A great customer or client success manager (CSM) needs to be multi-talented. In my opinion, that can make the hiring process a challenge. Great CSMs know how to balance reactive support, proactive positioning of solutions, and strategizing for their customers. They have a vast understanding of your product or service. Plus, they can write helpful emails, coupled with knowledge base content, for their customers.
So, how do you find a person with such a broad skill set who fits the role? That’s where great interview questions come in. In my years working in service, I’ve noticed that the right questions can unlock candidates’ abilities and help you see who’s the best fit.
Keep reading to learn the fundamental skills CSMs need, as well as a list of interview questions you can use in your process.
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100 Customer Success, Service, and Support Interview Questions
Hire the best customer-facing employees with this set of interview questions.
- Customer Support Questions
- Customer Service Questions
- Customer Success Questions
- Customer Success Manager Questions
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What makes a good customer success manager interview question?
A good CSM interview question reflects your business needs — specifically, how the CSM role fits into your products, services, and business model.
Your questions typically need to test for the level of business acumen and any personality traits required to fulfill the CSM role.
Your questions should also evaluate specific hard and soft skills. In some cases, having more technical skills or knowledge is essential. In other cases, technical skills don't matter nearly as much as personal skills.
A CSM handling a complex and high-touch portfolio requires a very different skill set from a CSM working on a low-touch model with customers working with a simpler product.
The profiles would have close to nothing in common (except, of course, that you always need to be a nice person).
Finally, allow your company‘s core values to help dictate what questions you ask. Because you’re really looking for a good teammate that can vibe with the rest of the team, contribute to it, and learn.
TL;DR A good customer success manager interview question reflects:
- Your business needs (i.e., your company's product or service and business model).
- Your company's core values (i.e., accountability).
- Any hard or technical skills required (i.e., analytical skills).
- Any personal or soft skills required (i.e., relationship building).
- The level of business acumen needed (i.e., the ability to align complex customer needs with company goals).
- The personality traits necessary to fulfill the role (i.e., empathy).
Customer Success Skills
- Empathy
- Resourcefulness
- Communicative
- Relationship-Builder
- Technical Acumen
- Self-Motivation
1. Empathy
To help customers, day-in and day-out, CSMs need to be empathetic — a key aspect of emotional intelligence.
Whether answering the same question for what seems like the millionth time or counseling an angry customer through a pricing change, the ability to understand and share the feelings of other people is critical for CSMs. They need to effectively understand a customer’s business goal and initiatives, de-escalate tough situations, and advocate for the customer with internal teams.
2. Resourcefulness
Effective problem-solving for customers, all day, every day, requires a high level of resourcefulness.
CSMs need to quickly address customer issues. If they can't answer their question, they need to track down the resource or colleague who can. This means that prospective CSM candidates must demonstrate a willingness and readiness to collaborate across teams and across departments — and a track record of being able to solve problems no matter how big or small.
3. Communication skills
CSMs need to be able to clearly communicate — with customers, with team members, and with other departments within a company — in order to be successful.
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. Relationship-builder
It may be already obvious, but it's worth emphasizing that a good CSM should be able to build rapport with just about anyone in order to get the job done. This is a hard skill to teach, let alone identify.
Individuals who are friendly, open, authentic, and who can build rapport in an interview can likely translate that over the course of having a longer customer relationship.
5. Technical acumen
If they get the job, a new CSM will have to learn how to use your product and a demonstrable level of skill in using and explaining it to customers.
Even when they become an expert with the tech your company uses, a CSM has to be able to simplify it for new customers or those who are not as technologically savvy. That demonstrates technical acumen beyond understanding the functionality.
6. Self-motivation
CSMs should be intrinsically motivated and should not need to be asked to go the extra mile or put in 110%. In an interview, listen for answers tied with examples of when the candidate went above and beyond to solve problems for their customers.
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.
Customer Support Interview Questions
Screening for Empathy
1. How do you deliver bad news to customers?
Stuff happens. Ask the candidate how they diplomatically share tough news while keeping a customer positive and engaged. You can also give them a scenario based on past customer issues they have had to tackle. This gives you a sense of their ability to adapt to challenges and bounce back.
Ideal Answer
"I deliver bad news to customers preferably 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, understand their reaction, and provide support immediately."
What to Look For
Look for a candidate who strives to empathize with the customer, and understand from the customer’s viewpoint — anticipating any concerns or questions they might have prior to speaking with them. Pay close attention to their ability to read customers and how they transition the news into how they can move forward together.
