Networking & earning referrals
Why Traditional Networking Isn't Enough Anymore
Let's be honest - you've probably received dozens of generic LinkedIn connection requests this week alone, and how many of those turned into meaningful professional relationships? Exactly. The CS world has evolved, and your networking strategy needs to evolve with it.
The Hard Truth About Modern CS Networking
Traditional networking advice isn't just outdated - it's actively hurting your chances of landing your ideal CS role. Here's what's really happening in today's CS landscape:
Your potential hiring manager is drowning in connection requests from CSMs. They're not looking for another "coffee chat" - they're looking for someone who can solve their specific challenges. That VP of CS you want to connect with? They're getting pitched by dozens of CSMs weekly, all asking for "15 minutes of their time to learn more about their CS organization."
Why "Spray and Pray" Connection Requests Are Dead
The days of mass-connecting with CS leaders are over, and here's why:
CS leaders now evaluate potential hires based on their problem-solving approach long before a job is posted. When a SAAS company's VP of CS needs to hire, they often already have a mental shortlist of CSMs they've seen in action - people who've demonstrated value in their ecosystem without explicitly asking for anything in return.
Example: Sarah, a CSM at a marketing automation platform, noticed several CS leaders discussing customer health score challenges in a CS community. Instead of direct networking, she wrote a detailed post about how she solved this exact problem, including her methodology and results. Three months later, one of those CS leaders reached out to her about an opening - they'd been following her insights since that post.
The Hidden Value in Your Existing Network
Here's something counterintuitive: your most valuable networking connections aren't the high-level CS leaders you're trying to reach - they're the people already in your orbit who you might be overlooking.
Consider these often-overlooked connections:
The implementation consultants who work with your customers
Technical support specialists who've helped you solve complex customer challenges
Product managers who've collaborated with you on feature requests
Customer stakeholders who've moved to new companies
These connections are pure gold because they've seen your work firsthand and can speak to your specific capabilities. They're also regularly asked for CS recommendations by their networks.
The Ecosystem Approach That Actually Works
Instead of trying to build new connections from scratch, start mapping your product's ecosystem. Here's how:
List out every integration partner your product works with
Identify the CS teams at those partner companies
Map out your customers' tech stacks and the CS teams there
Note which implementation partners work across your industry
Now here's the key - don't reach out to any of them yet. Instead, start engaging where they're already active:
Comment thoughtfully on their customer success discussions
Share insights when they post about challenges you've solved
Offer specific, actionable solutions to problems they mention
Example: Michael, a CSM at a CRM company, noticed a pattern of integration challenges between his product and a popular marketing tool. Instead of networking directly, he created a detailed troubleshooting guide and shared it whenever relevant discussions came up. The CS team at the marketing tool company started referring to his guide, and eventually reached out to collaborate more formally.
Why Your Industry Knowledge Is Your Networking Superpower
The most overlooked networking opportunity? Your deep understanding of specific customer challenges in your industry. Here's how to leverage it:
Document unique customer challenges you've solved
Create frameworks for handling common industry problems
Share your approaches (without revealing confidential details)
Position yourself as a problem-solver rather than a job-seeker
Example: Jennifer specialized in healthcare SaaS and started documenting HIPAA compliance challenges she encountered. She created a sanitized checklist for handling PHI in customer success processes. This became a reference point in healthcare CS circles, leading to natural networking opportunities with other healthcare-focused CS leaders.
The New Rules of CS Networking
Value Creation Before Connection Don't ask for coffee chats. Instead, create something valuable for your target network first. Think guides, frameworks, or solution approaches.
Ecosystem First, Cold Networking Last Focus on building relationships with people adjacent to your current role before reaching out to completely new connections.
Problem-Solving Over Presence Rather than trying to be everywhere, become known for solving specific types of problems in your niche.
Leverage Existing Proof Points Use your current customer success stories (appropriately anonymized) to demonstrate your capabilities rather than just talking about them.
The best networking doesn't feel like networking at all - it feels like collaboration. Your goal is to become known as someone who consistently creates value in your professional ecosystem, not someone who's actively networking.
Next time you're tempted to send that generic connection request, stop and ask yourself: "What value can I create for this person's network first?" That's where real CS networking begins.
Would you like me to continue with the next section? I can focus on the Concentric Circle Strategy next, which provides a systematic approach to mapping and engaging with your professional ecosystem.
Your Inner Circle
Most CSMs make a critical mistake when networking: reaching too far outside their existing sphere of influence. Instead of cold-messaging VPs of CS at target companies, let's focus on the valuable connections already within your reach.
