Building Your Enterprise CS Framework: From Strategy to Scale Part 1

Strategic Team Structure for Enterprise Customer Success

Author

Tomas
April 8th, 2025

Featured Article


The thing about traditional CS structures is that they’re built for maintenance – not for growth. What got you here just won’t get you there. 

Last week, we looked at where scaling enterprise CS teams start to go wrong. Today, let’s figure out how to do it right.

If you want to stop haemorrhaging money on accounts, here are the five things I look for in team structures that actually help scale up CS.

1. Split your roles right.

You wouldn’t ask an architect to build their own designs. No – you want the architect to dream, and the builder to bring them back to earth and make sure the house doesn’t fall down.

Remember that specialization = mastery. If you expect everything from everyone – you’ll end up with a team full of unskilled builders and over-cautious architects. 

Stop expecting one person to master both API troubleshooting and boardroom P&L debates. 

Instead, start splitting up roles into…

  • Implementation Specialists: Tech wizards. They live for integrations, data mapping, and kicking off onboarding. They get the product working and they do it fast.

  • Account CSMs: Relationship architects. They focus on strategic adoption, sniffing out expansion opportunities, and keeping execs happy.

At $10M+ ARR, you’re basically bleeding money if you’re not splitting roles. Don’t be the one who figures it out last.

2. Team structures mean nothing—Build “Scalable Brains” instead

Hate to break it to you, but if you have an army of CSMs who just “manage accounts” – you’re throwing away money and spinning wheels. 

If you actually want a growth driver – you have to think different.


How to tell if your old model is costing way too much in gas:

  • Your “Senior” CSMs can’t articulate a client’s EBITDA drivers.

  • Your team is constantly busy but it feels like nothing’s moving forward. 

  • Leaders are having to choose between growth and service quality.

Here’s what it takes to fix it:

  • Hire for boardroom IQ: Test candidates on diagnosing P&L leaks, not Zendesk hacks.

  • Embed “mini-CEOs”: Train CSMs to tackle business outcomes, not NPS scores.

  • Promote or perish: Tie promotions to metrics that move revenue (NRR, expansion, TTV).

Wait—does this contradict specialization? Hell no. Specialized roles need strategic brains. Your Implementation Specialist should spot upsell opportunities during integrations and your Account CSM should be CFO fluent. You can build team integration without distracting experts from their expertise.

3. Know when to pull the trigger

Hint hint: it’s sooner than you think.

Start splitting roles when:

  • Product complexity explodes (e.g., 10+ integrations per customer).

  • Customer ACV crosses $500K+: High-value accounts need white-glove strategy, not distracted CSMs.

  • You’re scaling like hell: If you’re adding 20+ enterprise customers a quarter, generalists can’t keep up.

If you can identify that moment before hitting $20M+ ARR and build yourself a “Renewal SWAT team”, you’re on your way to securing 95% Gross Revenue Retention.

4. Structure your team like this. 

In the spirit of specialization, be careful about how you bring different levels of expertise to the whole CS cycle.

Here’s how I would structure a top SaaS operation:

  • Onboarding Crew: They own the implementation and data migration stages. Think 0–90 days.

  • Core CSMs: They handhold high-touch accounts ($4M+ ACV) and focus on adoption/NRR.

  • Renewal Specialists: Keep them totally focused on contract cycles and GRR.

  • Professional Services: They’re here just for custom integrations (HRIS, ERP, etc.).

And while you’re at it, look at your comp and incentive structure. Throw out upsell quotas and instead tie compensation 100% to retention metrics (NRR/GRR). This will keep everyone obsessed with value – not vanity metrics.

5. Hack your stakeholder comms 

Enterprise customers have 5+ departments pulling in different directions. That’s gonna cause chaos and distraction. 

So what’s your fix?

→ Assign a “Stakeholder Sherpa” (Usually the Account CSM) to map IT, Finance, and HR priorities.

→ Use kickoff meetings to force alignment: “We’re here to save you $2M in ops costs. Let’s agree on how.”

Keep the vision clear. Keep your stakeholders close. 

So here’s what you can do right now to get yourself cleaned up.

This week, start to audit your team. 

Are CSMs stuck fixing bugs instead of strategizing? 

If they are, do this.

  1. Hire/promote an Implementation Specialist (who thinks like a consultant).

  2. Free up an Account CSM to own only top-tier accounts (and train them on EBITDA levers).

  3. Switch your success metrics to NRR and TTV—forget meaningless “activities completed” kind of stats.

Remember some simple math...

Specialization + strategic brains = unstoppable CS teams

I’m just getting started. Because there’s a whole lot more to cover. Next week, we’ll dive into enterprise onboarding and how to strategically tackle implementation.


P.S. I posted recently on LinkedIn about how your customers aren’t leaving you. They’re just not responding.


Tomas

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