Red Flags
Be on the lookout for candidates who deliver bad news through an impersonal email or phone script, and don’t make themselves available for a follow-up conversation.
2. How do you communicate with customers if you can't resolve a problem right away?
CSMs can‘t answer every question immediately — and they can’t always promise the customer a definitive solution. Ask candidates how they communicate with customers on addressing long-term requests from them, how they follow up, and how they handle letting them know if their request or request is not possible.
Ideal Answer
"I look to be proactive with my communication – regardless of the medium I use to reach out to the customer.
“For example, if my customer requested a product feature that didn‘t exist, I’d let them no, the reason why this feature isn‘t available, and alternative options to solve for their use case. That said, if the customer was insistent on having that feature, I’d meet with our product team afterward to share this feedback and come back with updates if appropriate.
“If our product team could make the feature, great! I would share the timeline for when the feature will be created. Otherwise, I would again let the customer know the reason(s) why, re-emphasize the alternatives provided earlier, and share ways the customers can use to pitch this idea to my company."
What to Look For
Someone who can proactively set customer expectations and persevere is a good sign.
If the candidate cannot fulfill a certain request, they should be upfront with the customer and communicate why before providing alternative solutions as a way to address their underlying issue. If you can’t provide a solution, the candidate should at least demonstrate to the customer their intention to solve their issue and how they would provide updates on progress.
Red Flags
Anyone that provides a short “no” answer without explanation or alternative options to address the customer’s underlying issue does not demonstrate empathy. Moreover, it speaks to a lack of willingness on the person’s part to effectively communicate the reasoning and context, which is a critical skill to show proficiency in a CSM interview.
Screening for Resourcefulness
3. Describe the most challenging customer case you have ever handled.
The candidate's experience and strategies should demonstrate their ability to not only solve for the customer but highlight their communication skills.
Ideal Answer
"One time, a customer demanded a refund for their purchase with us. They were upset because they felt they had purchased the wrong product and that the sales rep they worked with only wanted to close a deal. While the product the customer had was exactly what they needed, they needed to learn how it could help them achieve their goals.
“When speaking to the customer, I apologized for the frustration they felt and asked them to walk me through the issues they had with the product. Once they shared their feedback, I aligned myself with their concerns and communicated that they needed to adjust the way the customer was using the product.
“I told them if they adjusted their use of the product, they might see different results. I offered to walk them through how I'd recommend using the product, after which it became clear to them on how they could use our software to meet their business objectives.
“Afterward, the customer was excited about using the product. 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 with their specific use case and product usage."
What to Look For
Of course, no one likes being on the receiving end of frustration from someone. Candidates should be able to keep a level head when dealing with any upset customer. Additionally, they may be able to demonstrate the art of delivering a sincere apology, and pivot to remedy the situation.
Red Flags
If you have a frustrated customer, you definitely do not want a CSM that matches their frustration. Responding by acting curt or flippant with an already upset customer will likely make the situation worse. If the candidate cannot come up with an example of a difficult interaction with a customer, they may not be a seasoned CSM for your team.
4. How do you collaborate with your internal teams in your current role?
Customer success professionals often have to communicate and collaborate with other people across their company in order to get the job done. Whether it's communicating product feedback or collaborating on an upsell, the candidate should share their process and tips for maintaining cross-team communication that demonstrates responsiveness and a collaborative mindset.
Ideal Answer
"I will often refer customers to sales reps when it's clear there is a product they need but do not currently have. However, I will do some discovery to make sure that the product will help the customer achieve their business objective and long-term goals.
“Alternatively, if a customer requests a product or feature we don't currently offer, I will report this to our product team. I will want to know if the product team has workarounds the customer can use in the meantime, or if they have updates on this new product or feature. Based on their thoughts, I would share this timeline to let the customer know when they can expect to see that product, service, or feature."
What to Look For
Look for CSM candidates who can get to the heart of the customer’s pain points and evaluate what products would work best, rather than immediately trying to upsell them. These reps should also be able to demonstrate how well they function across teams and highlight methods for successful collaboration they have used successfully.
Red Flags
Avoid CSM candidates who indicate an unwillingness to work across teams to solve for the customer.
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Screening for Communication Skills
5. Explain to me how your [product feature or service] works.
The way a CSM candidate answers this question will tell you two things: whether the candidate did research on your products/services prior to the interview and how well they can break down complicated concepts and demonstrate value for customers.
