
CSM School
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Overview
Advances in technology and customer expectations evolve at a rate that creates a knowledge gap among CS professionals. Without ongoing learning and honing of your skillset, that gap only widens. This school is designed to help you adapt and acquire the knowledge necessary to build and nurture CS relationships in an ever-shifting environment.
CSM School is a 8-week certificate program that covers the latest strategies, best practices, and impactful trends in Customer Success. Whether you’re new to CS or a seasoned veteran, this is the how-to school that will ensure you stand out among your peers and clients.

2023 Dean
Paulina Staszuk is a Customer Success leader, mentor, and educator. An expert in the field, Paulina has shone in high-level customer-facing roles across several industries. She has long been a proponent of placing customers’ needs at the heart of SaaS organizations’ missions, and an early champion for meaningful customer experiences. In her work with early- and mid-stage startups, she built and scaled teams and systems that empowered Customer Success professionals while driving revenues.
Information
About
CSM School is an 8-week certificate program structured around the latest strategies, best practices, and hacks in the field of Customer Success. This is the how-to course designed to help you adapt and acquire the knowledge necessary to build and nurture CS relationships in a rapidly-evolving environment.
Who Should Enroll
CSM School is for all Customer Success professionals whether you are in your first Customer Success role or a seasoned CS veteran. This course will help you acquire the essential skills and best practices necessary to stand out in an ever-evolving profession.
Impact
By the end of this course you will have the knowledge and skills to be able to:
- Increase customer satisfaction scores
- Improve customer adoption and engagement
- Decrease churn rates
- Increase NRR
Why Enroll
Advances in technology and customer expectations evolve at a rate that creates a knowledge gap among CS professionals. Without ongoing learning and honing of your skillset, that gap only widens. This course is designed to help you adapt and acquire the knowledge necessary to build and nurture CS relationships in an ever-shifting environment.
Curriculum
Session #1
The Foundations of Customer Success Management
By the end of this class, you will be able to:
- Better address what your customers value
Prioritize your accounts - Set appropriate expectations with your team and your clients
- Organize and plan your day/month/year for maximum efficiency as your book of customers grows
Session #2
Mastering Value-Driven CS Meetings
By the end of this class, you will be able to:
- Structure a successful onboarding plan
- Develop pre-onboarding surveys to get to know your customers
- Avoid common onboarding mistakes
- Design QBRs that will inspire customers, realign expectations, and work toward a common goal
Session #3
Preventing Disengagement through Discovery
By the end of this class, you will be able to:
- Uncover what really matters to your customers
- Prevent customer disengagement
- Re-engage customers
Session #4
Transparent Selling
By the end of this class, you will be able to:
- Understand the difference between sales and positioning
- Implement value-driven sales techniques
Session #5
Advocating for your Customers and Creating Brand Advocates
By the end of this class, you will be able to:
- Create customer-centricity: VoC and CAB
- Use customer insights and data to create customer advocates
- Understand how to lose a customer in less than 5 steps
Session #6
Locking in your Upsells, Cross-Sells, and Renewals
By the end of this class, you will be able to:
- Understand the language of up/cross-selling
- Build effective plans for account expansions
- Close deals and achieve big results
- Build a strategic renewal process
- Drive more effective renewals for your business
Session #8
Leveling up your CS Career
By the end of this class, you will be able to:
- Build connections with your leadership team and peers
- Better project manage
- Better understand and leverage data
- Level up to the Senior role outside of CS
Session #1
The Foundations of Customer Success Management
By the end of this class, you will be able to:
- Better address what your customers value
Prioritize your accounts - Set appropriate expectations with your team and your clients
- Organize and plan your day/month/year for maximum efficiency as your book of customers grows
What Our Students Have To Say

“After every session, I walked away with tools I could use in my job the next day as well as thoughtful strategies that will guide me for the rest of my career in CX. I learned how to ask thoughtful questions of my customers, realized selling isn’t so scary, and the right questions to ask myself to grow my career. And that is just scratching the surface.”
Frequently Asked Questions
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CSM School is for all Customer Success professionals whether you are in your first Customer Success role or a seasoned CS veteran. This course will help you acquire the essential skills and best practices necessary to stand out in an ever-evolving profession.
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Advances in technology and customer expectations evolve at a rate that creates a knowledge gap among CS professionals. Without ongoing learning and honing of your skillset, that gap only widens. This school is designed to help you adapt and acquire the knowledge necessary to build and nurture CS relationships in an ever-shifting environment.
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This school is included in the cost of Pavilion Membership.
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At this time, this course is open to Pavilion Members only. Apply to join Pavilion to enroll.
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The summer session for this school starts on June 20, 2023, and runs through August 15, 2023.
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Applications for the summer are due no later than June 15, 2023.
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Live, virtual sessions occur weekly on Tuesdays from 11:00 am – 12:30 pm ET.
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Yes, there will be cohorts for this school. Cohorts meet once per week at a selected day/time during the duration of the program.
Due to the peer element of Pavilion University, we see increased engagement from students which strengthens your ability to recall and apply learnings.
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Yes, there is a final exam at the end of this school. A passing score of 80% must be attained in order to receive your certificate.
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Yes, 80% attendance is required. We recommend that participants attend the live sessions for the optimal learning experience, but watching session recordings counts towards attendance for those who have scheduling conflicts or are in time zones where live attendance is a challenge.
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After successfully meeting attendance requirements and passing the final exam, you will receive a certificate that you can add to your Licenses and Certification Section on LinkedIn..