December 13, 2023

To: Knowledge Futures

Re: Customer Success Manager

Dear Hiring Leaders,

I was very excited to see your open position for a Customer Success Manager. I’ve been searching interesting positions where I can translate my career experience in a new and creative way.

I love your mission and would like to be a part of helping you achieve your future vision.

I probably won’t ‘look’ like your other candidates. I don’t have a background in publishing or academia. However, I truly believe I have the right blend of customer service, technical, and strategic thought leadership skills to succeed in the role and impact the big picture. And I think there’s value in a fresh perspective. I hope you’ll agree enough to chat further.

I apologize in advance for the long-windedness of this intro. 😊 As this may be my only shot at getting in front of you, I thought I’d err on the side of too much detail.

For the past 10 years, I have been self-employed. I own a design-build company. I started it as a passion project and I’m glad I did it. But the residential construction industry has changed drastically since Covid. And I’ve decided it’s the right time for me to pivot and reenter the workforce.

I’m seeking a position where I can be inventive and thrive, working with a team of motivated visionaries moving toward the same purpose.

I’ve had the privilege of holding many client-facing positions from front-line service representative to client manager, each role targeting different layers of customer relationship management.

I’ve worked with clients of all sizes and stages of development, from many different industries, in both tactical and strategic capacities (customer service, implementations, managing client inquiries & complaints, business planning, goal setting, initiating/measuring/reporting on KPIs, business reviews, sales/expansion, project management, etc.). And I’ve worked with clients at all levels of authority, from admin to the C-suite.

This wide and deep experience has helped me develop greater perspective, intuition, and sympathy that I carry with me in how I approach customer engagements – with an open mind and keeping their point of view in the foreground.

I’m technology literate and adapt easily to new platforms. Some of the CMSs I’ve used are Squarespace, Trello, G-Suite, Facebook, Instagram, Dropbox, Hubspot, Wecora, and Zoom. I managed the user interface of proprietary web-based solutions at FirstData. I’ve used multiple software and CRM apps, including Salesforce and MS Office, with different industry-specific database management systems.

At Amex, FirstData, and Wachovia, I wrote policy documents, training materials, SOPs, etc. At that time, when creating documents, it was a Word doc or PPT presentation, maybe shared on an employee portal. Now, the ability to create dynamic cloud-based engagements with features like collab spaces, chat, AI, and screen capture, has changed the way I interact with my clients, colleagues, and industry partners.

I’ve always worked with a good cross-section of individual contributors and teams with well-established feedback loops. For example …

While at FirstData I worked as a project manager, responsible for the implementation and maintenance of online banking solutions for regional banks. My job as a client liaison was to ensure the client understood the functionality of our tools and knew how to operate them. One aspect of my job was to ensure products worked smoothly without bugs or glitches. I partnered closely with the product development team and provided quality assurance testing to minimize interruptions and provide the smoothest possible client experience.

I bring an innovative and entrepreneurial spirit to every position I hold. Below are a few examples of ways I was able to innovate in the past.

While at Amex, I created a service delivery platform that didn’t exist previously whereby my Central Time Zone call centers would recruit new client business from around the country for lower investment costs to the client, more efficient servicing, and greater revenue for my portfolio. I created new ways of capturing reporting data for clients to enable better metrics and measurements. And I created a nation-wide mentor program for high potential account managers, gaining national recognition. 

While at FirstData, I was selected to spearhead the roll-out of a client chat feature (new technology at the time) that banks & FCUs could implement to chat with clients for customer service needs. I was responsible for QA testing, implementations, training clients, and driving client sales & engagement.

I understand the CSM will manage day-to-day tactical functions of creating customer help resources. Because of the strategic nature of much of my experience, I would also be able to synthesize data from customers’ experiences to identify trends, look for best practices and opportunities, make recommendations for process/product improvements, and flesh out potential expansion opportunities.

Phew! Enough about me! 😊

I hope with this intro that you’ve gotten a good idea of my range of skills and experience, my drive, and my sense of humor. I hope also that you see, as I do, that I would be a great fit for Knowledge Futures, for the Community Team, for PubPub, and for your clients.

Thank you for your consideration.

Lisa