Ideal Answer
"HubSpot's Workflow tool can automate tasks for your business. Workflows begin with a trigger or enrollment criteria that the customer must complete. Once completed, you can launch a series of actions that are executed chronologically.
“You can also set up branching logic within the workflow that acts as secondary triggers. If a customer completes that action — or doesn‘t — the next step in the workflow shifts based on the customer’s behaviors."
What to Look For
Look for a CSM interview candidate who can simply and succinctly connect the functional capabilities of your products/services to business impact for customers. The best way to understand a concept or product is to effectively explain it to someone else that can benefit them. This will help you evaluate whether or not they researched your product.
Red Flags
Avoid reps that overly rely on jargon and cannot clearly explain what your product or service does.
6. How would you explain X to your grandparents?
This question is along the same lines as the previous one, but it will reveal how skilled the candidate is at breaking down a tool they might use every day to an absolute beginner — which is a key skill needed for new customer onboarding calls.
Ideal Answer
"X is a platform where you can share brief ideas and comments with peers, strangers, and businesses. You might remember it as Twitter. Once you create an account, you can customize your profile and start engaging with other accounts on X. The posts you share have a set character limit. You can't go past that limit unless you write a follow-up tweet.
“You can also engage with other people‘s tweets by commenting on them, liking them, or reposting 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."
What to Look For
Look for a rep that demonstrates patience and empathy. They will most likely be onboarding customers who are completely new to the product and the company — some may not be tech-savvy at all.
Red Flags
Candidates who demonstrate impatience or give a brief answer. For example, responding with "X is a social media company that allows users to communicate with each other” doesn't really explain how a person would use it.
Screening for Relationship Management
7. How do you demonstrate value in the first conversation with a customer?
The first conversation with a new customer is critical in the relationship — and it's often a predictor of whether the customer will churn or be retained.
During the first conversation, CSMs will want to set up new customers using the product or service. However, they need to understand how they will understand the value of working with them, so the relationship can grow and develop positively.
Ideally, the CSM will take the time to understand the customer’s business goals and objectives, point to features in the product or service that can help make progress on those objectives, and open a conversation for working together further.
Ideal Answer
“I demonstrate value by immediately aligning myself with the customer and their goals. I ensure I understand what they're trying to achieve, as well as the challenges they're facing, before showing the resources we have that 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.”
What to Look For
Find candidates who are good listeners and inquisitive about why a customer has decided to work with a company. It’s easy to get caught up in making the pitch, but listening and responding with pointed questions will help you truly understand the customer’s pain points.
Red Flags
Candidates who deliver canned responses and focus on getting the customer off the phone, rather than understanding their business use case, should be filtered out.
8. How do you position the value of an upsell of our product’s next tier level?
Cross-selling and upselling is a delicate balancing act for every CSM. Making a suggestion not in line with the customer's goals, or one that seems pushy can endanger the customer relationship.
Asking the candidate on how they start that conversation will tell you if they understand best practices — and the role of a CSM in the sales process — or not.
Ideal Answer
"I see that you‘re using this product to attract new leads to your business. How are you liking it? From my standpoint, it looks like it’s going well — I’m excited to see this growth.
“That said, one concern you shared with me early on in our relationship is scalability. You're getting close to achieving your goals, but I want to make sure you do not plateau when you reach the finish line. Let’s keep that growth going so you continue to scale.
“We offer this particular feature on an upgraded tier to help you do just that. It‘s intended for a customer facing the same challenges you are, and I feel it would be exactly what you need to continue growing your business. If you’re interested, I am happy to set up a demo with our sales team, so you can gauge whether this tool is useful. Are you interested? If so, great! If not, no problem. I wanted to raise this with you regardless."
What to Look For
Candidates who can genuinely position an upgrade in line with a customer’s business needs and goals. Solving for the customer should always be the end goal when upselling.
Red Flags
Avoid candidates who suggest new products or upgrades when they don’t necessarily make sense for the customer.
Screening for Technical Acumen
9. How would you explain our product in an elevator pitch?
This question tests the candidate‘s preparation for the interview, while also giving them a chance to combine their communication skills and technical acumen and accurately explain what they’re proposing to help customers within the prospective role.
Ideal Answer
“HubSpot's products help businesses grow better and scale faster without having to hire as many employees.”
What to Look For
Candidates should be able to put together what your company does at the macro level without making it complicated. This information could be pulled from your company’s mission statement or “about” section, showing they actually researched your company beforehand.
