, I told them if they used the product slightly differently, they might see different results. I then offered to walk them through how I'd recommend using the product, and it became clear to them that they misunderstood how to properly use our software.

这是清理后,客户很兴奋about using the product moving forward. They decided not to cancel their subscription and we agreed to follow up in a couple of weeks to make sure everything was still going well."

4.您如何与当前职位的销售和产品团队合作？

客户成功专业人员必须与公司各地的其他人进行交流和合作，以完成工作。bob全站app无论是共享产品反馈还是在Upsell上进行合作，候选人都应分享他们的工作流程和跨团队交流的最佳实践，以表明速度，勤奋和协作思维方式。

理想答案：

“I will often refer customers to sales reps if it's clear that there is a product that they but do not currently have. I will only do that, however, if I truly feel that product will help the customer achieve their short- or long-term goals.

如果客户要求我们目前不提供的产品或功能，我将向我们的产品团队报告。他们可能会使用客户可以使用的解决方法，或者他们可能已经从事此新产品或功能。如果是这样，我将与我的客户分享此时间表，让他们知道何时可以看到该产品，服务或功能。“

筛选沟通技巧

5.向我解释[产品功能]如何工作。

这个问题的答案将告诉您两件事：如果候选人在到达之前对您的产品或服务进行了研究，以及他们能够分解复杂的概念并证明价值。

理想答案：

“ HubSpot的Workflow工具可以为您的业务自动化任务。工作流程以客户必须完成的触发器或操作开头。完成后，启动了一系列按时间顺序执行的操作。您还可以在工作流中设置分支机构，该分支在工作流程中充当充当的部门次要触发器。如果客户完成该操作（或未完成），则根据客户的行为而改变工作流程的下一步。”

6.您如何向祖父母解释Twitter？

这个问题与前一个问题相同，但它将揭示候选人分解他们每天可能使用的工具的技能，这是绝对初学者new customer onboardingcalls.

理想答案：

“ Twitter是一个平台，您可以在其中与同行，陌生人和企业分享简短的想法和评论。创建帐户后，您可以自定义个人资料并在Twitter上与其他帐户互动。您共享的消息称为'Tweet Steets'而且这些消息具有设定的字符限制。除非您编写后续推文，否则您将无法超越该限制。

You can also engage with other people's tweets by commenting on them, liking them, or "retweeting" them, which essentially means you're reposting their tweet to your account to show support. Who you can engage with depends on which accounts you're following. You can also use hashtags, too, but we'll get to that later on once you've mastered the basics."

筛选建立关系

7.如何在第一个电话或电子邮件中证明价值？

与新客户的第一个电话是关系未来的关键构建块 - 通常是客户是否会流失或保留的人。

在第一个电话中，CSM必须设置新客户才能开始使用产品或服务，但需要显示与它们合作的价值，以便这种关系将继续增长。理想情况下，CSM将向客户展示一种节省时间或使用产品或服务实现所需结果的方法，然后为下一步的下一步开放对话。

理想答案：

“I demonstrate value by immediately aligning myself with the customer and their goals. I show that I understand what they're trying to achieve as well as the roadblocks they're facing, and that I have the resources they need to be successful. I let them know I'm on their team and I'm available for support in whatever way is needed. This helps build rapport and establishes my value early on in the relationship."

8.让我对我们产品的下一个层级层次销售。

Cross-selling对于任何好的CSM来说，销售是一种微妙的平衡行为。提出一个与客户的目标不符的建议，或者似乎很急躁可能会危害客户关系，甚至可以使客户切换到竞争对手。

要求候选人演示他们如何开始对话将告诉您他们是否理解best practices- 以及CSM在销售过程中的作用。

理想答案：

“我看到您正在使用此产品来吸引您的业务新的领先地位。您感觉如何？从我的角度来看，看起来好像进展顺利，我很高兴看到这种增长。

考虑到这一点，您在我们的关系中与我分享的一个担忧是可扩展性。您已经接近实现目标，但是一旦达到终点线，就不想平稳。我们希望保持增长，以便您可以继续扩展。

我们提供的产品应该帮助您做到这一点。它是针对面临同样挑战的客户，我觉得这正是您继续发展业务所需的。如果您有兴趣，我想与我们的销售团队为您设置一个演示，以查看此工具是否有用。如果是这样，太好了！如果没有，根本不用担心。我只是想牢记您的最大利益。”

