Britt Layman

Being a CSM means wearing a lot of hats. But no one really prepares you for just how many. On any given day, you’re a: → Project manager → Relationship builder → Data translator → Renewal strategist → Customer advocate → Product educator → Escalation navigator → Feedback collector → Cross-functional connector → Cheerleader for both your client and your team It’s a dynamic role that requires presence, clarity, and a whole lot of context switching. And while it’s deeply rewarding to support your clients and drive outcomes, it can also feel overwhelming at times. If you read this and think: “I already do half of that in my clinical role” or “This sounds like the kind of impact I want to make in my next career move” Customer Success might be the right path for you. If you’re a clinician thinking about transitioning into a non-clinical role or you’re already working outside of patient care and looking for your next opportunity consider exploring CSM roles. I offer coaching for career pivoters who want to break into Customer Success. Send me a message if you want help figuring out if it’s the right fit for you.

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Most “messy” changeovers aren’t actually messy. They’re just misaligned. Any time a customer switches to a new system, I assume one thing up front: everyone thinks they’re the main character. IT is worried about access and controls. Operations wants speed. Clinical teams want nothing to break. Leadership wants reassurance without another meeting. Our job, in Customer Success, isn’t to pick a side. It’s to translate expectations until they sound the same in every room. That usually means timelines that are explicit. Conversations that are personalized. And sign-offs that feel repetitive right up until the moment they prevent a fire drill. I’ve learned that “alignment” doesn’t happen in big moments. It happens when every stakeholder sees their concern reflected back with a concrete action attached to it. If someone leaves a changeover thinking, “This was clearer than I expected,” that’s the quiet win. Because in environments where nothing can afford to go sideways, clarity is the real feature.

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One thing I’ve picked up over the years working in Customer Success: When retention starts slipping, it’s rarely just a CS issue. I’ve been in situations where accounts were at risk and the first instinct was to look at the CSM… But when you take a step back, the story is usually bigger. 🚩 Sometimes expectations were off during the sales process. 🚩 Sometimes onboarding didn’t quite get the customer to value fast enough. 🚩 Sometimes the product didn’t fully fit into their day-to-day workflow. And CS ends up sitting in the middle, trying to connect the dots. That’s when it really clicked for me — retention isn’t owned by one team. CS might carry the number, but it takes alignment across Sales, Product, and Operations to actually make it predictable. The best outcomes I’ve seen weren’t from “saving” accounts at the last minute… They came from building a system where customers never got to that point in the first place. Curious — have you seen retention play out this way in your org? #CustomerSuccess #Leadership #Operations #SaaS #HealthcareTech #Retention

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The Make-or-Break Moment: Why Your SaaS Implementation Kickoff Call Sets the Stage for Success 🚀  After leading enterprise SaaS implementations at major health systems, I've learned that the kickoff call isn't just another meeting—it's the foundation that determines whether your project will thrive or struggle. What makes a successful kickoff call? ✅ Align on the "Why" - Start with business objectives, not features. What problem are we solving? What does success look like in 6 months? ✅ Map the Key Players - Identify decision makers, influencers, and end users. Understanding the stakeholder ecosystem early prevents roadblocks later. ✅ Set Crystal Clear Expectations - Timeline, milestones, responsibilities, and communication cadence. Ambiguity is the enemy of adoption. ✅ Address the Elephant in the Room- What concerns do people have? What failed in the past? Surface resistance early and tackle it head-on. ✅ Define Success Metrics - How will we measure adoption? What KPIs matter most? Get specific and get buy-in. Why this drives adoption: When teams understand the vision, feel heard, and know exactly what's expected, they become advocates instead of obstacles. A strong kickoff creates ownership—people support what they help create. The companies that nail their kickoff calls see higher user adoption rates and faster time-to-value. The ones that skip this step? They're usually explaining to leadership why the project is behind schedule and over budget. Your kickoff call isn't overhead—it's the highest-leverage time you'll spend on the entire implementation. What's been your experience with SaaS implementations? Drop a comment below! 👇 #SaaS #Implementation #ChangeManagement #CustomerSuccess #Enterprise 

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PBMs don’t usually get described as “human.” When I stepped into a Customer Success role at PDC Rx, I expected to learn about claims, pricing structures, and integrations. I didn’t expect how much of the job would revolve around communication, clarity, and trust. In hospice especially, the work behind the scenes directly impacts teams caring for patients at the most vulnerable moments of life. As we say at PDC Rx – it’s never business, it’s always personal. So, I’m starting a short article series surrounding this question that I don’t think we talk about enough: What happens when a pharmacy benefits manager is built around people? #customersuccess #softskills #humancentered

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