The Customer Success Jobs Reading List

Customer Success is mostly a qualitative profession. Executives don’t like to admit it, but this is an area where big decisions are not always supported by data, where gut feelings spark changes and collaboration and creativity drive results.

In short: it’s not a science, it’s an art.

Good art requires study of theory, learning of different techniques, and a lot of practice. You can find the first two things in books, and I’ve put together four books I think are essential reading for Customer Success professionals.

Customer Success: How Innovative Companies Are Reducing Churn and Growing Recurring Revenue

The audience of this book is executives and leadership, not employees, however you will go very far just by reading what your boss and their boss is reading and be able to discuss it with them.

Written in 2016, this book spearheaded modern Customer Success and is the reason you find so many similarly structured orgs across companies. It is the ultimate “big picture” book that won’t be very useful day-to-day, it will help you understand the “why” behind org changes and executive decisions, it will help you speak Customer Success with leaders, and it will help you understand and navigate the Customer Success ecosystem for your career.

Consider this book the foundation, to teach you the language of Customer Success, the theory, like a 101 guide.

The Customer Success Professional's Handbook: How to Thrive in One of the World's Fastest Growing Careers--While Driving Growth for Your Company

This book is written for you, the practitioner. This book has practical skill-building and frameworks for thinking about the day to day of a Customer Success Manager.

This book builds on the foundations of the first Customer Success book, but applies it to the front lines — what does Customer Success look like day-to-day, account-to-account?

With specific, practical advice on EBRs, using Customer Health data, Journey Mapping, driving outcomes — this is the perfect guide to putting theory into practice, and will help you prepare to speak to specifics of the job, and to do the job yourself.

The Trusted Advisor

It is my belief that a great Customer Success Manager should be thought of by their customers as a Trusted Advisor. This book creates the foundation for positioning yourself as such, and building the advisory relationship with your customers.

It is over 20 years old at this point, though it was updated in 2021 to account for changes in communication and technology. The core principles of building relationships with other humans remain the same, and for a bit of an ephemeral topic, the book is surprising practical. Improve your listening skills, learn how to build trust, learn from your previous communication mistakes.

Use this book to evaluate your current skillset, and develop where you may be weak.

The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation

Yes, this book is geared toward salespeople, but the core Challenger Framework — Teach, Tailor, Take Control — is equally applicable to Success conversations.

It may seem strange to ask you to read both the Trusted Advisor and The Challenger Sale, as at first glance they seem like opposites. But I actually find that weaving the two principles together is what creates the magic.

A key skill that separates great from good is the ability to control the customer conversation. But the key is not to do so in a domineering way, but confident, consultative.

That’s why you read both — you do the work to build trust, but you still steer the customer where they need to go.

When you’re ready, I’ve also prepared an Advanced Customer Success Reading List, and my Essential Reads for Customer Success Leaders.