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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.
[Un]Churned: 3 CS Trends that Will Define 2026 with Kristi Faltorusso
The customer success landscape is about to shift dramatically. Kristi Faltorusso, fresh off her departure from ClientSuccess after five years, reveals the three trends that will define CS in 2026—and the second one might surprise you. From the explosion of CS Ops to the “ERR apocalypse” hitting tech stacks across the industry, Kristi breaks down what’s coming and how to prepare. Plus, she shares the uncomfortable truth about why she left a job she loved and how an hour a day
Kristi Faltorusso
Jan 91 min read
The future of CX Is contextual: AI is the new standard
Every year tons of brands rush to release their industry trend reports, and while I save most and read some, I do so with a mix of excitement and skepticism. Let’s face it, some feel completely out of touch. I literally sit there wondering who fills out these surveys. And then there are some who feel aspirational. Like yes, in some alternate universe with unlimited budget and resources that could possibly be a reality. And then there are the few that hit so painfully close to
Kristi Faltorusso
Dec 9, 20255 min read
The Coaching Mistake That Almost Broke Me and the Framework That Saved Me
Coaching is one of the hardest parts of leadership and I learned that the hard way. When I first moved from being an individual contributor to a leader, I thought coaching meant carrying my team. I believed my job was to have every answer, jump in at every sign of trouble, solve every problem, and of course, do it all faster and better. At least that was the story I was telling myself. In reality, all I did was exhaust myself and unintentionally signal to my team that I did n
Kristi Faltorusso
Dec 6, 20253 min read
The Hidden Risk in Customer Success That No One Is Talking About: Feature Ideas
Every Customer Success leader wants to talk about churn, forecasting, onboarding, product adoption… but there’s a quiet little monster living in the background that most teams aren’t paying enough attention to: Feature ideas. Not the ideas themselves, those are gold. The way we manage them, that’s the problem. Most companies have figured out how to collect requests: forms, spreadsheets, portals, Slack messages, emails with subject lines like “Quick thought”… even the occasion
Kristi Faltorusso
Nov 20, 20253 min read
The Empowerment Gap: Why CSMs Don’t Feel Empowered (Even When Leaders Think They Are)
I’ve coached hundreds of Customer Success Managers over the years. Different companies, different products, different regions, different markets. Yet the same pattern appears over and over again. CSMs do not feel empowered. They are not empowered to say no. They are not empowered to drive change. They are not empowered to raise red flags. They are not empowered to make tough decisions. They are not empowered to prioritize for their customers. They are not empowered to deviate
Kristi Faltorusso
Nov 14, 20253 min read
Customer Success Isn’t Just Growing, It’s Defining Market Value
I love when data validates what many of us in Customer Success have been saying for years: customer-led growth is the engine of modern business performance. The latest Public Market Pulse Report from Certinia analyzed more than 4,000 public company earnings reports and the findings are a massive win for Customer Success. The data shows a clear pattern: companies that talk about Customer Success are creating more value, and the market is rewarding them for it. Let’s unpack wha
Kristi Faltorusso
Oct 28, 20252 min read
The Journey: #31 Product Perception Penalty
In Customer Success, we spend a lot of time talking about value realization. But over the years, I’ve come to realize something just as...
Kristi Faltorusso
Aug 10, 20253 min read
The Journey: #29 The Research Edge
When I started my first role in Customer Success, I thought I had it all figured out. I had been a power user of the product.I knew the...
Kristi Faltorusso
Jul 22, 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
The Silent Silo Killing Customer Value: Services
Everyone in SaaS loves to talk about breaking down silos between Sales and Customer Success. You’ve heard the calls to “align GTM” and...
Kristi Faltorusso
Jul 17, 20252 min read
The Journey: #28 Personalized ≠ Customized
There was a time in my career when I believed that “wow” moments came from building everything from scratch. Every onboarding flow. Every...
Kristi Faltorusso
Jul 14, 20253 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: #27 The CSM Success Code
When I first stepped into CS leadership, I found myself managing a high-performing, high-engagement team full of hungry, driven CSMs. ...
Kristi Faltorusso
Jul 6, 20253 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
Now At Night: The Fun Side of Customer Success with Kristi Faltorusso
Read the episode summary: In this episode, we sit down with the legendary Kristi Faltorusso Customer Success powerhouse, startup...
Kristi Faltorusso
Jun 4, 20251 min read
The Journey: #14 The Automated Advantage
When I started my Customer Success journey, we didn’t have AI. Heck, we barely had folders we could find. No centralized hub. No...
Kristi Faltorusso
Apr 6, 20252 min read
Why Your Onboarding Program Failed (And How to Fix It)
Let’s rip the Band-Aid off. Your onboarding program failed. And here’s why: You built it to serve your company — not your customer. I’ve...
Kristi Faltorusso
Apr 3, 20253 min read
Your Customer, Your Success: Episode #7 New Year, New Success - Customer Success Strategy
In this episode of Your Customer, Your Success, host Gary Marra sits down with Kristi Faltorusso, Chief Customer Officer at ClientSuccess...
Kristi Faltorusso
Jan 21, 20251 min read
The Sales-to-CS Handoff Won’t Save You—Here’s What Will
Too many Customer Success teams treat the Sales-to-CS handoff like some magical resource—one that holds all the secrets to a customer’s...
Kristi Faltorusso
Jan 17, 20253 min read
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