In this episode of Mastering CS: Candid Leader Insights, Irina Cismas talks with José Miguel Longo, Enterprise Customer Success Manager at Gravyty, a platform that helps universities and nonprofits stay close to their alumni and donors. After more than 16 years in higher education, including running a career services office, José moved into SaaS during the pandemic to build a more scalable impact.
He explains why trust and transparency are the foundation of every partnership, why the customer journey starts long before onboarding, and how sales, implementation, and CS should work together through detailed handoffs. He also shares how he uses deeper discovery when customers can’t articulate their goals, how he builds stickiness after implementation, how he uses AI to work smarter, and why staying curious and adaptable matters more than ever.
What You’ll Learn
- Why trust, transparency, and owning mistakes build stronger partnerships
- Why the customer journey starts with sales, before onboarding begins
- How to structure handoffs between sales, implementation, and CS
- The questions to ask at kickoff to uncover goals for the first 90 to 120 days
- How to use deeper discovery when customers can’t articulate their goals
Key Insights & Takeaways
Know who you’re talking to. Points of contact, decision makers, and stakeholders each play a different role, and engaging each one correctly is key.
Transparency builds long-term trust. Communicating when something isn’t working may sting at first, but it strengthens the partnership year after year.
The relationship starts before onboarding. Sales lays the foundation, and how sales, implementation, and CS work together determines success after implementation.
The handoff is critical. Detailed notes and a dedicated meeting between the AE, implementation lead, and CSM prepare everyone for a strong kickoff.
The CSM owns the context. It’s the CSM’s responsibility to fill in gaps before meeting the customer, not the customer’s job to repeat everything.
Podcast transcript
Intro
Irina (0:00 – 0:29)
Welcome to Mastering CS Candy Leader Insights, the podcast where we dive into the world of customer success with industry leaders. I’m your host, Irina Chismash, and today I’m joined by José Miguel Longo, Enterprise Customer Success Manager at Gravyty, a platform for universities and non-profits to stay close to their alumni and donors. José, I’m really happy to have you here.
Thanks for joining.
José Miguel (0:30 – 0:32)
Thanks so much for having me. I’m super excited to be here with you.
From Higher Education to Enterprise CS
Irina (0:34 – 0:45)
You ran a career service office before you moved into SaaS, and now you are an enterprise CSM. Paint me the picture. What does your day look like, and who are your customers?
José Miguel (0:47 – 1:44)
Yes, that’s a great question. I shifted from higher education, which is where I spent a huge part of my career, a little over 16 years, and I still have my feet dipped in there. I transitioned literally during the pandemic, at a time when the world was really scary, out of a need to expand my skill set, challenge myself in my work, and have a stronger impact.
And what I do as a customer success manager is just that. It’s a scalable impact, where I’m supporting a lot of institutions in their missions, goals, and objectives for what they’re looking for from a software product. As a CSM, the day-to-day is really about engaging and building relationships, ensuring customers feel supported, listening a lot to understand their pain points, understanding their goals and objectives, and bringing that to the table in each conversation I have in supporting my partners.
Keeping Partners Feeling Supported
Irina (1:46 – 1:50)
And right now, what’s the one thing you are trying to move the most? What keeps you up at night?
José Miguel (1:52 – 2:58)
I wouldn’t say it keeps me up at night, but I think an important part of my day-to-day is ensuring my partners feel supported in how we work with them, and building a stronger relationship that’s not just a partnership, but lets them know we’re here for them. That’s oftentimes challenging in a CSM function, because you have folks who are points of contact, folks who are decision makers, and folks who are stakeholders. Understanding where each of those individuals plays a part in the relationship can get murky, but being able to engage and know who you’re speaking to and who your audience is key.
Having spent five years now, maybe six at this point, working in the SaaS space, I wouldn’t say I’ve perfected that, because there’s always something to learn, but I feel like relationship building has become quite a strength for me. I really enjoy the partnerships and relationships I’ve formed with many of my partners.
The Foundation of a Strong Partnership
Irina (2:59 – 3:10)
Speaking of this, what’s the foundation of a solid partnership? What do you have to build it on or what does it take to get there?
José Miguel (3:11 – 3:55)
I love this question, and I always get asked it in interviews. I think it really comes down to trust and communication: having a transparent relationship and owning it when there’s a fault. If something is wrong or not going well, being able to communicate that with a partner will serve you better in the long term. Yes, it will sting in the beginning, because, I wouldn’t say it’s admitting fault, but you don’t want to be the one communicating that something isn’t working right.
Having transparency and continuous communication is key. I think that’s what builds a stronger partnership year after year and keeps that partner coming back to continue the relationship.