Red Flags
A vague statement that doesn’t get to the heart of what your company does could indicate that the candidate didn’t do their research.
100 Customer Success, Service, and Support Interview Questions
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- Customer Support Questions
- Customer Service Questions
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- Customer Success Manager Questions
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10. How could our product or service improve?
This question tests the candidate's understanding of the company but takes it a step further by evaluating how well they understand your customers, too.
CSMs have to interpret Voice of the Customer (VoC) and share it with the broader organization, and answering this question will give you an idea of how they could do that in the role.
Ideal Answer
“One piece of feedback that I've noticed from online reviews relates to customer education – or customers struggling to understand how to use some of your tools. I notice your company doesn't offer a knowledge base, and creating one might be useful to customers who need support but don't want to spend time reaching out and waiting for your service team for help.”
What to Look For
CSMs act as the bridge between customers and your company. Look for someone who can find patterns in customer feedback, categorize what is working and what is not — plus deciphering what is causing the friction.
Red Flags
Short-sighted candidates who do not go beyond initial customer complaints. They won't examine the cause or how issues might be remedied. Additionally, candidates who do not have thoughtful input in this question may indicate they have not done research on your customer base.
Screening for Self-Motivation
Why motivates you about a career in customer success?
11. The 'why' behind a job or career choice says a lot about self-motivation. You want someone on your team who's intrinsically motivated to help and advocate for others to achieve their goals, and not just by external goals set by team management. Someone like this will stand as a positive example and leader on your team.
Ideal Answer
“I take great joy in helping people. I've always been a team player, and I feel a sense of accomplishment whenever I help others achieve their goals.”
What to Look For
Look for a candidate who indicates they will solve for the customer and have a vested interest in helping them succeed.
Red Flags
A candidate who cannot clearly articulate why they want to work as a CSM or provide value-added service is a red flag.
12. How do you handle rejection or failure?
People working in customer success typically face as much rejection as salespeople. Furthermore, it is tougher to bear after building a relationship with your customers, only for them to churn and leave for a competing product or service.
This question will give you insight into how the candidate deals with challenges, and subsequently adapt from setbacks. It is common for CSMs to face customers churning due to outages or a competitor dropping their price. Similarly, you need to make sure the candidate is motivated enough to persevere with their customers and continue providing a superior experience and value-add.
Ideal Answer
“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.”
What to Look For
CSM candidates should be able to handle rejection in stride and use the experience as a learning opportunity to iteratively improve. They may have a routine or strategy that doesn't allow customer rejection to derail their entire day.
Red Flags
A candidate who merely internalizes customer churn or rejection and does not have takeaways from the experience may not showcase adaptability in a customer success role.
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 outline how they’ll acquire those abilities. During their response, pay attention to the skills they describe, as this may outline some of the candidate's weaknesses.
Ideal Answer
“I would really like to fine-tune my ability to problem solve and think creatively while on my feet. Working with customers in a face-to-face setting should help me develop these skills, which will enable me to become more proficient in this role.”
What to Look For
Look for candidates who are eager to learn new skills or build on their existing ones to meet the demands of being a CSM on your team. We are always learning in our careers, and there are always areas to improve.
Red Flags
Avoid candidates who do not indicate any room for improvement.
Questions to Ask CSM Candidates
14. What would you guess are our top SaaS competitors in our segment?
This is a good question to begin with. It shows how prepared the candidate is and will set the tone for the rest of the interview. If the candidate has prepared and researched, they should know a bit about the top competitors in the market (or at least the biggest players).
Ideal Answer
“I notice that the CRM space is very competitive. I’d say your top competitor is Salesforce. While HubSpot provides a great solution for mid-size and small companies, I’ve noticed that most enterprise players in larger markets choose your competitor. However, with new offerings in AI and a strong product, I can see HubSpot becoming more competitive in the space.”
What to Look For
A great answer will demonstrate the candidate's understanding of:
- The SaaS industry.
- What the basic business model is.
- Why this business model has become one of the most prevalent and fastest growing.
- Which companies pose a threat to your business.
They don't have to have a full SWOT analysis for you, but they should at least have an idea of the industry and competitors in the space.
Red Flags
If a candidate hasn’t done their research and cannot provide an answer, that’s a red flag. That means they have not done their homework on your business and the space you compete in.
