The email from a substantial customer seemed innocuous at first. “Congratulations, Daniel has been promoted to VP of RevOps.” But for a CSM, the entire leadership of a well-set account changed — and it didn’t take long to have a powerful effect. A second email arrived from the new VP of RevOps. The first line to us was: “I don’t think your product is being used. I’m not convinced it’s adding much value.” It wasn’t true, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was that he needed to signal control in his first thirty days, and challenging us was an easy way to do that. What had been a reliable account was now suddenly At-Risk, and the pressure was on to show Customer Realized Value.

It happens all the time

When a new leader steps into an account, they don’t inherit the relationship. They inherit the pressure. They’re trying to establish authority and demonstrate decisiveness. They’re trying to show that they see things their predecessor missed, and the fastest way to do that is by questioning a vendor. It doesn’t matter that the product is used. It doesn’t matter that the partnership has been stable for over a year. To a new executive, every existing tool is a suspect until proven otherwise.

Preparing the Response

My CSM pulled the data after the call and found something that changed the entire conversation: More than 50% of their users were active every week. Adoption was consistent. Time savings were measurable. She walked into that meeting with those insights ready, and the energy of the room was different. We were leading the narrative instead of reacting to it. That’s when we realized we needed structure for moments like this.

Lesson Learned

No one typically warns CSMs of these kinds of scenarios, so they end up learning under fire. A new executive stepping into an account, however, isn’t a one-off problem. It’s a recurring pattern. We have been through these panics before, and now we’ve built a structure for moments exactly like this, our Executive Arrival Playbook. This is what we follow now, every time that “Congratulations” email comes in. And it works. The biggest lesson? A new executive isn’t a threat. They’re a transition, and transitions become manageable when you stop reacting emotionally and start responding structurally.

The New Customer Executive Arrival Playbook

Expect the Reset. Assume nothing carries over. Assume you’re starting the relationship from zero. It keeps you alert and prepared.
Bring Proof, Not Memory. Have the data on Usage, adoption, time savings, and business outcomes ready before the first call. New executives don’t want opinions. They want evidence.
Learn Their First 90-Day Priorities. New leaders are judged quickly. They want early wins. Your job is to understand what “wins” mean in their world.
Hand Them a Win They Can Claim. Give them something they can fix, improve, or showcase. It builds trust faster than any product demo.
Rebuild Relationship Architecture. Expand your contacts. Engage cross-functional teams. Make sure the new executive isn’t your only line of defense.

Summary

The Company: A SaaS firm with a substantial customer relationship suddenly at risk due to the arrival of a new senior executive for the customer

The Challenge: The new VP wanted proof of value

The Process: Research and prove Customer Realized Value

The Customer Success Executive: Kelly McGuire

The Outcome: Account saved, and the lessons learned were applied across all other customer relationships

Kelly McGuire

Kelly McGuire is a passionate CX leader with demonstrated success in building and scaling high-performance go-to-market teams as well as navigating enterprise-level customer relationships. Over the last 15+ years, Kelly has led global Customer teams at fast-growing SaaS organizations, driving top line revenue impact, operational efficiency and organizational excellence. She is driven by coaching & guiding teams, helping businesses solve challenges, align objectives to company goals and obtain measurable results. In her spare time, she’s an avid traveler and music lover.