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Hey {{first_name | CS Pro}},
Your best work this quarter is probably invisible. Not because you didn't do it, but because you can't tell the story of it in a way that makes an executive lean forward.
This week on the podcast, I'm breaking down the framework I use to turn hard work into revenue stories that get funded, renewed, and promoted.
It's called the proof ladder. 🪜
Once you start climbing it, you'll never report your work the same way again.
But first, today’s sponsor
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Busy is not what gets funded
We're living in what I call the receipts era. Nobody accepts a claim at face value anymore. When you tell your executives a customer is healthy, they're thinking one thing: prove it.
Now layer on AI. It can summarize your calls, write your notes, and draft a QBR in seconds.
The activity layer of your job is getting cheaper by the month. So what's going up in value? The thing AI can't do: make a CRO believe your revenue story.
And here's what should stop you in your tracks. In most mature SaaS companies, the majority of revenue comes from existing customers, not new logos. Post-sales teams are sitting on the biggest, most efficient revenue engine in the company. But executives fund the teams who are best at telling stories, and that's usually sales.
The problem? We do extraordinary work, then report it as activity.
…We did 40 QBRs.
...We onboarded 22 customers.
...We resolved 1,800 tickets.
To you, that feels like proof. To an executive, it's noise. Executives fund two things: revenue and the removal of risk to revenue. Everything else is a hobby as far as the board is concerned.
The five mistakes keeping you invisible
I've made at least two of these myself, so no judgment here.
Reporting what you did instead of what it was worth. "We ran a great onboarding" is the floor, not the story.
Speaking product language instead of business language. An executive can't increase your budget because customers adopted a feature. They can when that adoption resulted in 3 million ARR retained.
Waiting for the renewal to tell the story. By then, it's a defense, not an asset. Belief is built across the year, not manufactured in one call.
Making yourself the hero. Executives believe stories where the customer is the hero and your value shows through their results.
Bringing a vanity number. "Engagement is up" is a feeling, not a revenue receipt.
The proof ladder
Every win you've ever had has four steps (IMO).
The action: what you did. I ran an onboarding, I resolved tickets, I built a health score. It's where almost everyone stops. Executives feel nothing here, because action is what they're already paying you for.
Adoption: what the customer did differently. The team went from 12 active users to 140. Executives lean in here, because behavior is harder to fake than activity.
Outcomes: the business result in the customer's language. Their support team cut resolution time by 30 percent. Their monthly books closed four days faster.
Revenue: what that outcome means for your number. Renewal secured. Expansion opened. Risk removed.
I learned this the hard way. Early in my career, I saved a seven-figure account that was 90 days from churning. When I presented it internally, I listed everything I did: weekly sessions, rebuilt onboarding, extra training. My CRO nodded and moved on.
The next month, I told the same story differently. This customer was 1.3 million in ARR and 90 days from churn. Usage went from a dying handful to their full team, ramp time dropped by half, and that's why they renewed and added 280,000 in expansion. Same work. Same save. That version got me invited to present at a board meeting.
If you lead a team and want everyone telling revenue stories in one voice, that's what my team storytelling workshops are built for. Head to thecustomersuccesspro.com/team-event and let's talk.
Want to start for today? My value storytelling handbook walks you through it step by step.
This week's challenge
Pick one win from this week. Just one. Write it out on all four rungs: the action you took, what the customer did differently, the outcome in their numbers, and what it means in revenue. Then share only the rung four version, in your team Slack, an email to an exec, or at your next all hands. The reaction you get will tell you which rung you've been living on.
Because remember, if you can't tie it to revenue, it really doesn't matter.
Have a listen to the full episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.
I hope you enjoyed this week’s newsletter.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact us.
Cheers to your CS success,
Anika
