The True Cost Of A Bad-Fit Customer And How To Walk Away w/ Shari Srebnick

We trace a marquee deal that imploded at handoff, then rebuild the path from close to value with practical fixes for alignment, multithreading, and fit. Along the way, we count the real cost to serve and explain why some logos deserve a respectful no.

• sales and CS alignment around goals, metrics, and roles
• lean handoffs with internal kickoff and joint success plans
• multithreading the retention group beyond the buyer
• measuring cost to serve against ARR and CAC recovery
• recognizing bad-fit customers and when to walk away
• replacing heroics with repeatable processes and enablement
• integrated tools and shared insights across CRM and CSP
• learning paths and resources for strategic CSM growth

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🎙️ Guest: Shari Srebnick
Customer Success leader with 10+ years of experience

📣 Find Shari:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharisrebnick/ 

🔥 Topics Covered:
🟣 A chaotic “drop-the-mic” deal and what it teaches about sales–CS alignment
🟣 Why single-threaded deals and poor handoffs hurt time-to-value and churn risk
🟣 How to escalate issues without finger-pointing
🟣 Redesigning handoffs and internal kickoffs for stronger account plans
🟣 When heroics hide deeper ICP or strategy problems
🟣 Multi-threading post-sale and engaging the right contacts
🟣 Understanding cost to serve, CAC, and profitable vs. unprofitable accounts
🟣 Shared enablement between Sales and CS

📚 Resources Mentioned:
🟣 The Strategic Customer Success Manager — Lindsey’s top recommendation and team-wide read - https://www.amazon.com/Strategic-Customer-Success-Manager-Blueprint/

🟣Multipliers - https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Multipliers&crid=XALJ7SZ10BK1&sprefix=multiplier%2Caps%2C175&ref=nb_sb_noss_1 

🟣Impact Players: How to Take the Lead, Play Bigger, and Multiply Your Impact - https://www.amazon.com/Impact-Players-Take-Bigger-Multiply/ 

🟣Lean Analytics: Use Data to Build a Better Startup Faster -

🌐 Website
https://www.joedoestechtouch.com/

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 Get raw insights, no-fluff frameworks, and tech touch tactics straight to your inbox: https://www.joedoestechtouch.com/jdttnewsletter
🎙️ Be a Guest on the Podcast
Have a CS horror story or digital-first strategy worth sharing? Submit to be a guest:https://www.joedoestechtouch.com/podcast 

🔗 Connect with Joe on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephdigrande

📺 Watch Full Episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaH58ojbaWym4ej_PedQ4Fw

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