筛选技术敏锐度

9.您如何用单句话解释我们的产品或服务？

这个问题测试了候选人为访谈的准备，但这也使他们有机会锻炼他们的沟通技巧和技术肌肉，以准确地解释他们建议的东西，以帮助客户扮演潜在的角色。

理想答案：

“ HubSpot的产品可帮助企业增长更好，更快地扩展速度，而不必雇用那么多员工。”

10.您将如何更改我们的产品或服务？

This is another question that tests the candidate's understanding of the company — but takes it a step further by evaluating how well they understand customers and users, too.

CSM必须解释客户的声音（VOC）和share it with the broader organization, and answering this question will give you an idea of how they'd do that in the role.

理想答案：

“我从在线评论中注意到的一条反馈是，客户正在努力了解如何使用您的某些工具。我注意到您的公司不提供知识库，这可能对需要支持的客户有用，bob全站app但是，不想花时间与您的服务团队寻求帮助。”

筛选自我激励

理想答案：

“我真的很想帮助人们。我一直是团队合作者，每当我帮助他人实现目标时，我总是会感到成就感。”

12.您如何处理拒绝？

在客户成功中工作的人可能面临与销售人员一样多的拒绝。在与客户建立关系之后，甚至可能更难忍受，只是让他们搅动并为竞争产品或服务留下。

通过提出这个问题，您将了解候选人的内在动机以及它们的适应能力。由于停电或竞争对手降低价格，可能会有几个月的时间搅动客户，您需要确保候选人将受到足够的动力，以继续创造性地解决问题以保持一切进展。

理想答案：

“I always take failure as an opportunity to learn and improve myself for next time. If possible, I'll ask for feedback or advice on where I can stand to improve. Then I apply that learning moving forward and move on to the next case."

13. What skills are you hoping to develop in this role?

As with any position at your company, applicants should consider how they'll develop in their role over time. They should be familiar with the skills needed to be a successful CSM and create a roadmap that will outline how they'll acquire those abilities. During their response, pay attention to the skills they describe, as this will outline some of the candidate's weaknesses.

理想答案：

“我真的很想微调我的问题解决和创造性地思考的能力。在面对面的环境中与客户合作应该有助于我发展这些技能，这将帮助我更加精通这个角色。“

Questions to Ask Customer Success Manager (CSM) Candidates

14.您如何衡量当前角色的成功？

The answer to this question will tell you two things: It will tell you how the candidate was evaluated in the past, and what concepts and metrics they're familiar with. It will also demonstrate the candidate's views on individual vs. team success, and how the team's success contributes to business success. You want a CSM who's highly motivated to achieve goals, but is also looking toward making a bigger impact for the team, and for the business as a whole.

理想答案：

“在我目前的角色中，我通过分析客户反馈和定量绩效数据来衡量成功。我总是向客户寻求反馈，因为我渴望听到他们对与我和公司合作的想法。为了更客观的观点，我'bob全站appLL查看我每周捕获多少个案例，我打电话多久一次以及发送给每个客户的电子邮件。这给了我实时数据客户和我团队的目标。”

15. What would you add to our culture, or what would you change about it?

当您雇用管理职位时，您会带来影响您公司文化的人。bob全站app他们负责领先的员工，并确保您的团队达到短期和长期目标。您将要确保他们的理念和方法与您的企业企业文化保持一致。如果没有，将很难激励团队成员并保持员工满意度。

理想答案：

“I would love to add a diversity and inclusion program to your company's culture. This would make everyone feel more involved and appreciated while working on our team. It would also show that we're paying as much attention to our employees' needs as we do with our customers'."

16. How would you prevent customer churn?

As a CSM, your job is to preventcustomer churn。因此，您需要一个热衷的候选人客户保留愿意去above and beyondto retain a user. Consider laying out a mock scenario for your candidate, then ask this question to see what they'd do to ensure the customer reaches their goals.

