View the TAM Handbook homepage for additional TAM-related handbook pages.
There are three models currently offered for Technical Account Manager engagement. These are broken into tiers that currently use Annual Recurring Revenue as a metric for determining a manageable volume for a single Technical Account Manager and the depth of involvement during the engagement.
Technical Account Managers will typically manage customer engagements via a GitLab project in the account-management group. This project will be based off the Enterprise or the Commercial Customer Success Plan Template and customized to match the customer's needs as outlined above. The project is pre-loaded with milestones, issues, labels, and a README template to help kick off the project and outline a proof of concept, implementation, and customer onboarding. The following is a short introduction video on GitLab's first iteration of the Customer Success Plan.
During the pre-sales process for Enterprise accounts, a Solutions Architect owns the project with assistance from the Strategic Account Leader and should include the Professional Services Engineer if there is one assigned. A Technical Account Manager is involved but only for visibility. Until the account becomes a paying customer the project remains in pre-sales. Once the customer has paid, the Strategic Account Leader will set up the "Welcome to GitLab" call along with the key GitLab employees (SAL, SA, PSE and Technical Account Manager) and the customer. There is a preloaded issue for this in the project template.
For Commercial accounts, the Account Executive owns the pre-sales process and engages a Solutions Architect as needed. Once the account becomes a paying customer, the Technical Account Manager will create a customer project if it will be useful to their relationship with the customer, and the Account Executive will schedule a "Welcome to GitLab" call with the customer and the Technical Account Manager.
The "Welcome to GitLab" call will introduce the customer to the Technical Account Manager and begin the handover process. The Technical Account Manager will then lead the rest of the call and own the customer project. If the project was created in the pre-sales project under the pre-sales account-management group, then it is moved to a post-sales project under account-management group.
GitLab uses a customer prioritization model to focus the TAM's efforts where they will have maximum value and impact. The priority tiers have defined SLAs for engagement. Different regions utilize different models for determining Priority 1 vs Priority 2, as described below.
TAM-assigned customers are segmented into two priority tiers: Priority 1 (P1) and Priority 2 (P2). We use a series of "yes/no" parameters to evaluate a customer's prioritization, based on the key aspects of a TAM's responsibilities and value to the customer.
Each TAM should aim to have roughly one third (1/3) of their book of business listed as Priority 1, and the rest as Priority 2.
The following parameters are considered when determining customer prioritization:
| Parameter | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| LAM | High degree of confidence, or explicit evidence, of greater than 10% | Uncertain about LAM, or know for sure it is less than 10% |
| Growth in the next 6 months | Open growth opportunity in Salesforce, and/or explicitly stated intent from the customer for growth | Uncertain about growth in the given timeframe, or the customer has clearly said they have no growth in that time |
| Open tier upgrade | Upgrade opportunity is open in Salesforce and actively being discussed with the customer | No open opportunity in Salesforce, and/or no active upgrade discussion with the customer |
| Current/upcoming stage adoption | Actively working with the customer on planning or implementation | Nothing actively being worked on, or only discussed as a future initiative |
| Current/upcoming infrastructure change | Actively working with the customer on planning or implementation | Nothing actively being worked on, or only discussed as a future initiative |
Using the defined parameters and guidance on how to know whether they are applicable, we can use the following flowchart to evaluate priority:
* Please see priority exceptions for details.
When a new customer is in onboarding, they are automatically Priority 1. This is a key lifecycle event for a customer, which warrants high engagement from the TAM. Once onboarding is complete, the customer's prioritization should be reassessed.
Since the parameters used to evaluate customer prioritization will change over time, each account's priority should be reviewed and updated quarterly, coinciding with QBRs.
There are occasions that warrant a customer to be prioritized differently than the model indicates. In cases where the TAM and/or SAL believes this is true, an exception may be made.
Examples of when an exception may be appropriate include:
In order to make an exception, the TAM or SAL should discuss the details with the members of the account team and their respective managers. If there is agreement that an exception is warranted, the customer can be prioritized accordingly.
