The Moment CS Earns Its Seat

In Partnership With

Hey CS Pro,

If you have ever felt like CS is adjacent to the go-to-market motion instead of IN it… this episode is your blueprint. Ashley Stamps Lafont breaks down what it actually takes to earn your seat, align on the right metric, and build a revenue-first CS function from day one.

But first, today’s sponsor

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Renewals should not feel stressful, last minute, or reactive.

Yet for most CSMs, they still do.

Not because they lack effort, but because customers are not clearly connecting your work to THEIR business outcomes.

That is exactly what this free live masterclass is designed to fix.

Join me for a BRAND NEW live masterclass session where I will walk you through the framework I use to help CSMs move from check in calls to outcome led conversations that customers actually value.

In this masterclass, you will learn how to:

• Shift from activity driven check ins to outcome focused conversations

• Clearly show value in every customer interaction, even without a perfect product

• Build momentum toward renewals and expansion instead of scrambling at the last minute

This is the foundation for predictable renewals, stronger customer relationships, and more strategic influence as a CSM.

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The mindset shift that changes everything

Ashley made one thing clear early…customer success is not “the nice team”, it is a business function tied to business outcomes.

A few moments that hit hard:

Your job as a CS leader is to decide what lane you are in. Ashley said it plainly, if “sales” feels like a four letter word to you, you need to be honest about what roles you will thrive in, because the trend is moving toward CS owning revenue.

Then she went even deeper…adoption should not be the thing that shows up in compensation. Not because adoption does not matter, but because compensation should reinforce the behaviors that drive the business outcomes the board and exec team actually care about. Her point was simple and honestly impossible to unhear once you hear it:

Your board is not asking how many QBRs you ran. They are asking if the customer is still here, what value they got, and what revenue you retained.

That is the real shift…moving from activity mindset to outcomes mindset, then building everything around it.

How Quotapath made CS core to GTM (and the metric that proves it)

If you are trying to figure out how to stop being the “afterthought” function, this was the most practical part of the conversation.

At Quotapath, their North Star metric is GRR (gross revenue retention). It was the metric before Ashley joined and it stayed the metric after she joined. But the real differentiator is this:

Everyone has skin in the game.

Ashley shared that the corporate bonus is unlocked based on GRR, and that GRR is a component of compensation across the organization, from engineering to rev ops. So instead of CS fighting to be heard, the entire company is structurally incentivized to care about retention.

Then she got specific about how they split revenue ownership inside her org:

They measure GRR plus upsells. They are a single product company today, so it is renewals, churn, contraction, and expansion.

They have CSMs focused heavily on implementation, an account management arm that holds commercial responsibility for renewals and upsells, plus a solutions arm for complex implementations and technical support.

And she called out the part most leaders skip… if your team grew up in “customer happiness” CS, you cannot magically expect them to be confident in commercial conversations. You have to train the muscle. Ashley talked about upskilling account managers on negotiation, objection handling, and holding the line when customers push for concessions.

Basically…revenue ownership is not a mindset poster, it is a skill set.

The first 30 days playbook (and how to earn a seat without forcing it)

Ashley joined Quotapath after a long, intentional interview process. She took about two and a half months of conversations before accepting, and she spoke with everyone from rev ops to engineering to the founders. Her advice if you are stepping into a big leadership role…

Do not rush the process.

Then she shared exactly what she did when she started, and this is gold if you are a first time CS leader inside a go to market org:

1. Start in person if you can

Even in a remote first world, she insisted on being in Austin, where half the go to market team goes into the office. Not to hang with execs… to build real relationships with the people doing the work across CS, sales, and marketing. Her point was clear… relationship first, then ask for alignment.

2. Get close to the customer, fast

Her second week was customer immersion… she listened to a ton of Gong calls (she said around 40 hours at 1.5x). The goal was to connect internal narratives to real customer sentiment, then use that to shape her plan.

3. Communicate early, often, and openly

She did regular readouts, not just to the CEO (she reports to the CEO), but to her CS team too. She shared what she was focused on for 30, 60, 90, what she learned, what questions she had, and what did not work. That transparency built trust quickly because people could see she came in to get things done.

4. Learn the language of the organization

This part matters if you are trying to “insert yourself” into GTM. Ashley said to respect existing dynamics, observe what lands well, and adapt your messaging to the language the org already responds to. She even mentioned tools like Granola or Notion to reflect after meetings and sharpen your points.

Then we got a peek into what they are building next… and it is very 2026.

Ashley said their themes for 2026 are EFFICIENCY and GROWTH. They celebrated their highest ever NRR quarter in Q3 2025. They are also moving beyond basic note taking AI into AI as a CS partner. She shared they are implementing a tool called Hook to anticipate churn and expansion earlier, and they are hiring, including combining CSM and support functions under a director, plus hiring in solutions as they move upmarket.

Also… one of the coolest tactical AI wins in the episode was how a team member automated kickoff deck creation using Notion, Zapier, and Google Slides, cutting what used to take up to 45 minutes per customer.

That is the energy. Practical, scrappy, revenue-minded.

If you are looking to step into the full GTM team and get a revenue seat at the table than this episode is worth a listen.

Have a listen to the full podcast:

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