Effective Work Sample Exercises for Hiring Customer Success Managers

Customer Success Managers serve as the critical bridge between your company and your clients, directly impacting retention, expansion revenue, and overall customer satisfaction. The right CSM can transform your customer relationships, driving loyalty and growth, while the wrong hire can lead to churn and damaged client relationships. Traditional interviews often fail to reveal how candidates will actually perform in real-world customer scenarios.

Work samples provide a window into a candidate's actual capabilities by simulating the key responsibilities they'll face on the job. For Customer Success Managers, these exercises should evaluate relationship building, strategic thinking, data analysis, and problem-solving skills. By observing candidates in action, you can assess not just what they say they can do, but what they actually demonstrate when faced with realistic scenarios.

The most effective CSM hiring processes incorporate practical exercises that mirror day-to-day responsibilities. These activities reveal how candidates think on their feet, communicate complex information, and develop strategic plans to drive customer outcomes. Additionally, they provide insight into soft skills like empathy, adaptability, and coachability – critical traits that traditional interviews might miss.

The following work samples are designed to evaluate the core competencies required for Customer Success Manager excellence. Each exercise simulates a real-world scenario your CSM will likely encounter, providing a comprehensive view of their capabilities and potential for success in your organization.

Activity #1: Quarterly Business Review Simulation

The Quarterly Business Review (QBR) is a cornerstone of customer success management, requiring CSMs to analyze data, identify trends, and present strategic recommendations to clients. This exercise evaluates a candidate's analytical abilities, strategic thinking, and communication skills in a high-stakes client-facing scenario. A strong candidate will demonstrate the ability to translate complex data into actionable insights while building rapport with stakeholders.

Directions for the Company:

• Prepare a mock customer account profile including 3-6 months of product usage data, key stakeholders, business goals, and current challenges. This should be 1-2 pages maximum.
• Create a simple dashboard with relevant metrics such as user adoption rates, feature usage, support tickets, and NPS scores showing both positive and concerning trends.
• Provide the candidate with these materials 24 hours before the interview.
• During the interview, have 2-3 team members role-play as client stakeholders with different priorities (e.g., a technical user, a budget-conscious manager, and a strategic executive).
• Allocate 20 minutes for the presentation and 10 minutes for Q&A from the "client stakeholders."

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided customer profile and usage data to identify key trends, successes, and areas of concern.
• Prepare a 15-20 minute business review presentation that includes:
• A summary of the customer's goals and current status
• Analysis of key metrics and what they indicate about the customer's success
• 2-3 strategic recommendations to improve outcomes
• Specific next steps and action items
• Be prepared to present as if speaking to actual client stakeholders and handle questions or objections.
• Focus on demonstrating how your recommendations will help the client achieve their business objectives.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the presentation, provide specific feedback on one aspect the candidate handled well (e.g., "Your data analysis clearly connected usage patterns to the client's stated goals").
• Offer one piece of constructive feedback (e.g., "Your recommendations could be more specific about implementation timelines").
• Give the candidate 5 minutes to adjust their approach based on the feedback and re-present a portion of their recommendations.
• Observe how receptive they are to feedback and their ability to adapt quickly.

Activity #2: At-Risk Customer Intervention

Identifying and addressing at-risk customers is a critical skill for CSMs. This exercise evaluates a candidate's ability to recognize warning signs, develop retention strategies, and collaborate with internal teams to resolve complex customer issues. It reveals how proactive, resourceful, and customer-focused the candidate is when faced with a challenging situation.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a scenario of an at-risk customer showing multiple warning signs (e.g., declining usage, missed implementation milestones, unresponsive stakeholders, escalated support tickets).
• Include relevant context such as the customer's size, industry, contract value, renewal date (within 90 days), and a brief history of the relationship.
• Provide a simple organizational chart showing key stakeholders at the customer and their sentiment toward your product.
• Include any relevant internal team members (support, product, engineering) who might need to be involved.
• Allow the candidate 30 minutes to review the materials and prepare their response.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the customer scenario and identify the key risk factors that require immediate attention.
• Develop a 30-60-90 day intervention plan that includes:
• Immediate actions to address critical issues
• Stakeholder engagement strategy
• Success metrics to track improvement
• Resources needed from internal teams
• Prepare to discuss your plan in a 15-minute presentation followed by 10 minutes of questions.
• Be specific about how you would prioritize issues and what communication approaches you would use with different stakeholders.
• Explain how you would measure the success of your intervention.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Provide feedback on the candidate's risk assessment and prioritization approach.
• Offer one constructive suggestion about an aspect of their plan that could be strengthened.
• Ask the candidate to revise their stakeholder engagement strategy based on your feedback.
• Evaluate their ability to incorporate feedback and refine their approach.

