In this episode of ClearPath Conversations, Mark Bernardin tackles one of the most underappreciated skills in Customer Success: internal advocacy. Many CSMs do exceptional work but struggle to make their impact visible to leadership, which limits career growth and advancement opportunities. Mark shares practical frameworks for documenting wins, communicating value, and positioning yourself for promotion without coming across as self-promotional or arrogant.

The episode opens with a story from Mark's time at Palo Alto Networks, where he drove a $385,000 expansion with Lowe's through months of executive relationship building and strategic positioning. When the deal was announced internally, Sales received the spotlight while Customer Success was mentioned only in passing. Mark shares how this experience taught him that proactive communication isn't about taking credit - it's about giving leadership the context they need to understand how Customer Success contributes to business outcomes.

Mark introduces three core components of effective internal advocacy: documentation, communication, and positioning. He walks through his Impact Log methodology, a simple weekly practice of capturing wins in real time with four key data points: date, customer name, action taken, and business impact. This systematic approach ensures CSMs have a complete record of their contributions when review conversations and promotion discussions happen.

The episode provides concrete guidance on monthly manager updates, explaining how to structure communications around outcomes rather than activities. Mark contrasts task-focused reporting ("I had 12 customer calls") with impact-focused updates ("Closed $47K expansion with Ernst & Young after three months of executive engagement"). He emphasizes that consistent, outcome-oriented communication changes how managers perceive CSM contributions and influences decisions about promotions and high-visibility projects.

Mark shares multiple real-world examples, including a retail account recovery at Swimlane where he not only rescued the renewal but also documented his approach as a reusable playbook. When two other CSMs successfully used that framework to save their own at-risk accounts, the VP of Customer Success cited it as an example of how the team was building scalable processes. This story illustrates how individual advocacy can elevate to functional advocacy, demonstrating strategic thinking beyond task execution.

The episode also addresses common pitfalls: taking solo credit for collaborative wins, badmouthing colleagues, overwhelming managers with excessive updates, and waiting until annual reviews to start documenting impact. Mark provides a clear framework for quarterly career development conversations, including preparation steps, conversation structure, and follow-up actions.

A particularly powerful section focuses on elevating teammates alongside personal advocacy. Mark shares an example from his time mentoring seven CSMs at Palo Alto Networks, where he highlighted a colleague's successful account turnaround in leadership meetings, framing it as a learning opportunity for the entire team. This approach positioned him as someone who builds team capability, not just individual success.

The episode concludes with an action plan: start an Impact Log this week, send a monthly summary to your manager, and schedule quarterly career development conversations. Mark emphasizes that internal advocacy isn't about ego - it's about ensuring the people who influence your career have the information they need to support you. The companion download (available at https://clearpathcx.com/) provides a complete Impact Tracker template with weekly documentation structure, monthly summary framework, and quarterly review checklist.

Most CSMs think mentoring is just for people who want to become managers. Mark Bernardin disagrees. In this episode, he makes the case that every senior CSM should know how to develop people - not because they're gunning for a leadership title, but because that's what "senior" actually means.

Drawing from his experience mentoring seven CSMs at Palo Alto Networks while managing his own enterprise portfolio worth millions in ARR, Mark breaks down what actually changes when you take on mentoring responsibilities. Your definition of success shifts from personal execution to collective outcomes. Your calendar fills with coaching conversations instead of just customer calls. And you're suddenly accountable for other people's performance, not just your own.

But here's what most people get wrong: they think mentoring means doing other people's work for them. Mark learned this the hard way. In his first few weeks of leading that team, he was solving problems instead of teaching problem-solving. He was taking over customer calls instead of debriefing them afterward. He was rebuilding EBR decks instead of coaching people on how to improve their own.

That approach doesn't develop people. It creates dependency.

Mark shares the moment he realized he needed to completely change his approach - and what he did instead. He built a coaching framework that forces people to think through their own solutions. He created documentation systems that scaled his knowledge beyond his availability. He set clear boundaries around his mentoring time so he could still deliver on his own accounts. And most importantly, he learned to let go of the work and invest in the people.

This episode also addresses a question many high-performing CSMs face: what if you don't want to be a manager? Mark closes the loop on his Palo Alto story, explaining why he chose to return to his IC portfolio when his manager came back from leave. It wasn't because he couldn't do the job. It was because he discovered he's better at building programs than running them full-time. He loves the mentoring, the framework creation, the system-building - but he doesn't love the administrative weight of formal people management.

And that's okay. Because you don't need a manager title to develop talent and scale your impact.

Throughout the episode, Mark shares practical frameworks including his four-step coaching method (Situation → Options → Recommendation → Next Steps), how to structure effective one-on-ones, how to protect your capacity while still being a great mentor, and how to document your mentoring impact so it counts when promotion and compensation discussions happen.