Your Product's Ecosystem: Where to Start
Think of your professional network as a series of expanding circles. The innermost circle—your product's ecosystem—is your most valuable networking asset. Here's how to leverage it:
Integration Partners: Your First Circle
These are the partnerships you're already part of, whether you realize it or not:
Example: Maya, an enterprise CSM at a sales enablement platform, noticed she frequently worked with Gong's CS team on mutual customers. Instead of just handling immediate technical needs, she:
Created detailed playbooks for joint customer success scenarios
Documented common integration challenges and solutions
Built templates for collaborative onboarding processes
Shared anonymized success metrics from joint customers
The result? Gong's CS team began proactively introducing her to other CS leaders in their network. Why? Because she'd proven her value through practical contributions, not networking requests.
Customer Adjacent Teams
Your customers' organizations contain a goldmine of valuable connections you interact with regularly:
Implementation specialists who work across multiple vendors
Business analysts who evaluate and recommend software
Project managers overseeing technology initiatives
Change management teams driving adoption
Real-world tactic: Create a "Tech Stack Success Map" for each major customer. Document:
How different solutions work together
Integration points and dependencies
Success metrics across tools
Common challenges and solutions
Share these insights (appropriately anonymized) with other CS teams in your ecosystem. This positions you as a strategic thinker who understands the bigger picture.
Your Outer Circle
Now that you've built strong relationships within your immediate ecosystem (your inner circle), it's time to expand outward strategically. Your outer circle consists of two powerful groups: technical authorities in your field and hidden industry influencers who can accelerate your career growth.
Where to Focus
Forget being a generalist. Pick one technical area where you can become the go-to expert. This isn't about knowing everything; it's about solving one specific type of problem better than anyone else.
Building Your Technical Authority
Choose one technical challenge that comes up frequently in your role.
Example: James noticed that enterprise customers struggled with API authentication and permissions. Instead of trying to network his way to a better job, he became "the API security guy." Here's exactly what he did:
Wrote a 20-page guide on enterprise API authentication patterns, including exactly how to set up each auth type
Created templates for API security documentation that other CSMs could use with their customers
Built a decision tree for troubleshooting API permission issues
Documented five real case studies of API security problems he solved (with customer names removed)
The result? Within three months, other CSMs started messaging him on Slack asking for help with their API security issues. By month six, he was getting introduced to hiring managers specifically looking for API security expertise.
Strategic Knowledge Creation
Don't create generic "thought leadership" content. Instead, create practical resources that help people solve real problems:
Step-by-step guides for fixing specific technical issues
Templates that save people time in their daily work
Real examples of problems you've solved (with sensitive details removed)
Checklists that help prevent common mistakes
Real-world tactic: Pick the most painful technical problem you've solved recently. Write down every single step you took to solve it. Include:
The exact error messages you saw
Screenshots of the problem (with sensitive info removed)
The specific steps you took to fix it
How to prevent it from happening again
Hidden Influencers Network
Forget trying to network with VPs of CS. Instead, focus on the people who influence their hiring decisions:
Example: David noticed that implementation consultants often got asked for CSM recommendations. So he created resources specifically for consultants:
A checklist for preventing the top 5 implementation failures he'd seen
Templates for gathering technical requirements from enterprise customers
A guide for running effective technical discovery calls
Real examples of successful implementation plans
These consultants started treating him as a valuable resource rather than just another CSM. When their clients needed to hire CSMs, guess who they thought of first?
Working Out Loud
The strongest professional relationships don't come from polished LinkedIn posts - they come from sharing your real work as it happens. Working out loud means documenting your journey, including the challenges, experiments, and learnings in real-time.
Think of it as inviting others into your work:
Share problems you're actively solving
Document experiments you're running
Ask questions openly
Show your results (good and bad)
The key? Share as you work, not just final results. Build relationships through real problem-solving, not just networking.
50 Ways to Grow And Engage Your LinkedIn Network
How to Structure Your Posts
Instead of just listing what you did, use this format:
Hook with a specific moment: "Last week, a customer asked me a question that made me completely rethink our onboarding process..."
Share the challenge: "We were following the standard playbook: technical setup, training, go-live. But enterprise customers weren't launching on time..."
Describe your process: "Instead of adding more steps, we stripped everything back to basics..."
Show specific results: "Now our enterprise customers launch 45% faster, and here's exactly what changed..."
End with an invitation: "What's your experience with enterprise onboarding? Have you tried simplifying instead of adding more steps?"
Example Post
After 5 years as a CSM, I thought I knew everything about preventing churn.
Then a customer with perfect health scores cancelled.
Turns out, we were measuring all the wrong things:
High product usage ✅
Regular QBR attendance ✅
No support escalations ✅
But we missed the biggest signal: Changes in their tech stack.
Now we track:
New tools they add
Integration patterns
Tech stack review meetings
Result: We spot risks 90 days earlier.
The lesson? Sometimes the best signals aren't in your product.
What unexpected churn signals have you discovered?
Remember: Always focus on the specific learning or insight that would actually help another CSM. Don't just share for the sake of sharing.
Who to Follow on LinkedIn for Inspiration
Sometimes, the best way to get better at posting is to follow those who do it very well. Here are some people to follow on LinkedIn:
Communities to Join
Find your people in these communities.
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