Why the Customer Journey Starts Before Onboarding
Irina (3:56 – 4:23)
How would you define good onboarding? What are the things that are important, and is onboarding as important in your case? I know onboarding is usually an important phase that defines the relationship. Do you agree with this? Is relationship building part of onboarding, or does it start prior to onboarding?
José Miguel (4:25 – 6:21)
Great questions. I’ll first hit on the part that it does start prior to onboarding when you look at the customer journey. The sales team is essentially laying the foundation of what that relationship is going to look like before it transitions to an implementation team or a person responsible for onboarding, and then to customer success. How the team at the organization works together cohesively to support that customer journey determines what success will look like post-adoption or post-implementation. So yes, the first part does start prior to onboarding.
Now, that handoff is critical. And I’ll say it again: it’s critical to the success of a customer. You need to ensure that the account executive or sales representative who explained the product the customer is buying is part of the conversations during the handoff to the implementation team. You want to ensure the customer understands what they’re committing to for the foreseeable future. The implementation team is then key to ensuring the customer success team knows the pain points, the client’s goals, and their concerns.
But what I think makes the relationship unique is that those three teams should work collaboratively to support the customer journey. The CSM should be part of some of the implementation and onboarding sessions, at least in the beginning. And the salesperson should continue to communicate with the customer to understand whether any questions were left out while they’re going through implementation, at least in the initial touchpoints during the first couple of weeks of that journey.
Aligning Sales, Implementation, and CS
Irina (6:23 – 6:59)
You mentioned something important: internal team alignment. I think in most cases this is underestimated, or people are under the false impression that if they meet, stay in meetings, and talk, they are aligned. In reality, alignment doesn’t mean more meetings. So I’m curious, what’s the formula? How do you build a solid foundation for internal team collaboration? How do you team up internally? What needs to happen?
José Miguel (6:59 – 7:02)
Yeah, that’s such a… Oh, go ahead. Sorry.
Irina (7:02 – 7:13)
Also, when, and I’m going to add on top of this, when in some cases, sales implementation and customer success have different objectives, I would say.
José Miguel (7:15 – 9:23)
Yes, they almost always do. The reality is that these teams are intended to work as cross-functional collaborators. That should be a key word in every conversation or discussion across any CS team: identifying ways to work with implementation, with product, with marketing, and identifying a cadence to communicate with sales.
What I think is instrumental to that foundation, for internal stakeholders and for the success of a customer journey from the sales transaction to closing, implementation, onboarding, and the CSM handoff, is detailed notes that support each person who is part of that conversation. Once an account is handed off, the person taking it on should already have met with the salesperson or the implementation person to know what is happening, when, and how it’s being communicated with the customer, along with filling in any gaps and questions so they can be the most knowledgeable professional in their role. It is your sole responsibility to do that.
Personally, if I’m being handed an account, I make sure the AE, the account executive, hosts a meeting between the implementation manager or implementation lead and myself to give us as many notes and as much context as possible around that customer journey. That way, we know what questions to ask when we host the kickoff call.
I’m always focused on understanding: why did they choose us as a vendor? What was the journey that led them to us? And I always like to ask: what are the first key goals you’re looking for in your ROI in the first 90 to 120 days? That then tells me what I have to do, what my responsibility is in this relationship, and what I need to ensure success for.
When Customers Can’t Articulate Their Goals
Irina (9:25 – 9:49)
And what if the customer isn’t able to clearly articulate his goal for those 90 to 120 days? Because or what if he is interested more on ticking some boxes rather than make a connection between the tool they are implementing and the business objectives?
José Miguel (9:50 – 11:05)
That happens frequently. Sometimes it’s based on need, not on ROI or a particular journey, because they just saw that the product was going to work for them and solve a problem. But I always go back to the initial question: what led you here?
Going backwards in that journey helps when they don’t know how to answer the question. You can pull more information by asking: what was the need for this product on your campus? Who are the end users going to be? Are you measuring the use of this product over a year or six months? Do you have to create some form of annual reporting? How do you expect to engage with your end users to understand whether the product is meeting your needs?
So deeper discovery is the key there, and knowing what questions to ask to build that relationship and rapport. It doesn’t mean you’ll get all the answers in the first call. But you can at least set up a follow-up cadence during or after implementation to come back and say: now that you know the product a little bit more, let’s talk about that question about your next 120 days.
Driving Adoption and Stickiness
Irina (11:08 – 11:41)
How do you make sure that after the initial phase, after the onboarding, they actually adopt the solution into their day-to-day routine? Because this is what guarantees a successful renewal. If they manage to basically integrating and if it becomes sticky.
