In this episode of SaaS Therapy, hosts Todd Kirk and Casey Trujillo have a conversation with Max Alschlager, Senior Manager of Digital Experience at CDW. They explore the dynamics of channel partnerships in the SaaS industry. They discuss the benefits of leveraging established relationships for faster scaling, share success stories of SaaS vendors, and address common pitfalls in partnerships. This conversation delves into the best practices for structuring sales models and customer solutions to ...
Mar 11, 2025•45 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast Todd Kirk and Casey Trujillo chat with Lucas Lovell, VP of Product at Paddle. Listen to dive into the critical role of product management in SaaS and the importance of empathy, stakeholder relationships, and a structured prioritization framework for product development. Join us to discuss the intricacies of product prioritization, emphasizing the balance between value and effort. They explore the importance of collaboration between product, sales, and customer success teams, highlighting the nee...
Mar 04, 2025•48 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast Join Todd Kirk and Casey Trujillo for a conversation with Roger Mendez, a leader in customer success and operations at Cisco. They discuss the implications of AI in business and education. Roger shares insights from his recent experience at Cornell University, where he explored AI strategy and its potential to enhance human capabilities. Listen to explore the intersection of AI and human behavior as professionals and organization begin large-scale AI adoption. Takeaways The effectiveness of AI i...
Feb 25, 2025•44 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of SaaS Therapy, Todd Kirk and Casey Trujillo welcome Chiraag Kapoor from Radian Capital to discuss the importance of post-sale metrics in SaaS businesses. They explore key metrics such as retention, bookings, and ARR, emphasizing the need for customer success teams to understand their impact on overall business health. The conversation also highlights the significance of creating an exceptional customer experience and driving down time to value during onboarding. Takeaways Reten...
Feb 18, 2025•48 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, Todd Kirk and Casey Trujillo explore the importance of recognizing opportunities in customer experience through the metaphor of surfing. They discuss how to embrace a mindset of continuous learning, the significance of building trust with customers, and the need for cultural adaptation in business practices. Takeaways Taking time off can lead to fresh perspectives. Data should be viewed as an opportunity for discussion. Patience is key in recognizing opportunities. There are alw...
Feb 11, 2025•33 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast Get a quick introduction to this past Tuesday's episode with Samantha Murray. If you haven't listened to that episode, go listen to it!
Feb 07, 2025•3 min•Transcript available on Metacast Join Casey Trujillo and Todd Kirk live from Silicon Slopes recording studio in Utah for an interview with Samantha Murray, Customer Education guru. Sam Murray discuss the critical role of customer education in SaaS organizations, drawing on Sam's extensive experience at Shopify. The conversation highlights the challenges of organizational silos and the necessity of collaboration across teams to enhance customer experience. Takeaways Customer education is essential for driving product adoptio...
Feb 04, 2025•44 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast In this conversation, Todd Kirk, Ed Powers, and Casey Trujillo discuss the importance of change management in driving user adoption and success in organizations. They explore the human aspects of change, effective communication strategies, and the role of customer success managers in facilitating smooth transitions. The discussion emphasizes the need for awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, and reinforcement (ADKAR) in managing change effectively, as well as the significance of executive spons...
Jan 29, 2025•33 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast References: Nexus - Yuval Noah Harrari Stolen Focus - Johann Hari Deep Work - Cal Newport Be Data Literate 2nd Edition - Jordan Morrow The AI Awakening - Dr Mazhgan Tavakolifard Mastering the Data Paradox - Nitin Seth Todd Kirk and Casey Trujillo talk with Jordan Morrow, a leading expert in data literacy and AI transformation. The conversation explores the importance of understanding data literacy, the practical applications of AI in business, and the critical role of human intuition and creativ...
Jan 14, 2025•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome to Season 4 of SaaS Therapy. In this episode of SaaS Therapy, Todd Kirk and Casey Trujillo welcome Kristen Hayer, founder and CEO of Success League. Listen to explore Kristen's entrepreneurial journey, the importance of leadership and ownership in customer success, the role of influence and accountability in leadership, and best practices for presenting to executives. Kristen shares her insights on how to effectively lead without formal authority and the skills necessary for influenc...
Jan 07, 2025•49 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast In this special holiday edition of SaaS Therapy, hosts Todd Kirk and Casey Trujillo reflect on the key insights and themes from Season 3. We'll take you back to some of our favorite conversations from this season such as the analogy of the Winchester Mystery House to illustrate the complexities of learning management systems, and the significance of understanding customer experiences. The hosts emphasize the need for honesty and vulnerability in building trust, and they encourage listeners t...
