Building a Consultant Mindset
Should a CSM act like a consultant?
The short answer: yes. The long one… let me explain.
I vividly remember one of my first meetings with a major client five years ago. What stuck with me the most was how I felt.
They had been using our product for months. It was a legacy account, one of those easy maintenance ones. But over time, the client wasn’t getting the same value as before.
Ten minutes into the conversation—and after throwing out a couple of open questions—I realized they weren’t expecting me to just provide support or follow-up.
They were expecting guidance. They wanted me to help them think and structure.
“What would you do in my place? How do you think we should handle this?”
That question changed everything. And today, I want to tell you why it matters.
💡 A CSM leads, not just supports
Throughout these years in SaaS, I’ve learned that a Customer Success Manager isn’t (and shouldn’t be) just the person who knows the product—though that is crucial. Their key task is to translate the tool into results for the customer.
And to do that, it’s not enough to follow up or solve tickets. You have to be proactive and, more importantly, you have to think like a consultant.
Or better said: act with a consultative mindset.
And no, this doesn’t mean having a strategic consulting certification. It means being able to:
- Understand the customer’s business
- Ask questions that challenge their current thinking
- Help them prioritize and make decisions
- Translate features into value
- Create spaces for analysis, not just check-ins
🎯 Why does a consultative approach make the difference?
Let me summarize it in one sentence:
A consultative CSM doesn’t just manage the relationship. They bring clarity amid the noise and guide the customer toward tangible outcomes.
This builds trust, increases your value in the account, and turns every conversation into a real opportunity for impact.
The truth is, getting there isn’t always easy. Because between theory and practice… comes fear. That feeling that you can’t offer value to someone who knows their own business better than you.
And that fear? It paralyzes.
But now, let’s switch perspectives.
The client is also stuck. They’ve made an investment and asked for a budget to work with you—but they’re still not getting the full value. They’ve had the courage to ask you for help, even if it means admitting they’re lost.
So why is their fear smaller than yours?
If they’ve taken the step, why shouldn’t you?
❗ What if I don’t know the client well, or the product, or even where to start?
This is more common than you’d think. I see it in every company—the feeling of not being “enough,” especially when you’ve just joined a new product or industry.
And this brings up the two big fears we just talked about:
- “How can I help if I don’t know the customer’s business?”
- “What if I don’t even master the product enough to offer real solutions?”
Let’s break it down.
🕵️♀️ What if I don’t know the customer’s business?
You can’t guide someone if you don’t have at least a minimal understanding of their challenges. But here’s the key: you don’t need to be an expert in their industry—you need to be an expert in asking good questions.
Start like this:
- “What’s your team’s main goal this quarter?”
- “What internal blockers are holding you back?”
- “How does your company measure success?”
- “What do you want to achieve? What would personal success look like for you in this project?”
When you lack context, your greatest value is your curiosity.
The client will feel heard, and you’ll begin to uncover what you need to truly add value each week. And as you gather information, you’ll start to feel their pain points—maybe even find the solution or, at the very least, a better path forward.
Bonus:
- Look on LinkedIn to see what the company does and who their clients are.
- Use AI tools to help you gather insights.
- Share your question or concern with your team. Sometimes asking “What challenges did the client mention in the demo?” gives you the answer.
- Escalate even further—it might be a company-wide issue that should be addressed. If it’s shared within a team, the solution might be: internal training.
😰 What if I don’t know my product well enough to guide so many clients with different issues?
This is one of the most common fears I hear.
“What if they ask me something I don’t know? What if I can’t guide them because I don’t fully understand the product yet?”
The reality is many CSMs start without knowing every detail of the product or the industry. But the key isn’t to know it all.
The key is knowing how to guide the process.
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Be honest and proactive: “I don’t have the exact answer right now, but I’ll check with the tech team and get back to you with some options this week.”
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Guide through the process, not the feature: Instead of saying “Use button X to automate Y,” try:
“Shall we look together at how to simplify this workflow? Then we can check with Product for the best way to implement it.”
With just those two approaches, you start building trust by showing you care.
And again: escalate your concerns. Chances are your teammates feel the same, and your company should provide tools to support you.
🧭 What if the client isn’t expecting a strategic solution?
Let me bring up another point that’s connected to this.
Sometimes I’ve seen that the client isn’t looking for a big solution. Sometimes they just need structure, focus, and support.
So here are other valuable ways you can show up as a partner:
- Structure the conversation: propose clear agendas, stages, and priorities.
- Help make small decisions: choose a module, define a first goal, assign ownership.
- Act as a catalyst: connect internal departments, collect feedback, and follow up.
- Document and share: help them feel progress, even if the path is still uncertain.
🧠 How to train your team (or yourself) to build confidence?
Having a consultative CSM team isn’t just about mindset—it also requires practical training. Here’s a simple starter guide:
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Internal sessions with real cases: Run roleplays using client examples. Assign roles (client / CSM) and practice having strategic conversations.
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Include a “business and sector” module in onboarding: Train on the kinds of customers you serve: What metrics do they track? What common challenges do they face? What language do they use?
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Feature glossary + value delivered: It’s not enough to know what the product does. You need to know why it matters and what problem it solves.
✍️ In summary
Your job isn’t to be an expert in everything.
Your job is to help the customer move forward and trust you.
And that, too, is Customer Success.