He also addresses when to say yes to mentoring opportunities and when to say no - because not every request is worth your time, and taking on too much will burn you out.

For CSMs who are already mentoring people, this episode validates the invisible work you're doing and gives you better systems to do it more effectively. For CSMs who aren't mentoring yet but are at a senior level or heading there, this episode shows you what's expected and how to prepare. And for anyone wondering whether they want to pursue formal management or stay in a senior IC role, Mark lays out what both paths look like and how to choose based on what actually energizes you.

The companion download includes a comprehensive mentoring readiness self-assessment, coaching conversation templates, time boundary worksheets, documentation systems for scaling your impact, and a detailed breakdown of the Senior IC development path - complete with role definitions and compensation ranges.

If you've ever been asked to mentor a junior CSM, if you're filling in while your manager is out, or if you're trying to figure out what "senior" really means beyond just having more accounts, this episode is for you.

In this episode of ClearPath Conversations, Mark Bernardin tackles one of the most uncomfortable topics for Customer Success Managers: how to drive expansion revenue without abandoning the advisory role that makes them effective. Drawing from over a decade managing enterprise accounts at companies like Cofense, Swimlane, and Palo Alto Networks, Mark breaks down the systematic approach that enabled him to drive over $1M in expansion revenue while strengthening customer relationships.

Mark opens with a coaching story from his time mentoring CSMs at Palo Alto Networks. When a CSM came to him with a fifteen-slide product deck, Mark stopped him with one question: "What problem does this solve for them?" The CSM couldn't answer. This moment reveals the core mistake most CSMs make with expansion - leading with product instead of problems. Mark guided him through a discovery-first approach that closed a $47,000 expansion while strengthening the relationship.

The episode introduces Mark's 5-Part Expansion Conversation Framework from "The CSM's Personal Playbook." Part one: Context Setting - referencing observed signals without pitching. Part two: Situation Exploration through open-ended questions. Part three: Impact Discovery, helping customers quantify business implications. Part four: Solution Connection, presenting capabilities as options. Part five: Next Steps Agreement, establishing clear timelines.

Mark illustrates with a detailed Cofense example where he managed 50+ enterprise accounts. After noticing a customer repeatedly asking about SIEM integration, Mark prepared before their next meeting. He pulled usage data, reviewed incident response metrics against industry benchmarks, and analyzed SOC workflows. When they met, Mark showed findings: analysts spent $337,000 annually on manual work plus missed incidents due to detection delays. The $85,000 expansion was approved within two weeks.

Mark addresses CSM discomfort with expansion, reframing it as recognizing their unique position to identify opportunities. CSMs identify and validate; Sales handles commercial discussions.

The episode closes with a Swimlane example where Mark facilitated a peer conversation between two financial services VPs rather than pitching. By connecting a customer facing alert challenges with a regional bank that solved the same problem, Mark enabled authentic learning. The conversation covered implementation, resources, and a 40% reduction in response time. Two weeks later: $24,000 expansion.

Throughout, Mark emphasizes proactive preparation over reactive conversations, strategic peer facilitation over product presentations, and helping customers build internal business cases. The companion toolkit at ClearPathCX.com includes signal detection checklists, the conversation framework, IMPACT qualification criteria, and business case templates.

Most CSMs think customer advocacy is something Marketing owns - a last-minute scramble for case studies when Sales needs proof points. But real advocacy isn't transactional. It's built through systematic programs that create mutual value for your customers and your business.

In this episode, Mark Bernardin breaks down the exact framework he's used to build advocacy programs that generated dozens of case studies, hundreds of reference calls, and advisory board relationships that drove millions in pipeline influence. More importantly, he shows you how advocacy development distinguishes senior CSMs from tactical operators.

We start with the critical mistake most CSMs make: approaching advocacy reactively. Waiting until renewal time to ask satisfied customers for references isn't advocacy development - it's desperation marketing. Real advocacy programs identify potential advocates early through behavioral indicators, not satisfaction surveys.

He walks you through the advocacy readiness assessment, a five-criteria framework that goes beyond "do they like us?" You'll learn how to spot customers who demonstrate advocacy potential through their actions: measurable outcomes they can quantify, expanded usage without being pushed, and voluntary positive feedback. These behaviors tell you more than any CSAT score.

Then he covers the three-tier advocacy framework that matches customer capacity and interests to the right level of engagement. Tier One requires 15-30 minutes quarterly for testimonials and reference calls. Tier Two involves 2-4 hours quarterly for case studies, webinars, and speaking opportunities that build participants' thought leadership. Tier Three is monthly engagement through advisory boards and strategic consultation that gives customers direct influence over your product direction.

The key insight: you're not asking customers to help you. You're creating opportunities for them to showcase their achievements and advance their careers.