Dec 23, 2024•29 min•Ep 20•Transcript available on Metacast Join us for a great conversation with Todd Kirk and Casey Trujillo and guest Marley Wagner, a digital customer success consultant, to explore the evolving role of customer success in the SaaS industry. They discuss the importance of balancing automation with human interaction, the need for cross-functional collaboration between marketing and customer success, and the significance of understanding customer needs to enhance relationships. Marley Wagner and Todd Kirk discuss the importance of colla...
Dec 17, 2024•45 min•Ep 19•Transcript available on Metacast In this Friday check-in episode, Todd dives into the highlights of his discussion with Emilia, focusing on her unique concept of "crunchy conversations" and the importance of team alignment across sales, marketing, product, and customer success. He explores how transparent and honest discussions can break down silos, improve accountability, and ultimately drive customer success. Todd also shares practical insights from the session, including strategies for team alignment and collaboration to imp...
Dec 13, 2024•5 min•Ep 18•Transcript available on Metacast Todd Kirk and Casey Trujillo welcome Emilia D'Anzica, founder of Growth Molecules, to discuss the importance of customer success and journey mapping. Emilia shares her insights on how to effectively engage stakeholders, identify friction points in customer experiences, and reduce churn. In this conversation, Emilia discusses the importance of accountability in customer journey mapping, emphasizing the need for clear roles and responsibilities. She highlights the operationalization of journey map...
Dec 11, 2024•46 min•Ep 18•Transcript available on Metacast Join Todd Kirk and Casey Trujillo for a conversation with guest Anthony Pierri, co-founder of Fletch PMM, to discuss the critical importance of effective positioning and messaging for SaaS companies. Explore common pitfalls in SaaS marketing, the need for clarity in communication, and the challenges of differentiating products in a crowded market. Anthony emphasizes that software marketing requires a different approach than physical products, focusing on the necessity of explaining what the soft...
Dec 03, 2024•52 min•Ep 16•Transcript available on Metacast In this special holiday episode of SaaS Therapy , host Todd Kirk takes a moment to reflect on the incredible journey of the podcast's first year. From insightful guest interviews to meaningful audience interactions, Todd shares his gratitude for listeners and the SaaS community. He also highlights how the show has been a source of inspiration and learning for him personally. Todd leaves listeners with a simple yet impactful message: focus on seeing and sharing the good around you, and take steps...
Dec 02, 2024•3 min•Ep 15•Transcript available on Metacast Happy Thanksgiving week! Host Todd Kirk and guest Tyler Rogers express gratitude for the often-overlooked role of CSMs, who bridge the gap between product and customer needs, manage renewals, and enhance the customer journey. Tyler shares insights from his 15 years of experience as a CSM, emphasizing the balance of relationship management and expertise required to succeed in this role. Takeaways Customer success is about building strong relationships. CSMs must balance empathy with product advoc...
Nov 26, 2024•28 min•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast Casey Trujillo discusses insights from Maria Manning-Chapman's episode that focuses on customer education and engagement metrics. The conversation highlights the importance of understanding how many users are interacting with educational resources and the impact of these interactions on software adoption and customer experience. Learn how customer engagement strategies relates to Tesla's approach to making electric vehicles. Takeaways Consider the percentage of your organization interacting with...
Nov 22, 2024•7 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast Todd Kirk and Casey Trujillo chat with Maria Manning-Chapman, VP of Education Services Research at TSIA. The conversation explores the challenges and misconceptions surrounding Learning Management Systems (LMS) in customer education, the importance of analytics, and the disconnect between stated objectives and actual practices in education organizations. Maria emphasizes the need for data-driven strategies to enhance product adoption and the critical role of understanding metrics in measuring tr...
Nov 19, 2024•52 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast Today features a conversation with Jenelle Friday, founder of LionheartCS, to explore the significance of emotional intelligence (EQ) in the SaaS industry. Jenelle shares her personal journey towards understanding EQ, emphasizing the importance of self-awareness and how it impacts both personal and professional relationships. Listen to learn practical strategies for enhancing emotional intelligence, the role of empathy in customer success, and the necessity of taking personal accountability. Jen...
