Forward Deployed CSMs Aren't New

How does the old phrase go? "There's nothing new under the sun." This might not be the opening you expected in a Customer Success newsletter, but it's what comes to mind when reading the recent commentary on "forward-deployed CSMs". The concept is built around having a more "technical" CSM — someone who spends time with the customer, gets hands-on with the platform, and supports AEs in the sales cycle. All of which is great, but the problem for me is that I don’t see this as a new idea. A key component of being a fantastic CSM has always been having a solid technical understanding of your product and being able to "sell it" when the situation calls for it. Knowing how your solution solves business challenges isn’t optional — it’s foundational.

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I suspect some of this has been forgotten as the CS profession has started to own more of the post-sales revenue number. I’ve read some job descriptions recently that read very much like they were hiring for an inside-sales operative, entirely focused on driving revenue from the existing business. That’s important, of course — but, as with everything in life, there’s a balance. One of the fascinating things about CS is that no CSM role looks the same in every organisation. The vertical, the platform, the leadership — all of these play a part in shaping what a CSM needs to do. It will never be a cookie-cutter job description.

If you’re hiring your first CSM or setting up a CS department, this "forward-deployed" idea is exactly what you should be looking for. In those early days, you need someone who can dive deep into the technical aspects, is confident speaking with prospects during the sales process, and can communicate effectively with engineering — not just build relationships with business executives.

For me, though, we should simply call those individuals CSMs.

And that’s it for this edition. See you again next week!

Following this week’s theme, our new article shows how AI tools like predictive health scoring, personalized onboarding, agentic communications, sentiment analysis, and behavioral signals, enable lean teams to anticipate churn, deliver engagement at scale, and consistently unlock expansion.

Read it here

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