This is easier said than done. So I’m curious, how do you support your customers into creating this stickiness?
José Miguel (11:42 – 13:02)
Yeah, there’s always stickiness, no matter which way you put it. It’s just a matter of meeting customers where they are, and that’s the key thing in that framework: building a framework that supports your pipeline and your engagement with customers, and establishing a cadence. How frequently are you going to meet and connect with them?
Once the implementation journey is successfully completed, it’s time to be a proactive partner and collaborator in that relationship, so you can identify the stickiness and continue to support it. At the same time, you build a success plan for when they’re in production: what are the key things being assessed? What pain points were acknowledged during the implementation journey?
And then you solidify what the goals are going to look like for the next 30, 60, 120 days, so you can say: okay, in this month’s call, we’re going to discuss this piece, and I’m going to show you some things that can help you in your journey. It’s really about asking the hard questions and living in a consistent discovery mode to build future stickiness and help them become a potential champion.
Tools, Time Blocking, and AI
Irina (13:02 – 13:44)
To be able to focus on the relationship and the human side of things, and to allocate time for listening properly and doing the discovery that enables everything else, you need to leverage the tools and technology around you so you can speed things up and work, I would say, smarter, not harder. So two things. What are the go-to tools that help you stay productive, the ones you can’t live without? And second, how do you leverage AI?
José Miguel (13:45 – 15:05)
I work for an AI company, so I think there’s an obvious answer there. But at the same time, for me, it’s about how I prioritize and spend my time, and what I set up calendar blocks for to keep me on track with what I’m trying to pursue.
I create calls to action that I look at weekly for each of my partners, based on where they are in my pipeline. I use tools within my calendar and email to keep abreast of what’s happening and know when and how to respond. And I leverage AI by using the different tools available to us.
One of my favorite tools right now is Claude. I know there’s been a lot of conversation about Claude in the media recently. As an AI company, and to know how to maximize the tool itself, I spend a lot of time training myself and going through certification programs to understand how to create a really good prompt that gets a positive end result and output. So, to your point, that ensures I’m maximizing my time and spending it in the right places, while working smarter, not harder.
The Skill That Matters Most Today
Irina (15:05 – 15:18)
You coach people through career changes. You’ve been a CSM at three different products now. What’s the skill that matters most today than when you started?
José Miguel (15:19 – 16:28)
That’s a really good question. I think it’s always about meeting people where they are. I don’t know if that’s a skill per se, but being constantly in discovery mode is transferable to every opportunity and role I’ve had in my career. It’s about listening and curiosity, while being adaptable and sometimes asking really hard questions. It’s also about always being ready to dig into the next piece that may create some friction, knowing that you have to get uncomfortable to dig deeper. Sometimes those conversations become more meaningful because you push someone to be more open to a discovery or a conversation that may be hard for them.
It’s also about being able to build a story that helps the other person in the conversation gain value from the relationship we’re trying to build, and potentially solving some really complex problems along the way.
Learning to Ask for Help
Irina (16:29 – 16:41)
You’ve been a career service director, a coach, and a CSM. Is there a habit, a way of thinking, or something you learned the hard way early on that still shows up on how you run accounts today?
José Miguel (16:42 – 18:21)
For me personally, it really comes down to sometimes not asking for help when I need it. It’s just a trait. I think it’s how I grew up and how I was raised. I was raised to figure it out first before asking for anything, and sometimes I spend too much time in that figuring-it-out phase before I ask for help.
But what has really helped me in my career over the last 20-plus years is staying curious and being adaptable. For any role that deals with education, partnerships, and relationship building, it’s about listening closely, asking really good questions in your conversations, and always being adaptable to what needs to be done next.
That flexibility is especially important as a CSM, because you never know what the next call with a partner may be like. You never know what your team needs from you to be a supportive colleague and collaborator. And you never know what your product may end up doing that you’ll need to pivot and communicate. So being adaptable is extremely important in my day-to-day.
It also carries over to how I work with my coaching clients and as a consultant. I can spend hours and days preparing for a meeting with a prospective client, and that requires me to always be listening for key themes that show up in conversations. It’s the same thing that applies to being a CSM.
Irina (18:21 – 18:32)
This was a really interesting conversation. And thank you so much for taking the time to share your story with our audience today.
José Miguel (18:33 – 18:41)
Thank you so much for having me. This was great. And I really appreciate the opportunity to be in front of your audience and to share a little bit about my journey and what I do every day.
Irina (18:41 – 18:48)
To everyone listening, thanks for tuning in. Until next time, stay curious, keep learning and mastering customer success.
