Customer Success Plan Skill

This skill produces a joint customer success plan — a living document shared between the CSM and the customer that aligns on outcomes, milestones, and mutual commitments. Output is ready to co-author with the customer in a kickoff call or QBR.

Required Inputs

Work from what is given. If any of these is missing, still produce the complete output: fill each gap with a reasonable assumption marked (assumed, confirm) and list those assumptions at the end. Ask a question first only when the core subject itself is missing (there is nothing to write about).

• Account name and industry
• Product / plan purchased
• Key stakeholders — customer champion and economic buyer
• Customer's stated business goals — why did they buy? What problem are they solving?
• Contract term and renewal date
• Current onboarding stage (new customer / expanding / post-QBR / pre-renewal)
• Seats / licenses / usage purchased
• Any known risks — adoption gaps, champion uncertainty, competing priorities

Output Structure

Customer Success Plan: [Account Name]

Product: [Product name / plan tier] Contract term: [Start date → Renewal date] CSM: [Name] Customer champion: [Name, Title] Customer executive sponsor: [Name, Title — if known] Last updated: [Date] Status: [Active / Under review / Completed]

1. Partnership Objectives

What does success look like for [Account Name] at contract end?

[Write 2–3 sentences describing the customer's core objective in plain English — what they are trying to achieve in their business, not what features they are using.]

Primary business goal: [e.g. Reduce time-to-hire by 30% across engineering teams] Secondary goal: [e.g. Consolidate three legacy tools into one platform, saving £X/year] Success statement (customer's words): "[Direct quote from champion about what success looks like — ask for this in kickoff]"

2. Success Metrics

Define how both parties will measure success. Agreed in the kickoff call and tracked in QBRs.

Leading indicators (early signs the plan is on track):

• [e.g. 5+ users log in within the first 2 weeks]
• [e.g. First workflow automated within 30 days]
• [e.g. Champion presents the tool to their team by end of Month 1]

3. Milestone Roadmap

Break the success journey into phases with clear milestones and owners:

Phase 1: Onboard (Month 1)

Phase 2: Adopt (Months 2–3)

Phase 3: Value (Months 4–6)

Phase 4: Renew & Expand (Months 7–12)

4. Mutual Commitments

Success plans work when both parties commit. Document what each side will do:

[Vendor] commits to:

• Dedicated CSM available [X days/week / by email within 24 hours]
• Monthly [call / check-in / async update] with champion
• QBR every [90 days] with executive summary and ROI report
• Priority support for [Account] — response SLA of [X hours] for P1 issues
• Roadmap preview for relevant upcoming features
• [Any other specific commitment made in sales cycle]

[Account Name] commits to:

• Champion available for [30-min monthly] check-in
• Users complete onboarding training by [date]
• Feedback on product experience shared monthly (async or sync)
• Executive sponsor participates in QBR 1 and renewal discussion
• Provide outcome data to CSM quarterly for ROI tracking

5. Stakeholder Engagement Plan

6. Risk & Mitigation

7. Communication Plan

8. Escalation Path

If the success plan falls off track:

Deeper Materials

This skill ships with support files — use them when they are available:

• `references/outcome-contracting.md` — Outcome Contracting: Success Plans That Bind Both Sides. Apply it while producing the output; it carries the calibration and judgment calls the method summary above compresses.
• `templates/success-plan.md` — a fill-in version of the deliverable with the quality gates inline. Offer it when the user wants to work the document themselves rather than have it generated.

Scoring Rubric (0–40)

Score any output of this skill before handing it over; 32+ is ship-quality.

Quality Checks

• [ ] Success metrics are the customer's metrics — not just product usage metrics
• [ ] Milestones have specific owners and due dates — not "TBD"
• [ ] Mutual commitments section is genuinely mutual — not just what the vendor will do
• [ ] Risk register includes champion departure and low adoption
• [ ] Plan is written to be shared with the customer — no internal-only commentary in this document
• [ ] Executive sponsor is identified and has an engagement role

Anti-Patterns

• [ ] Do not define success metrics that the vendor controls — metrics must reflect the customer's business outcomes
• [ ] Do not set milestone dates without customer confirmation — unilateral timelines undermine joint ownership
• [ ] Do not create a plan the customer hasn't agreed to — it must be mutual, not a CSM's internal plan
• [ ] Do not leave ownership fields blank or assigned to "CS team" — every action needs a named owner
• [ ] Do not confuse product adoption milestones with customer business outcomes — both are needed but are not the same

Example Trigger Phrases

• "Build a success plan for [Account Name] who just signed"
• "Create a joint success plan for our new enterprise customer"
• "Write a 6-month customer success roadmap for [Company]"
• "I need a mutual action plan for our QBR with [Account]"
• "Generate a customer success plan for an at-risk account"