Driving Down Churn Requires a Cross-Functional, Collaborative Approach
In a recent post, my colleague Kristin Hallas raised an important point: there’s a growing tendency to equate post-sales with a single role — the Customer Success Manager (CSM).
But let’s be clear:
Post-sales encompasses every activity, interaction, and touchpoint that happens after a customer signs the contract — from onboarding and support to product enablement and long-term value delivery.
In my world, expecting a single team — or worse, a single person — to carry the full weight of that responsibility isn’t just unrealistic; it’s unsustainable. Customers don’t experience your company in silos, and your post-sales support model shouldn’t operate in one either.
Speaking from experience, when we aligned and operated cross-functionally across post-sales roles — including CS, Support, Finance, Implementation, Product, and Account Management — we drove down internal risk by over $7M, all while continuing to earn the trust of 60+ customers.
That didn’t happen because one team worked harder.
It happened because every team worked smarter — together.
You’re probably thinking, “That sounds great… but where do I even start?”
In our experience, there are several early warning signs that a customer may be at risk. Identifying and acting on those signals proactively is key.
One effective practice: establish a bi-weekly, cross-functional risk review. Use this time to discuss newly identified at-risk customers and align on the path forward.
One of my favorite quotes sums it up perfectly:
“If everyone owns it, nobody does.”
— Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize-Winning Economist
To avoid this trap, assign clear ownership across three dimensions for every at-risk customer:
| Role | Owner |
| Risk Department Owner | The team responsible (e.g., CS, Product, Support) |
| Risk Leadership Owner | The accountable leader |
| Risk Action Owner | The individual executing the recovery plan |
Build a Risk Stage Framework
Introduce clear, trackable stages to monitor progress and accountability:
- Risk Identified
- Plan in Place
- Recovering
- Closed – Successful
- Closed – Unsuccessful
These stages create a shared language and help teams quantify progress toward recovery.
Measure What Matters
To truly operationalize this process, start tracking:
- Number of customers at risk
- Total contract value at risk
- Average days in risk
- Number of risk incidents per customer
- Stage of the customer journey they’re in
- Risk reasons or themes
- Business segment (if applicable)
- Number of customers successfully recovered
Begin each meeting with a quick metrics overview to reinforce the impact of your collaboration — and to remind everyone that this alignment is driving real business results.
This brings us full circle.
Post-sales is not a job title.
It’s a strategic, cross-functional commitment to customer success.
CSMs might be on the front line, but they can’t — and shouldn’t — do it alone.
When every team shows up, takes ownership, and works in sync, that’s when post-sales becomes a true engine for retention, growth, and long-term value.
Need help with this within your organization? Reach out to SFE Advisors.
