Over the last few weeks, I’ve shared with you the two skills I believe are the most important ones for CS pros to have right now:
Value-first engagement Curiosity
But these two skills don’t just apply to how you work with your clients, no!
They also apply to how you internally navigate yourself as a CS professional. Here's what I mean:
In the most simplest of terms, you are a translator.
You listen to what your clients say and then share that with Product, for example.
You then take the latest directives from leadership on the company’s new focus, and you turn that into talking points for your next client meetings.
But a translator doesn’t take what they’ve heard in one language and then translate it into the same language.
That’s just playing telephone.
You’re a translator because you have to parse whatever it is THEY are telling you and neatly package that in a way that will resonate with whoever is receiving that information.
That’s playing the value-first engagement card internally.
If you want to build a case around a feature your clients keep hollering about, you don’t lead your Product conversation with:
“Clients wants this feature really badly. That’s all they talk about and they say it will help them a lot."
This is about who? Not Product!
It’s about you, “that’s all they talk about,” and it sounds like you just want Product to shut them up.
And the customer: “Client wants this feature really badly… it will help them a lot.” That’s okay, but why do they need this? How does it help? And what’s at stake for the Product team?
Instead, you want to translate that ask and:
Understand what this request means in the context of other requests (i.e., are other clients requesting this?) Identifying the opportunity or risk (i.e., can this be tied to revenue loss/gains?) Present your case in a way that aligns with how the Product team likes to read data (spoiler alert: not case by case. Quantity matters to them: “Our data shows that 20% of churn is due to missing feature X”) Go the extra mile to find the win for them (ex: “If we get this sorted, it will reduce 10% of escalation cases that are eating up Engineering time!”)
When you focus on value-first engagement, you’re not just sharing what your clients want—you’re digging deeper.
You’re showing Product what’s in it for them and how addressing these needs can benefit the whole company. And that’s where your curiosity comes in. Ask yourself: What does Product care about? What frustrates them? What do they need to succeed?
The more you understand their world, the better you can frame your message in a way that speaks to them. It’s not just about delivering feedback; it’s about being a partner who helps them see the bigger picture and make decisions that move everyone forward.
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