15. How is success measured in your current role?
The answer to this question will tell you two things: 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, making a bigger impact for your CSM team, and for the business as a whole.
Ideal Answer
"In my current role, I measure success by analyzing customer feedback and quantitative performance data. I always ask customers for feedback because I'm eager to hear their thoughts about working with me and with my company.
“Contrastingly, I‘ll look at how I am performing against my retention metric and how often I’m engaging with my customers over the phone or email. This tells me a holistic story that I can track over time to ensure I‘m meeting my customers’ and my team's goals."
What to Look For
Look for someone who can clearly outline how they are measured in their role and demonstrate they care about feedback — from their customers and team.
Red Flags
If a candidate hasn’t measured their success at all, whether qualitative or quantitative, it could be a sign that they don’t have a handle on what constitutes success in their role.
16. What would you add to our culture, or what would you change about it?
When you‘re hiring anyone — an individual contributor or a manager — you’re bringing on someone who will influence your company's culture. In the case of a manager, for example, they lead employees and ensure your team meets short- and long-term goals.
You‘ll want to make sure their philosophy and methods align with your business’s culture. If not, it will be difficult to motivate team members and maintain employee satisfaction.
Ideal Answer
“I would love to incorporate a diversity and inclusion program into your company’s culture. This can instill an elevated sense of belonging and appreciation for one another while working on our team. It also shows how we are acting on our team’s needs as we do with our customers.”
What to Look For
If a candidate can find a gap in your company’s culture or overall employee morale and propose a solution for it, it shows they can anticipate needs and provide employees with support when needed.
Red Flags
Avoid candidates who provide answers indicating they’re not concerned with employee needs. You want people who will add to your company’s culture and are proactively thinking about it.
17. What strategies would you prioritize to reduce customer churn?
As a CSM, your job is to prevent customer churn. Your candidate needs to be passionate about customer retention and willing to go above and beyond to retain any customer. Consider laying out a mock scenario for your candidate that pertains to your company before asking this question to understand what they'd do to ensure customer retention and satisfaction.
Ideal Answer
“I would prevent customer churn by maintaining proactive and frequent communication with the customer. If I noticed a potential roadblock that might impede a customer from achieving a goal, I would reach out immediately to provide an alternative solution. I would also follow up afterward to ensure the customer is still content and that our proposed solution is still effective for them.”
What to Look For
Hiring a candidate who can anticipate customer needs and challenges is key. It’s much better to be proactive in communicating roadblocks rather than waiting for the fallout, which can be inevitable. Your customers will appreciate your honesty and attention to detail. This also doubles down on why it's paramount for your CSMs to possess excellent relationship management skills.
Red Flags
Avoid candidates who lack patience or the foresight to anticipate potential problems and communicate them to customers.
18. How would you de-escalate a frustrated customer?
Not all customers are good at receiving bad news. Some will be rightfully upset that your company cannot help them achieve their goals.
In these situations, a CSM needs to diffuse angry customers and salvage their experience. While your company should always strive for perfection, what matters here is how your customer success team responds to your organization's shortcomings and mistakes.
Ideal Answer
"De-escalation always begins with aligning yourself to the customer. You need to demonstrate that you truly understand why they're upset and what they want to change. Doing this shows that you are on the same side of the issue as they are.
“Once aligned, summarize the customer’s situation. Discuss what they would like to accomplish, the roadblock that‘s preventing them, and their options moving forward. This will demonstrate active listening, your understanding of their use case, and clearly communicate potential solutions. You can recommend one solution over another, but only if you can tie that solution back to the customer’s business goal and objectives.
“Once you have confirmed a solution, always follow up with the customer. Make sure the solution is still effective, and offer further support if needed. This continued effort will prove to the customer that you are committed to their needs."
What to Look For
Demonstrating empathy and staying calm under pressure are equally important here. Remaining calm will help you devise a solution to your customer's issue or at least provide an alternative that gets past their frustration.
Red Flags
Beware of hot heads or reactions that could translate to an emotional response. The last thing you want when dealing with a flustered customer is an equally flustered CSM. CSMs should focus on solving for the customer, not get distracted by anger, and prioritize next steps to move ahead.
19. How do you categorize and prioritize tasks for your customers daily?
This question will help you understand the candidate's ability to manage their time. Customer success managers need to consistently adapt and be capable of changing their routines on the fly.
Sometimes, they‘ll provide proactive customer service, while other times, they’ll handle inbound service requests. Regardless, your CSM should be able to account for all of their daily tasks and consistently complete them on time.