Nov 12, 2024•52 min•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of SaaS Therapy, Todd Kirk discusses the critical aspects of customer experience that Andrew talked about in Tuesday's episode. Explore the definition of customer experience, the importance of understanding customer journeys, and the need for data-driven insights to enhance customer satisfaction. Takeaways Customer experience is the delivery of the brand promise. Many SaaS companies struggle with customer experience. Understanding customer journeys is crucial for success. Data co...
Nov 08, 2024•6 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast Todd Kirk and Casey Trujillo engage with Andrew Carothers, a senior customer experience leader, to explore the multifaceted world of customer experience (CX). They discuss the definition of CX, the importance of aligning it with brand promises, and the necessity of a data-driven approach to enhance customer interactions. Andrew shares insights on building a customer-centric experience, measuring success, and overcoming organizational challenges. The conversation emphasizes the shift towards a di...
Nov 05, 2024•48 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast Happy Halloween week! Todd Kirk and Casey Trujillo discuss spooky insights from a live survey conducted at the ZERO-IN 2024 conference, focusing on the evolving role of Customer Success Managers (CSMs). Learn how CSMs define their roles, the challenges they face in managing multiple accounts, and the effectiveness of training methods. It's clear from the survey results that there's a disconnect between CSMs' perceptions of their roles and the actual needs for driving customer renewals, emphasizi...
Oct 29, 2024•32 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of SaaS Therapy, Todd Kirk and Casey Trujillo talk with Matt Collier, a seasoned customer success leader, to explore the intricacies of customer success metrics, KPIs, and the evolving role of customer success managers. Their conversation dives into the importance of measuring the right outcomes rather than just activity, the balance between customer satisfaction and commercial success, and the need for adaptability in leadership. Matt shares insights on common pitfalls in custom...
Oct 22, 2024•44 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast Join co-hosts Todd Kirk and Casey Trujillo to talk about the critical aspects of customer education, including focusing on the importance of micro learning and the preferred methods users have for learning. There is a need in corporate training for engaging video content that is concise and user-friendly. Learn from our co-host some of the best practices for creating educational content, effective communication strategies, and understanding user needs to enhance learning experiences. Takeaways M...
Oct 15, 2024•37 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome Dwayne Grant, VP of Customer Experience at Evercommerce to SaaS Therapy. This conversation with Todd, Casey, and Dwayne delves into the intricacies of customer experience in the B2B space. Dwayne emphasizes the importance of brand trust, effective onboarding, and the need for businesses to be data informed rather than data led. Hear Dwayne share insights on navigating customer relationships, avoiding common pitfalls, and listening to customer feedback. Takeaways Customer experience start...
Oct 08, 2024•45 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of SaaS Therapy, Todd Kirk and Casey Trujillo welcome Mark Sunday, former CIO of Oracle, to discuss his extensive career and insights into the role of a CIO. Mark shares his journey from semiconductor companies to leading IT at Oracle, emphasizing the importance of strategic thinking, security, and driving adoption of technology. He provides valuable advice for startups looking to engage with large enterprises and discusses the evolving landscape of cloud technology. Takeaways Se...
Oct 01, 2024•44 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast Casey Trujillo recaps insights from our most recent panel episode with industry experts on how to effectively do more with less in today's business environment. The conversation highlights practical strategies for maximizing resources, aligning initiatives with business objectives, and the importance of emotional detachment from results. Key takeaways include the significance of involving diverse perspectives, understanding the nature of initiatives, and learning from failures to drive succe...
Sep 20, 2024•9 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast Recorded episode from a live podcast event on hosted at Silicon Slopes Studio on September 11th, 2024. Welcome our guest panel: Doug Norton | Head of CS @ Bill.com Kate Sharp | Director of CS @ BrainStorm Roger Mendez | Global Leader of CS @ Cisco Alyssa Sorensen | Customer Education @ Spiff These Utah CS experts join Casey Trujillo to discuss the landscape of customer success in the SaaS industry, particularly in the context of doing more with less. Listen to hear a variety of strategies and be...
Sep 17, 2024•35 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome to Season 3! Today, Todd & Casey discuss conscious leadership and its importance in building strong relationships. Explore the idea of being above the line- curious, open, and committed to learning- and being below the line- closed off and committed to being right. This conversation highlights the significance of emotional intelligence in navigating challenging situations and building trust with customers. The key takeaway is that conscious leadership leads to better relationships, l...
Sep 11, 2024•35 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast 
