The Top 9 Customer Success Training Courses and Events

Whether you’re looking to launch a new career in customer success or to up-skill members of your team in this increasingly important area, you’re in luck. There are plenty of great training courses, certification programs, online courses and events to choose from that can teach you customer success methodology and today’s best practices.

But not all of today’s training materials are created equal. Since people who want to get started in the field often ask me which programs I recommend, I’ve pulled together a list of my favorite customer success training resources.

Check them out if you’re ready to either launch or grow your customer success career:

Training Courses and Certification Programs

Customer Success Manager (CSM) Certification, SuccessTRAINING

SuccessTRAINING is the training and certification program associated with the SuccessHACKER website (which in itself is a great resource for anyone interested in learning more about the field of customer success).

Rather than requiring a one-time fee for certification, SuccessTRAINING offers access to training modules on a monthly or annual basis at one of two levels:

The “Solo” track, which is appropriate for individuals who want to study customer success independently.
The “Team” track, which grants access to the modules to multiple people on a single team (in addition to offering other perks, such as key learner metrics, add-on expert coaching and a dedicated account CSM.

The “Solo” track is priced at $49 per month or $529 per year for a single user, while the “Team” track costs $89/month per user, or $959/year per user. Those who complete the programming receive a designation of Certified Customer Success Manager (CCSM) Level 1, Level 2 or Level 3.

Customer Success Manager (CSM) Certification Program, The Success League

The CSM Certification Program offered by The Success League claims to teach you “everything you need to know to be a CSM.”

Unlike SuccessTRAINING’s option – which is taught on-demand – The Success League’s program operates more like a college course, with 16 live, hour-long classes taught online over a four-month period.

Individual class sessions cover:

Customer Goals & Outcomes
Business Strategy for CSMs
Managing Your Portfolio
Kicking Off the Relationship
Executive Business Reviews
Renewals & Churn
Customer Advocacy
Time Management for CSMs
Uncovering Opportunities
Asking Great Questions
Objections & Negotiation
Managing a Selling Cycle
Using CRM and CSM Systems
Cross-Functional Leadership
Difficult Conversations
Career Development for CSMs

The program costs $1,595, and registration can be handled online as new sessions are scheduled. Other training programs are also available through The Success League, including individual sessions on the topics listed above, as well as courses on career development and smaller bundles of classes.

Managing Difficult Customers, International Customer Management Institute (ICMI)

ICMI’s course on Managing Difficult Customers is a one-day, instructor-led offering that’s comprised of five modules:

Module #1: Difficult Customers
Module #2: Key Considerations
Module #3: Techniques That Help
Module #4: Avoiding Escalations
Module #5: Managing Stress

The key takeaways participants can expect to learn from the course include, “How listening, asking good questions, empathizing, apologizing, controlling the call, and providing the solution help with difficult customers,” and “How to position yourself as competent and confident so that customers are less likely to escalate.”

Given the focused nature of the course, it may not be appropriate for all customer success workers. Those new to the field are probably going to get better results from a more well-rounded, comprehensive CSM program, for example.

However, if you’re in an existing role where you frequently interact with challenging clients, it may be worth reaching out for information on pricing and availability.

Customer Success Online Training Course, Adoptec

Adoptec’s Customer Success Online Training Course claims to offer “fundamental and advanced strategies and tactics proven to dramatically increase the results of your Customer Success efforts.”

The program is conducted entirely online and is made up of 10 modules. The cost to complete the program is $490, making it one of the more affordable options providing a comprehensive overview of what it takes to work effectively in customer success.

Customer Success Manager Specialist Certification, Cisco

Becoming a certified Cisco Customer Success Manager Specialist puts the weight of a well-known organization behind your name. But don’t think you’ll be able to jump right in and get started.

To earn the Cisco Customer Success Manager Specialist certification, you’ll need to complete the 820-605 DTCSM exam. Cisco suggests two training courses in preparation for the exam (though neither are required as prerequisites):

The Cisco Customer Success Manager Foundation (DTCSMF) course if you have less than two years of experience working in customer success.
The Cisco Customer Success Manager (DTCSM) course if you have at least two years of experience.

The DTCSMF course includes eight hours of material and can be completed online, on-demand for a cost of $280. The DTCSM course is a three-day training session, conducted either in person as part of an instructor-led training or a private-group training.

Successfully completing the Cisco Customer Success Manager Specialist exam grants you a certification that’s valid for two years (at which point, you can recertify by retaking the current version of the exam).

Inbound Service Fundamentals, Hubspot Academy

If you’re not sure whether or not customer success is right for you, the Inbound Service Fundamentals course from the Hubspot Academy is a great place to start.

