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Welcome to
After the Close
the Blog
Thoughtful insights and honest perspectives on Customer Success and leadership, focused on the work that happens after the deal is done.
After the Close is a space for reflection, insight, and the conversations that don’t always happen in the meeting or the deck. This blog is here to share real stories, practical lessons, and honest perspectives on Customer Success and leadership.
Whether you’re a CSM, a CS leader, or an executive, you’ll find insight on what happens after the deal is signed. From navigating adoption and retention to leading teams and driving impact, the goal is simple: help you think more clearly, act more intentionally, and build work that lasts.


“Figure It Out” Is Not Leadership: Why founders accidentally set their first leaders up to fail
“Figure it out.” It’s a phrase that sounds empowering on the surface. But most of the time, it’s not empowerment. It’s leadership abandonment. And founders and CEOs need to hear this. I’ve seen this happen over and over again in early-stage companies. In fact, it happened to me more than once earlier in my Customer Success career. A founder or CEO pulls you aside and says something like: "Kristi, this is a big opportunity. You've never done this before, but I believe in you.
Kristi Faltorusso
1 day ago3 min read


Stop Sweating the Small Stuff: The Career Lesson That Changed Everything
The fastest way to stall your career is to sweat the small stuff. It sounds simple. Almost cliché. But figuring this out completely changed my career trajectory and my overall happiness at work. Early in my career, everything seemed to bother me. Not the big things. The small, daily annoyances. Someone talking over me in meetings Being asked to do something I had already completed Not being given opportunities, I clearly believed I deserved Coworkers not understanding why we
Kristi Faltorusso
1 day ago3 min read


Why Your Weekly Customer Calls Don’t Make You Strategic
Let’s clear something up: Showing up to weekly or bi-weekly calls with your customers does NOT make you proactive. And it definitely does...
Kristi Faltorusso
Oct 8, 20252 min read


The Journey: #38 Silence the Silence
I didn’t grow up in a white-collar home. My parents owned and worked in a delicatessen for over 45 years. Together, they ran that...
Kristi Faltorusso
Sep 28, 20252 min read


The Journey: #37 Leadership, Not Mentorship
We often blur the lines between leadership and mentorship, but here’s the truth: just because you are someone’s leader does not mean you...
Kristi Faltorusso
Sep 28, 20252 min read


She's So Suite: The World Traveler turned Founder & SVP at Certinia ft. Deb Ashton
LISTEN TO THE LATEST SHE'S SO SUITE PODCAST IN THIS EPISODE KRISTI AND DEB DISCUSS: 1. Career Paths Are Rarely Straightforward Deb’s...
Kristi Faltorusso
Sep 8, 20253 min read


She's So Suite: The Actress Turned SVP of Marketing at Pavilion ft. Kathleen Booth
LISTEN TO THE LATEST SHE'S SO SUITE PODCAST IN THIS EPISODE KRISTI AND LESLIE DISCUSS: 1.Owning Your Own Business =/= Work-Life Balance...
Kristi Faltorusso
Sep 8, 20253 min read


She's So Suite: The Teacher Turned President & CSO at The Engineered Innovation Group ft. Karen Mangia
LISTEN TO THE LATEST SHE'S SO SUITE PODCAST IN THIS EPISODE KRISTI AND KAREN DISCUSS: Success Is a Personal Definition Karen emphasized...
Kristi Faltorusso
Sep 8, 20253 min read


The Silent Signals of Customer Risk You’re Probably Missing
In Customer Success, we’re trained to track signals. We build health scores, monitor usage, analyze surveys, and flag risks when...
Kristi Faltorusso
Aug 19, 20252 min read


The Journey: #32 The Missing Mindreader
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been ambitious. Every job I’ve ever had came with a built-in, personal side project: designing the...
Kristi Faltorusso
Aug 10, 20253 min read


The Journey: #30 Renewals by Design
Let’s get one thing straight: Renewals don’t just happen. They’re not a due date. Not a Salesforce stage. Not a task on your CSM’s...
Kristi Faltorusso
Jul 27, 20253 min read


Compensation Is Strategy: Why Your CS Comp Plan Might Be Sending the Wrong Message
After 13+ years in Customer Success, there’s one lesson that has proven itself time and time again: People do what you pay them to do. If...
Kristi Faltorusso
Jul 18, 20253 min read


Your Past Doesn't Dictate Your Future
I used to believe success came from privilege. I was wrong. For most of my life, I let my upbringing, my education, my wealth, or lack of...
Kristi Faltorusso
Jul 12, 20252 min read


Fear of Failure is Holding You Back
The greatest risk I ever took, was trying to play it safe. The greatest success I ever saw, was when I stopped. Over the past 13 years,...
Kristi Faltorusso
Jul 9, 20251 min read


The CEO won't make or break your success quite like this leader ...
You want to know how I decide whether to take a CS leadership role? I start by evaluating the sales leader. After 13 years and 5 CS...
Kristi Faltorusso
Jul 8, 20251 min read


The Journey: #26 Face Time Matters
A few years ago, I was logging 200,000 miles a year. Great for my Delta status. Brutal on my body, marriage, and sanity. But completely...
Kristi Faltorusso
Jun 30, 20252 min read
Market Impact Insights Podcast: Customer Success Isn't Optional - Kristi Faltorusso
ClientSuccess Chief Customer Officer Kristi Faltorusso admits a question that most customer success professionals can't answer: "How is...
Kristi Faltorusso
Jun 30, 20251 min read


The Journey: #25 $2M, Ain't It
For years, we’ve been haunted by a number. Not a retention target. Not a CSAT score. Not even NRR. I’m talking about the mythical $2...
Kristi Faltorusso
Jun 22, 20253 min read


The Journey: #24 So Long, Scaries
It used to hit me like clockwork. Sunday. 3:00 PM. That slow build of dread. The “Sunday Scaries” creeping in like a fog. But one Sunday,...
Kristi Faltorusso
Jun 15, 20252 min read


The Journey: #23 All Systems Go
When I started my career as a CSM, everything felt manageable. I had a book of business, a list of clear priorities, a schedule that I...
Kristi Faltorusso
Jun 8, 20253 min read

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