Ideal Answer
“I would first look at how long I have to complete each task. Tasks that have a more immediate deadline would be prioritized first, then followed by simple, easy-to-complete tasks that I can do in a matter of minutes. I would save the most complex tasks for when I have more time to dedicate to them.”
What to Look For
CSMs should have a system or at least create a plan to tackle each task for themselves. You’re not looking necessarily for a “right” answer as everyone will solve problems differently. However, they should be able to put together a plan and execute on it.
Red Flags
A candidate who cannot effectively articulate how they would prioritize tasks or indicate a lack of organization may not be a good fit for the CSM role and your team. For example, not taking deadlines into account or understanding how long certain tasks take to complete could prove challenging to them later in execution.
100 Customer Success, Service, and Support Interview Questions
Hire the best customer-facing employees with this set of interview questions.
- Customer Support Questions
- Customer Service Questions
- Customer Success Questions
- Customer Success Manager Questions
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20. If you saw a customer using more seats than they're paying for, how would you handle it?
This question does not have a right or wrong answer. Instead, this question demonstrates the candidate's ability to think critically, and highlight their communication skills.
They not only have to consider the possible actions they can take, but also the potential repercussions that will occur when they take those steps. The best candidates will provide a comprehensive breakdown of how they‘d approach the situation, and how they’d handle any further challenges that may arise.
Ideal Answer
"I would first analyze the customer’s account details. I would look at how long they've been a customer, when their subscription will renew, what their investment is valued at, their previous support cases, etc. This should give me an idea of how valuable they are to our company and how I should best proceed.
“If the customer‘s subscription is close to renewal, I would let them know about the situation but assure them that their rates won’t increase until the upcoming renewal.
“If this felt like a problem, I would talk to the customer about their options at this point — either paying for more seats or brainstorming ways to use the product with fewer seats while still solving for their use-case.
“If the customer‘s subscription isn’t close to renewal, I would touch base with my team. Since we made the clerical error, the customer should not suffer. I would see if we could continue with their rate until their next renewal. If not, I would be proactive and immediately reach out to the customer to outline alternative solutions."
What to Look For
As stated above, you want to observe the candidate’s thought process rather than look for a “correct” answer. Look for someone who accounts for the customer experience, their history with the company, and their willingness to discuss alternative options with internal teams instead of charging the customer more.
Red Flags
A CSM candidate who moves to immediately charge the customer without communicating the circumstances could indicate they make hasty decisions without evaluating the scope of the issue.
21. What feedback would you give the interviewer?
This interview question also does not necessarily have a right answer. This question shows the candidate’s ability to pay attention and think on their feet. You want a candidate who demonstrates active listening and takes note of details. Their feedback will also give you a feel for their ability to read and react to customers.
Ideal Answer
“I would love to see a little more transparency in 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, who those conversations will be with, and the length of time for each conversation.”
What to Look For
Look for signs the candidate was actively listening. Can they reference a particular question or present feedback regarding how the interview is formatted?
Red Flags
Not having any feedback to give at all could be a sign that the candidate wasn’t really invested in the interview or simply lacks the ability to present growth opportunities thoughtfully.
Situational Questions for CSM Candidates
22. As a CSM, what type of customer news would change your day and why?
Before asking this question, you should discuss their daily tasks and responsibilities with the candidate — outlining the job in further detail and going into what a typical day would look like for them.
Interruptions are commonplace in any job, and there will always be multiple customers that have the most urgent issue when a CSM is servicing multiple accounts at once. How does one define which issues are the most urgent?
What to Look For
The ability to handle competing priorities is a skill every CSM needs. A potential CSM should be able to grasp the differences between customers in their value and relationship status. Having this awareness will help them to prioritize customer needs.
The candidate should address the aspects of the relationship and customer value in their answer. They should acknowledge examples of events that might be a higher priority than others.
Red Flags
Be wary of answers that don’t put the customer first. In a success or support role, every thing should tie back to the customer and solving their problems. Make sure that your candidate shows they know how to prioritize.
23. How would you value a SaaS Business with $100K in recurring revenue?
Having a more engaging and interactive “test case” question in an interview process is so important. Why? Because it allows you to see the candidate in action and gives you the opportunity to test for team fit, problem-solving skills, and personality traits.
This question will help test not only their level of business acumen but also their level of awareness and honesty.
