From Client Happiness Officer to Customer Success Manager

Following the story of Paulina from the Recruitment team and Jaroslav from the Mobile team, I got curious about the work of our Sales Team. After all, a big part of our customers' experience is down to their work. It’s a tough job, I thought, as it requires a unique combination of soft skills and technical knowledge. So I decided to speak to Anna, our Customer Success Manager, who describes herself as a professional problem solver.

Getting into tech can be hard

When Anna started her career 9 years ago there were almost no guidelines and no examples to follow in the role of a Client Happiness Officer. The position was interpreted differently depending on your employer, and was just starting to gain popularity.

“I knew a bit about technology in general, but I certainly wasn’t an expert in mobile development and that made working in sales quite a challenge,” she says.

Her initial experience wasn’t an easy one, and Anna decided to share her experience by mentoring and supporting women in IT. The industry may require a lot of knowledge but Anna strongly believes that women can succeed in tech just as much as men: by being fearless, humble and continuing to learn.

Anna’s top recommendation for learning is ‘Clean Code’ by Robert C. Martin and ‘Software craftsmanship’ by Pete McBreen. She also believes in the usefulness of meetups. She says, “you should participate in meetups. You may not understand everything at first, but listening to developers talk is the best way to learn. Over time, you’ll learn to speak their language and you’ll understand more of the technical terms used by your clients”.

You should participate in meetups. You may not understand everything at first, but listening to developers talk is the best way to learn. Over time, you’ll learn to speak their language and you’ll understand more of the technical terms used by your clients.

Sales is a set of skills, not a personality

“There is a lot of skill involved in sales,” Anna says, “some people say sales is all about personality but that simply isn’t really true”. Working with clients requires soft skills, such as negotiations, assertiveness, pointing to solutions rather than focusing on problems. Finally, you will get nowhere without emotional intelligence, as the role requires you to understand not just the technical problems your clients are facing, but their situation in general. You have to proceed with empathy to understand what they need, and how to work together.

Working with clients requires soft skills, such as negotiations, assertiveness, pointing to solutions rather than focusing on problems. Finally, you will get nowhere without emotional intelligence, as the role requires you to understand not just the technical problems your clients are facing, but their situation in general.

On the other hand, to be a good partner for your clients you need a lot of knowledge too: economy, trends, technology, these are all areas you need to keep learning about. When it comes to IT specific areas, a basic knowledge of project management and Agile approach to work will also go a long way to helping you relate to your clients.

“Sales in IT is a very particular service.” says Anna. “It’s built on professionalism and trust, but it’s also very casual. You can work in your flip flops and no one will mind - it’s all about the value you bring to the table.”

It took three tries for Anna to join 10Clouds

“I’ve been invited to join 10Clouds twice before and each time I said no. This was because I wanted to grow in areas other than sales. I toyed with the idea of becoming a Project Manager and an Agile coach, and this wasn’t what 10Clouds was looking for at the time. Frankly, I felt it took guts to ask a third time,” remembers Anna, smiling.

But when Anna was ready to consider a role in Sales again, saying yes felt right. Especially after seeing the company’s reaction when she experienced some personal difficulties. “It’s such a small gesture to get a care package from the company, but it really shows character,” she adds.

Anna’s experience has been proof that humanism (one of 10Clouds values) isn’t just a buzzword. With a strong sense of work ethics, this is something she really cares about.

For the first time, Anna isn’t just an individual contributor but feels like part of the team. There’s a sense of ownership at 10Clouds that she values a lot. She knows she can ask for help when she needs it. “Like everywhere, you get good days and you get bad days,” she says “but I feel what I do really matters”.

Want to join our Sales Team?

Check out the roles we’re currently hiring for or send us your CV through the Careers Page.