Post-sale teams are working harder inside a model built for a different era.
# CSS
# Renewals
# CCO
# SaaS
# AI
# CustomerLeadership
The burden on customer success has changed materially. The model underneath it has not.
April 21, 2026
Over the past year, in conversations with CCOs and post-sale leaders, one reality has become hard to ignore: pressure is building from every direction, including customers, CFOs, boards, budgets, and now AI, with consequences that are commercial, operational, and increasingly strategic.
Teams are carrying broader books of business, facing greater financial scrutiny, and being asked to prove value with far more rigor. The burden on customer success has changed materially. The model underneath it has not.
This is no longer a question of incremental improvement. It is a question of operating model redesign.
In the article, I identify three shifts that now make redesign unavoidable.
đš đ§đľđ˛ đđ°đżđđđśđťđ đđđŽđťđąđŽđżđą đľđŽđ đđľđśđłđđ˛đą. Renewal decisions are increasingly shaped by the CFO, not just the champion.
đš đđđđđźđşđ˛đż đŻđđśđšđą đ°đŽđ˝đŽđ°đśđđ đľđŽđ đşđŽđđ˛đżđśđŽđšđšđ đ°đľđŽđťđ´đ˛đą. In more accounts, the real alternative at renewal is not another vendor. It is internal substitution.
đš đđ đśđ đ°đľđŽđťđ´đśđťđ´ đđľđ˛ đ˛đ°đźđťđźđşđśđ°đ đźđł đđŚ đ°đźđđ˛đżđŽđ´đ˛ đŽđťđą đżđŽđśđđśđťđ´ đđľđ˛ đŻđŽđż đźđť đśđşđ˝đŽđ°đ. Teams that have not redesigned around that shift are becoming less competitive.
I also outline five principles I see in the organizations moving ahead:
âŞď¸ Value proof as an operating discipline
âŞď¸ Signal intelligence instead of periodic review
âŞď¸ Digital as a designed motion
âŞď¸ A sharper definition of the CSM role
âŞď¸ Renewal as a lifecycle outcome, not a late-stage commercial event
One area I address directly is đŻđđśđšđą đđ. đŻđđ đśđť đđľđ˛ đżđ˛đťđ˛đđŽđš đ°đźđťđđ˛đżđđŽđđśđźđť. That issue is moving faster than many vendor teams have recognized. In more accounts, the question is no longer whether the customer sees value. It is whether the product remains in the stack or is designed out.
My aim is to give customer leaders and executive teams a sharper frame for what now requires redesign and where urgency is overdue.
For more on what this redesign requires, Iâve attached the article in PDF for download.
If this is a conversation happening inside your organization, Iâd value your perspective.