Activity #3: Customer Onboarding Plan Creation

Effective onboarding is crucial for establishing strong customer relationships and driving early adoption. This exercise assesses a candidate's ability to create tailored implementation plans, set appropriate expectations, and lay the groundwork for long-term success. It reveals their organizational skills, attention to detail, and understanding of how to align product capabilities with customer objectives.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a profile of a new customer, including:
• Company size, industry, and business goals
• Key stakeholders and their roles
• Specific challenges they're trying to solve with your product
• Any technical requirements or integration needs
• Timeline constraints or other relevant factors
• Provide a one-page overview of your product's typical implementation process and timeline.
• Include a list of available resources (documentation, training materials, technical support options).
• Allow the candidate 45 minutes to review the materials and create their plan.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the customer profile and product implementation information.
• Create a comprehensive 90-day onboarding plan that includes:
• Key milestones and timeline
• Stakeholder engagement strategy
• Training and enablement approach
• Success metrics and how they'll be tracked
• Risk factors and mitigation strategies
• Prepare to present your plan in a 15-minute walkthrough, explaining your rationale for each element.
• Be prepared to discuss how you would adjust the plan if certain challenges arose (e.g., stakeholder changes, technical issues).
• Focus on demonstrating how your onboarding approach will drive early adoption and value realization.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Provide specific feedback on the strengths of the candidate's onboarding plan.
• Offer one constructive suggestion about an element that could be improved or a risk they may have overlooked.
• Ask the candidate to revise their approach to address this feedback.
• Evaluate their ability to think critically about their plan and make thoughtful adjustments.

Activity #4: Difficult Client Conversation Role Play

Customer Success Managers must navigate challenging conversations while maintaining strong relationships. This exercise evaluates a candidate's communication skills, emotional intelligence, and ability to balance customer advocacy with business objectives. It reveals how they handle pressure, demonstrate empathy, and work toward constructive solutions in difficult situations.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a scenario involving a difficult client conversation, such as:
• A customer upset about a recent product change or outage
• A stakeholder questioning the value they're receiving
• A client requesting features or services outside your standard offerings
• A miscommunication that has damaged trust
• Provide context about the customer relationship, including history, contract value, and strategic importance.
• Have an interviewer prepared to role-play as the dissatisfied client stakeholder.
• Allow the candidate 15 minutes to review the scenario and prepare.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the scenario and consider how you would approach this challenging conversation.
• Prepare to engage in a 15-minute role play where you'll need to:
• Listen actively to understand the client's concerns
• Demonstrate empathy while maintaining appropriate boundaries
• Propose constructive solutions that balance client needs with business realities
• Establish clear next steps to resolve the situation
• Focus on building rapport and trust even in a difficult situation.
• Be prepared to think on your feet as the conversation evolves.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Provide specific feedback on what the candidate handled well in the conversation (e.g., active listening, empathy, solution-oriented approach).
• Offer one piece of constructive feedback about an aspect that could be improved (e.g., setting clearer expectations, asking more probing questions).
• Ask the candidate to re-approach a specific part of the conversation incorporating your feedback.
• Evaluate their receptiveness to coaching and ability to adjust their communication approach.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should we allocate for these work sample exercises?

Each exercise requires approximately 60-90 minutes total, including preparation time, the activity itself, and feedback. We recommend conducting no more than two exercises per interview round to avoid candidate fatigue. The QBR simulation and at-risk customer intervention are particularly valuable if you can only conduct one exercise.

Should we provide these materials to candidates in advance?

For the QBR simulation and onboarding plan creation, providing materials 24 hours in advance allows candidates to prepare thoughtful, detailed responses, which better reflects how they would perform in the actual role. For the difficult conversation role play, providing only 15 minutes of preparation better assesses their ability to think on their feet.

How should we evaluate candidates across these exercises?

Create a structured scorecard for each exercise that aligns with your key competencies (e.g., strategic thinking, communication, problem-solving). Have all interviewers use the same criteria to evaluate candidates, and discuss observations after completing the exercises. Look for patterns across multiple exercises rather than focusing too heavily on performance in just one area.

What if a candidate has never used our specific product before?

These exercises are designed to evaluate transferable skills rather than product-specific knowledge. Provide enough context about your product's functionality for candidates to demonstrate their customer success approach. Focus on evaluating their methodology, strategic thinking, and communication rather than technical knowledge that can be learned.

How do we ensure these exercises don't disadvantage candidates from diverse backgrounds?

Review your scenarios to ensure they don't contain cultural references or assumptions that might disadvantage certain candidates. Provide clear instructions and equal preparation time to all candidates. Consider having diverse interviewers evaluate the exercises to minimize unconscious bias in assessment.

Can we adapt these exercises for remote interviews?

All of these exercises can be conducted effectively via video conferencing. For remote sessions, ensure candidates have access to all necessary materials in advance, use screen sharing for presentations, and consider recording sessions (with permission) for later review by team members who couldn't attend.

Finding the right Customer Success Manager is crucial for driving customer retention, satisfaction, and growth. By incorporating these work sample exercises into your hiring process, you'll gain deeper insights into candidates' actual capabilities and fit for your specific environment. Remember that the best candidates will appreciate a thorough process that allows them to showcase their skills in realistic scenarios.

Ready to take your hiring process to the next level? Yardstick offers AI-powered tools to help you create customized job descriptions, interview questions, and comprehensive interview guides tailored to your specific needs. Learn more about how we can help you find and evaluate top Customer Success talent by visiting our Customer Success Manager job description resource.

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