理想答案：

“我会通过主动与客户进行沟通来防止客户流失。如果我注意到可能阻碍客户无法实现目标的潜在障碍，我将立即伸出援手提供解决方案。我还将跟进以后确保客户确保客户仍然很高兴，我们的解决方案仍然有效。”

17.您将如何降低沮丧的客户？

并非所有客户都擅长接收坏消息。bob官网官方网站有些人将不愿意帮助他们实现自己的目标，这将感到不安。bob全站app在这些情况下，您需要一个可以扩散的CSM生气的user and salvage their customer experience. While your company should always strive for perfection, what matters most is how your success team responds to your organization's mistakes.

理想答案：

“De-escalation starts with aligning yourself with the customer. You need to show that you truly understand why they're upset and what they want to change. If possible, physically align yourself by sitting on the same side of the table as the customer. This symbolically shows that you are on the same side of the issue as they are- 不在相反的地方，在发生摩擦的地方。

一旦对齐，总结了客户的情况。谈论他们想完成的工作，阻止他们的障碍以及他们的选择前进。这将表明您了解他们的案例，并明确潜在的解决方案。您可以推荐一种解决方案，但只有可以将该解决方案绑定到客户的需求时。

解决解决方案后，请务必与客户一起跟进。确保解决方案仍然有效，并在需要时提供后续支持。这种持续的努力将向客户证明您要满足他们的需求。”

18.假设您必须完成多个任务；您如何确定他们的优先级？

This question will help you understand the candidate's ability to manage time. Customer success managers need to be adaptive and capable of changing their routines on the fly. Sometimes they'll provideproactive customer service，而其他时候他们会处理入站服务请求。您的CSM应该能够考虑其所有日常任务，并始终如一地按时完成它们。

理想答案：

“我首先要查看我必须完成每项任务多长时间。将首先要优先考虑更直接截止日期的任务，然后再进行简单，易于完成的任务，我可以在几分钟内完成。保存最复杂的任务，以便我有更多时间专门为它们。”

19. If you saw a customer using more seats than they're paying for, how would you handle it?

This one is a bit of a trick question because there really isn't a right or wrong answer. Instead, this question demonstrates the candidate's ability to think critically about a complicated customer situation.

他们不仅必须考虑他们可以采取的可能行动，而且还必须考虑采取这些步骤时会发生的潜在影响。最好的候选人将为他们如何应对情况以及如何处理可能出现的任何障碍提供全面的细分。

理想答案：

“我要采取的第一步是分析他们的帐户详细信息。我会查看他们已经成为客户多长时间，何时将订阅订阅，他们的每月经常性收入（MRR）是什么，如果他们已经开放了以前的支​​持案例等。这应该使我了解它们对我们公司的价值以及我应该如何最好地处理。bob全站app

如果客户的订阅接近续约，我会让他们知道情况，但是向他们保证，直到即将续签之前，他们的费率才会增加。如果这感觉像是一个问题，我会与客户谈论他们目前的选择- 要么支付更多座位，要么以更少的座椅使用相同的方式来使用相同的使用产品的方式。

如果客户的订阅不接近雷内wal, I would touch base with my team. Since we made the clerical error, it doesn't feel right that the customer has to suffer. I would see if we could continue with their rate until the next renewal. If not, I would be proactive and immediately reach out to the customer to brainstorm solutions."

20.什么反馈会给面试官？

这是另一个面试问题，不一定有正确的答案。相反，这个问题表明了候选人注意并在脚上思考的能力。您想要一个积极倾听并注意重要细节的候选人。通过让他们提供反馈，您可以感觉到他们对客户的阅读和反应能力。

理想答案：

“I would love to see a little more transparency with the interview process. While I feel confident enough to speak to anyone, it would be nice to know how many interviews I can expect to participate in during this process and who those conversations will be with."

Hiring the Right Customer Success Manager

最好的客户成功经理是以客户为中心，善解人意和创造性的问题解决者。在面试过程中，请使用上面的问题列表来有效评估候选人并为您的公司找到合适的人。bob全站app

最初出版于2021年8月4日11:15:00 AM，更新于8月4日2021