Not only is the course free to complete, it takes just over an hour to complete. In that time, you’ll view six videos, covering:

Why the inbound service framework?
Developing a customer journey map
Creating a customer journey map for different industries
Engaging the modern customer
Guiding your customers to success with content
Growing better by earning promoters

Hubspot’s training resources are top-notch in general (but I might be biased since I’m a presenter in the Content Marketing course). Even if I wasn’t involved, I’d still recommend this one, based on the quality of Hubspot’s materials and the chance to get your feet wet with customer success before committing to an in-depth certification program.

Customer Success Executives Coaching, CSM Bootcamp

CSM Bootcamp isn’t a training program for those who are new to the field of customer success. Instead, it’s a targeted coaching opportunity designed for those who have an existing customer success program in place, but who want to either diagnose problems or take their departments to the next level in terms of best practices.

Specifically, the program promises four deliverables upon completion:

Clear metrics to monitor customer health at each phase
Lists of proactive calls-to-action for each customer phase
Engagement playbooks, workflows and documentations
Metrics to help customers progress along their journey

I’m a big fan of seeking out targeted coaching and mentorship in response to specific challenges, which is why I think a program like CSM Bootcamp could be a good fit if you feel your organization’s customer success efforts aren’t totally up to par. Reach out directly to the program for more information on pricing and timing.

Customer Success Events

I haven’t attended any of these events personally, so I can’t vouch for them myself. But I’ve heard good things from others in the space, so check them out if you think they could be beneficial.

Customer Success Summit

Website: https://www.totango.com/events/customer-success-summit/team-edition-customer
Location: New York, NY
Dates: September 11-13, 2019
Cost: $1,999 (discounts available for ticket bundles)

The 2019 Customer Success Summit promises that attendees will discover “practical insights into what’s working now to drive customer centricity and increase revenue growth.” Featured speakers include Guy Nirpaz, Founder & CEO of Totango, Katriona Lord-Levins, Director of Customer Success of Autodesk, and Shelby Czarnota, VP, Customer Success Business Solutions at SAP.

This year’s event is coming up quick, so if you miss it, be sure to sign up for announcements for the 2020 event.

Customer Success Association SuccessCon

Website: https://www.customersuccessassociation.com/event/customer-successcon-london-2019/
Location: London, UK
Dates: September 10, 2019
Cost: £240 – £354

SuccessCon is a series of events hosted by The Customer Success Association that’s been running since 2013. Each day-long event features training on current customer success trends, as well as a post-training reception for networking in the field. If you can’t make London’s event in September, watch for information on Seattle’s session in October 2019 or the Berkeley event in November 2019.

Gainsight’s Pulse Conference

Website: https://www.pulse19.com/
Location: San Francisco, CA
Dates: May 21-24, 2019
Cost: $299-$1,700

Gainsight’s popular Pulse conference is typically held in May and offers educational sessions, hands-on product training and networking opportunities for customer success teams. It’s especially valuable for Gainsight Administrators, who can either earn certification as a Gainsight Certified Administrator or attend product enablement sessions geared towards their needs. But with speakers like Maria Martinez, EVP and Chief Customer Experience Officer at Cisco, and Carine Roman, Global Head of Customer Success at Linkedin, anyone with an interest in customer success will be able to get something out of the program.

Influitive’s Advocamp

Though it’s not clear if – or when – Influitive’s popular Advocamp program will be returning, it’s worth watching the company’s website if you’re looking for top customer success training in a non-traditional environment.

Top Customer Success Blogs

Not ready to pay for a customer success certification program? Don’t want to shell out for expensive conference travel? The following 15 are my top favorite blogs for customer success reading:

There’s plenty of other great customer success content out there, so don’t think of this list as comprehensive. Use it as a starting place as you add to your regular reading list.

Do You Need a Customer Success Credential?

If you’re thinking about starting a career in customer success, there are obvious advantages to having a professional credential on your resume.

Not only is it a good way to shortcut the learning process and get a different perspective on the work, it also proves to employers that you understand what’s needed for success in the role – even if you’ve never worked professionally in customer success.

But since it’s also a big commitment of time and money, it’s worth noting that a credential isn’t mandatory. The best customer success training comes from working hands-on with customers and listening to their needs – and that’s something you may be able to do in your current role. You may also be able to develop your own “curriculum” from the huge number of free resources and articles online, and by keeping an eye on current trends. Alternatively, consider looking at some of the best LMS software available that offer certificate courses, study modules and video tutorials.

If you do decide to pursue a formal training or credentialing program, choose one from this list or get references for others. There are plenty of fly-by-night training operations out there that’ll take your money without giving you the resources you need to succeed. Set yourself up for success in the field by being selective about the training opportunities you select.

Have you gone through a customer success training program? Are there others you’d like to recommend for this list? Leave me a comment below with your thoughts:

Sujan Patel Entrepreneur & Digital Marketing Strategist

I build and grow SaaS companies.

“When it comes to marketing, Sujan is the best. I’ve never met someone with such creative tactics and deep domain knowledge not just in one channel, but in every flavor of marketing. From content, to scrappy guerrilla tactics, to PR, Sujan always blows my mind with what he comes up with.”

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