Beyond the CSM

PeopleProcessesTechnologyMeasurable Results

Customer Success Beyond the CSM

A Practitioner's Guide to Designing, Automating, and Scaling Exceptional Customer Experiences That Drive Lasting Growth

Carlos Quezada and Sheik Ayube

Pre-order on Amazon Hardcover November 1, 2026
Front cover of Customer Success Beyond the CSM. A winding five-colour road climbs through the stages Acquire, Activate, Deliver, Retain and Expand.

The argument

Customer success is not just a team

It is a company-wide transformation.

Hiring more customer success managers is not a scalable strategy on its own. Lasting growth requires a company-wide commitment to delivering measurable customer value.

Carlos Quezada and Sheik Ayube wrote this book to share years of practical experience, hard-earned lessons, and methods tested in the field. Their goal is simple: help leaders move beyond managing a team to leading a transformation.

Whether you are building a new program or strengthening an existing one, this practitioner's guide connects strategy with execution. Prove customer value, earn the renewal, and drive sustainable growth without relying on an ever-expanding headcount. It also explores where AI can accelerate the work, and where human judgment remains essential.

The journey

Five stages, one road

The book follows the customer from first contact to expansion. Each stage has its own job, its own signals, and its own way of proving value.

The five-stage customer journey A winding road from Acquire through Activate, Deliver and Retain to Expand. Acquire Activate Deliver Retain Expand

  1. Acquire

    Attract the right customers.

  2. Activate

    Drive time to value.

  3. Deliver

    Prove measurable outcomes.

  4. Retain

    Earn the renewal.

  5. Expand

    Fuel sustainable growth.

Then build on it. A stronger customer foundation is what makes AI useful. The book shows where automation speeds the work up, and where a person still needs to make the call.

Who it is for

Written for the people who own the outcome

You do not need a customer success title to need this book. You need customers you intend to keep.

  1. Customer success leaders

    You are asked to do more with the same team. Here is how to build the system around you instead of carrying it on your back.

  2. CEOs and COOs

    Retention is a board-level number. This is the operating model that makes it predictable, and the questions to ask your leadership team.

  3. Revenue operations

    The data, the handoffs, the signals and the dashboards. The plumbing that lets high-touch, swarm and digital engagement work as one motion.

  4. Founders

    You are designing the customer journey for the first time. Get the foundation right before the headcount conversation starts.

Inside the book

What you will learn

Field-tested insights. Measurable impact. Each chapter connects a strategic choice to the practical work of making it real.

  • Align executives and cross-functional teams around one definition of customer value, so success is not a department's problem.
  • Connect high-touch, swarm, and digital engagement into one model that gives each customer the right level of attention at the right time.
  • Turn customer signals into action: usage, outcomes, risk and sentiment, read early and acted on before the renewal conversation.
  • Build the data, operations, monetization, and partner capabilities that make customer success scalable rather than heroic.
  • Prove customer value and earn the renewal with evidence your customers recognise, not a quarterly business review they tolerate.
  • Decide where AI belongs: where it accelerates the work, and where human judgment remains essential.

The authors

Two operators, one playbook

Carlos Quezada

Carlos Quezada

Operator, author, keynote speaker

Carlos has built customer success programs eleven times, across startups, mid-market companies and Fortune 100 enterprises. He brings an operator's perspective on customer value, transformation and scale.

Sheik Ayube

Sheik Ayube

Vice President of Business Development, ESG

Sheik works with executives and their teams to build and implement customer success strategies. He brings a broad perspective on turning strategy into repeatable execution.

Meet the authors

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