As far as personality, you will be able to see how this candidate handles stress. Are they willing to collaborate and ask further probing questions, or will they try to just come up with an answer on their own?
What to Look For
Look for answers that seek understanding and showcase the candidate’s thought process. This question will give you an indicator of the candidate‘s analytical skills. If the candidate isn’t completely sure of what's being asked, they should ask questions to make sure they fully understand the task at hand before diving in.
For example, some models require math, and there are certain cases where the valuation depends heavily on the product, other team members, the funding situation, etc.
The way they reason the answer will show you their level of expertise in those areas. The candidate should be willing to collaborate, ask questions when they need to, and should consider multiple valuation models and approaches.
Red Flags
If the candidate reacts poorly to the stress of the situation or fails to seek clarification, take note. You’ll want to make sure that the person reacts well to a scenario that could happen in the real world.
Does the candidate seem to enjoy the challenge and task, or do they become a bit grumpy being put on the spot?
24. Tell me how you'd handle communicating an outage to your customers.
The fact of the matter is mistakes happen. Whether it's a software glitch or a major outage, during any customer relationship, your CSMs will have to explain and apologize when things go wrong.
So it's wise to test their ability to diplomatically and effectively communicate, apologize, and mend fences to help retain customers — and not lose them — when those times happen.
What to Look For
Listen for answers that suggest accountability, sincerity, and diplomacy.
You want someone who‘s not afraid to own up to mistakes and say they’re sorry but who can also confidently deliver answers to satisfy the customer so that the incident won't happen again.
Red Flags
Answers that are defensive and lack empathy should be a major red flag. You want to make sure your candidate has the grace to apologize and the ability to communicate well under pressure.
25. Imagine you have access to a large dataset containing customer usage and engagement metrics. How would you analyze the data to identify opportunities for improving customer success?
Analytical skills can be essential for your prospective CSM, depending on your product or service.
This scenario will show how a candidate analyzes customer data, identifies trends, and makes data-driven decisions. How they use the data to make decisions will also show whether they're a strategic thinker.
What to Look For
If you need a CSM with advanced business acumen and analytical skills, look for answers showing their ability to use data effectively. That could mean listening for specific techniques.
They may mention segmentation, cohort analysis, identifying usage patterns, or correlating data with customer feedback.
Red Flags
Even if analytical skills are a lower priority for your CSM profile, you'll still want to see how they use analysis to solve customer needs and increase customer success. Be wary of responses that fail to demonstrate an understanding of metrics.
26. Your company is considering launching a new product or feature. How would you assess the potential impact on customer success and choose the best approach to successfully introduce it to your existing customer base?
More broadly, this question tests your candidate's business acumen. It also showcases their problem-solving ability and how they balance customer needs with company goals.
What to Look For
Listen for answers that show how they‘d spot potential challenges. You’ll want to test whether their approach to introducing new products or features is customer-centric, too.
Strong candidates may also mention how they'd evaluate the potential impact of a new product or feature on customer success. Specifics might include conducting market research, gathering customer feedback, and analyzing customer data.
Red Flags
Take note if candidates fail to mention possible negative impacts. Even if the feature is an overall positive change, managing a transition comes with challenges.
27. A long-term customer has mentioned something they dislike about your company's product. What do you do?
A good CSM doesn't just handle the positive news. They manage the bad news, too. However, the great ones see “negative” feedback as an opportunity for product improvement, happier customers, and company growth.
This question evaluates how candidates deal with feedback and whether they have a customer-first mindset. It also tests their interpersonal, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
What to Look For
Look for answers demonstrating your CSM has actively listened to the customer, analyzed the feedback, and created potential solutions to discuss internally.
If the candidate feels it‘s best to relay the feedback to the product team, that shows they have the customer’s best interests at heart.
If they discuss how they'd share the feedback internally, demonstrating diplomacy, that shows relationship-building skills.
Great candidates will also aim to communicate the feedback in a way that highlights potential business growth and gets the product team excited. That shows a high level of business acumen.
Red Flags
When answering this question, defensiveness or a lack of empathy are major red flags. The candidate should be able to put the customer first, seeing challenges from the user’s perspective.
Hiring the Right Customer or Client Success Manager
Customer or client success managers consistently display a customer-centric, empathetic, and creative problem-solving attitude. I believe that’s both important in the role and candidate interviews. The interview questions above can help you gauge how effective your CSM candidates are for the role and identify the right person for your team.
This article was originally published in August 2021 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
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