He shares the four-pillar value delivery framework that makes advocacy sustainable: industry insights that inform their strategy, networking opportunities that expand their professional relationships, strategic consultation that improves their business outcomes, and recognition opportunities that enhance their industry visibility. When you deliver value continuously between requests, advocacy doesn't feel like a favor - it feels like partnership.

You'll also get the systematic approach to scaling advocacy beyond ad-hoc relationships: quarterly roster reviews, advocacy trackers, documented procedures that allow your program to scale beyond just you. Because when you're interviewing for senior roles, hiring managers want to see that you've built programs, not just managed relationships.

He tackles common challenges like handling rejection (timing, approval complexity, competitive sensitivity), preventing customer no-shows (build more value into the opportunity), and measuring program effectiveness through both business metrics and participant outcomes.

Real examples throughout from his work at Palo Alto Networks, Deepwatch, and Swimlane show advocacy done right: the healthcare CISO who got promoted after speaking at a conference, the energy sector director who landed job interviews from an advisory board, the financial services VP who became a proactive advocate because Mark helped advance their career.

This episode is for CSMs who want to move beyond tactical execution into strategic program development. Download the companion framework at ClearPathCX.com for the complete assessment template, tier definitions, email templates, and measurement criteria.

Most CSMs wait for customers to ask about additional capabilities. They sit in quarterly business reviews, watch usage patterns, hear about new initiatives, and then... nothing. They document it. They update Gainsight. They move on.

And then six months later, they find out the customer bought a competitive solution for that exact use case they mentioned back in March.

In this episode, Mark Bernardin breaks down the systematic approach he built managing enterprise portfolios worth over $8M in ARR - the same framework that helped him identify over $1M in expansion opportunities across customers like Ernst & Young, Lowe's, and The Home Depot.

This isn't about luck. It's about building a repeatable system that generates predictable expansion revenue quarter after quarter.

In this episode, you'll learn:

THE 4-STEP EXPANSION REVENUE SYSTEM

• Step 1: Weekly Signal Detection FrameworkMark walks through his Friday 15-minute review process, covering three signal categories: usage patterns, organizational changes, and business context shifts. He shares exactly what to look for and how to document signals before they lose context.
• Step 2: IMPACT Qualification Not every signal is worth pursuing. Mark explains his 6-criteria framework: Immediate need indicators, Money/budget accessibility, Person/decision maker access, Authority/approval process understanding, Coupling event timeline, and Technical feasibility. Opportunities scoring strong in 4-5 categories represent immediate potential.
• Step 3: Expansion Conversation StructureMark shares his 5-part conversation framework that positions CSMs as strategic partners: Context Setting → Situation Exploration → Impact Discovery → Solution Connection → Next Steps. Product discussion happens at the END, after earning the right through discovery.
• Step 4: Business Case ToolkitMany expansion opportunities stall because customers can't build internal justification. Mark demonstrates how to help customers sell internally with ROI calculations covering cost savings, revenue impact, and risk mitigation. When CSMs facilitate their decision-making process using the customer's numbers and context, they transform from vendor to strategic partner.

REAL EXAMPLES WITH DOLLAR OUTCOMES

Mark shares three concrete examples from his portfolio management experience:

• Swimlane: $400K expansion identified through Friday signal review when most CSMs would have missed a throwaway comment about hiring 12 analysts
• Palo Alto Networks: $350K healthcare expansion using IMPACT qualification and consultative conversation structure
• Deepwatch: $300K timing-based opportunity aligned with customer success milestone

Total: Over $1M in expansion ARR from systematic process, not luck.

WHAT MAKES THIS DIFFERENTThis episode shows listeners how to:

• Identify opportunities months before customers formalize evaluation processes
• Build expansion pipeline that leadership can forecast and rely on
• Execute consultative conversations that strengthen relationships even when customers don't buy immediately
• Create systematic processes that generate predictable expansion revenue

Whether managing a first portfolio or scaling a CS team, this framework transforms expansion from reactive hope to proactive revenue generation.

EPISODE RESOURCES

Download the complete Expansion Revenue System Worksheet at ClearPathCX.com - includes signal detection categories, IMPACT qualification scorecard, conversation framework template, business case toolkit, and 4-week implementation plan.

Ready to stop missing expansion opportunities hiding in plain sight? This episode delivers the exact system to find them, qualify them, and convert them - starting this Friday.

Host: Mark Bernardin, Customer Success expert, author of "The Path to Green" and "The CSM's Personal Playbook," and founder of ClearPath CX.

Most CSMs think the EBR is over when the meeting ends. They send a thank-you email, attach the deck, capture the action items, and move on. But here's what happens at enterprise accounts worth millions in ARR: a week goes by, action items sit in inboxes, strategic priorities get buried under firefighting, and by the next quarterly review, no one remembers what was committed to. That's not an EBR failure - that's a follow-up failure.

