View the CSM Handbook homepage for additional CSM-related handbook pages.
One of the tools CSMs have to speed customer onboarding, increase user adoption, and drive stage adoption is to offer their customers Workshops and/or Lunch-and-Learns (generically referred to as sessions).
The CSM should offer sessions during onboarding so the customer is aware that they are available and the list of typical sessions that can be done. Additionally, the CSM should offer a specific session when working with a customer on a stage enablement. The customer collaboration project now has a default issue that has the list of current offerings with a brief description.
Sessions should be captured in Gainsight, which drives the Engagement scorecard metric. Record the date and type of session it was as well as an approximate number of attendees.
There are two main types of sessions that can be offered. Workshops are generally 1.5-2 hours and include the presentation, demo, and Q&A. These require more preparation and planning and are usually organized by the CSM in collaboration with other CSMs and SAs.
Enablement sessions are generally 1 hour and involve presentation, demo, and Q&A and are usually given by the CSM themselves.
The following are already developed, have been given to multiple customers and are available:
If you have additional sessions you want to contribute, please follow these instructions:
If you are interested in a session that doesn't exist yet, but you're not able or comfortable creating it, please post a message in #tim-tams about what you would like to see!
CSMs should offer sessions early during onboarding, and whenever working on a stage enablement. If the customer wants a session on a topic we do not already have slides for, request more time to prepare, and then work with the Customer Success team to help pull together some slides for the session. Then the newly created session can be added to the list of existing sessions available to other CSMs.
It is recommended to invite another GitLab team member to the session to help with notes, audience management, and Q&A. This helper could be the Solutions Architect or Account Executive for the account, or it could be a fellow CSM.
Consider the typical length of the session when scheduling. It is recommended to coordinate with your champion on the following information:
It is highly recommended to have someone from your regular cadence calls on the session, as some questions asked during the session may be specific to their instance configuration and they will need to answer those questions.
The CSM should review the available content for Workshops and Lunch-and-Learns for the topic requested. CSMs can use the content as-is if they feel it will meet their needs or they can make a copy of the slides and customize it for their customer's needs.
CSMs should review the speaker notes to ensure they understand each slide, and add clarifications and notes to them as needed. Ensure you have a plan for what you want to communicate for each slide, but don't try to memorize what you are going to say.
Recordings of sessions that CSMs have previously run can be found here and may also be helpful to review as part of the preparation process.
Have your champion introduce you if possible. Use Presenter View in Google Slides to have the speaker notes available in a separate window. Run your slides off of your smaller monitor or on your MacBook screen if possible so the screen resolution is not an issue for participants with lower resolutions.
Introduce yourself and make sure you set ground rules if your champion did not.
For smaller groups (40), you can offer to allow them to come off mute to ask their questions.
For larger groups, it is recommended they put their questions in chat so you can address them at the appropriate time. It is recommended to pause periodically to take questions and also to ensure you stay hydrated during the session.
If you get lost or forget what to say, refer to your speaker notes. It is OK to read directly from them until you get back on track. Feel free to reference other sessions that may cover a topic in more detail, even if you don't have that session planned, as this can generate demand for those sessions and lead to further user adoption and stage enablements. Also, if your customer is on Premium, don't shy away from mentioning Ultimate features during your presentation.
When you do pause for questions, try to answer them but it is OK to say you don't know and will research it and get the answer back to your champion. It is also OK if the question is answered in more detail in another session to simply refer to that session instead of taking too much time during the current one. It is not advised to give out your direct contact information to the audience and instead have them direct future questions to your champion.
Send a copy of the slides used, and a link to the recording to your champion so they can share it with the participants and with those that could not attend the live session. Follow up on any question that could not be answered. Add a follow-up item to your next cadence call agenda to see what they thought went well and what could be improved for future sessions. Work to schedule other sessions based on demand.
Similar to taking notes in a cadence call, it is useful to add to your running notes doc in each enablement session you run for the customer. Include a list of attendees, max participant count, record of questions and answers provided, and any follow-up items that were not addressed during the session