In this episode, I break down the post-EBR system that separates systematic CSMs from reactive ones. This is the work that drives retention, protects expansion, and builds the kind of executive trust that hiring managers look for when filling senior CSM roles.

What You'll Learn:

• THE IMMEDIATE FOLLOW-UPI walk through the exact four-part structure from The Executive Business Review Playbook: the genuine thank you, the recap framed around THEIR goals (not your agenda), confirmed action items with WHO/WHAT/WHEN, and next steps that open the loop instead of closing it. This timing isn't a suggestion - it's a core practice that demonstrates reliability when executives are still thinking about what was discussed.

• THE 30-DAY CADENCEWeek one: Execute on commitments (if you said Friday, deliver Thursday). Week two: Manage internal team accountability (they're busy and commitments will slip unless you're driving them). Week three: Re-engage with value, not "checking in" emails. Week four: Prepare for the next milestone. This is the rhythm that builds relationships, not hope.

• THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARYNot everyone who needed to be in the EBR was actually in the room. The CFO, CIO, board members, or advisors who approve expansion budgets often aren't there. I show you how to create a one-page executive summary that can be forwarded up the chain - a standalone document answering three questions: What did we accomplish? What are the next steps? What do we need from leadership? This single tool turned a seven-figure healthcare account into a six-figure expansion within 30 days.

• REAL-WORLD EXAMPLESI share detailed examples from my enterprise accounts including a $2M+ ARR financial services portfolio at Deepwatch where patient, strategic follow-up turned a value-focused EBR into a $400K expansion. I also break down exactly what NOT to do: overselling in follow-up (kills trust), disappearing for six weeks (destroys careers), letting action items slip (undermines everything), and treating follow-up as an afterthought.

• THE TRACKING SYSTEMSystematic CSMs don't hope things get done - they build accountability into the process. I walk through the follow-up tracker that captures action items with hard dates (not "Q2" - actual dates like "March 27"), follow-up touchpoints for the next 30 days, next milestones, and customer sentiment. Review it weekly during portfolio planning time, not monthly when you remember.

Why This Matters:

When I interview candidates for senior CSM roles and team lead positions, I don't ask how their last EBR went. I ask what happened in the thirty days after. That's where the real work shows up. That's where retention gets protected and expansion gets built. Strategic follow-up demonstrates you understand how enterprise accounts actually work - it's not about the meeting, it's about what you do with the opportunity the meeting creates.

This episode includes the complete framework from The Executive Business Review Playbook, available on Amazon. Visit ClearPathCX.com to get the companion download that contains templates for post-EBR follow-up, executive summary format, and 30-day action tracker.

You can build the perfect EBR deck - beautiful slides, compelling data, clear outcomes - but if you don't know how to facilitate the conversation, you'll fail to create the strategic impact you're looking for.

In this episode, Mark Bernardin breaks down the critical shift from presenting at executives to facilitating strategic conversations with them. Drawing from hundreds of EBRs with Fortune 500 customers including Lowe's, The Home Depot, and Ernst & Young, Mark shares the systematic approach that allows Customer Success Managers to lead high-stakes meetings with confidence.

You'll learn:

• The fundamental difference between presenting and facilitating - and why most CSMs get this wrong
• The 5 Executive Questions framework that every effective EBR must answer
• How to open with a Strategic Alignment Check that proves you've been listening
• Why strategic pauses are more powerful than rushing through your content
• How to translate metrics into language that resonates with CFOs, CIOs, and CISOs
• The right way to surface problems proactively without looking defensive
• How to read the room and pivot in real-time when energy shifts
• The closing script that creates mutual accountability and locks in next steps
• Why the best facilitators aren't naturally charismatic - they're systematically prepared

This episode includes real examples from Mark's work at Swimlane, Deepwatch, and Palo Alto Networks, showing exactly how to handle challenging situations like executive turnover, security incidents, and roadmap delays while maintaining trust and driving expansion.

Whether you're preparing for your first EBR or looking to elevate your executive presence, this episode provides the frameworks, scripts, and preparation checklist you need to facilitate like you belong in the room.

All frameworks referenced in this episode are detailed in The Executive Business Review Playbook: The CSM's Guide to Owning the Room, available on Amazon.

You've done the prep work. You've aligned internally. You've confirmed the meeting with your executive stakeholders. Now comes the moment that separates good CSMs from great ones: building the actual deck.

Most EBR decks fail before the meeting even starts. They're built around what the CSM wants to say, not what the executive needs to hear. Twenty-five slides packed with usage metrics, support ticket summaries, and product roadmap updates. No strategic alignment. No business outcomes. No clear path forward. Just a status dump disguised as a review.

In this episode, Mark breaks down the six-slide EBR framework he teaches in The Executive Business Review Playbook - the same structure he's used with customers like Lowe's, Ernst & Young, Accenture, and dozens of others. This framework works because it's built around what executives actually care about, not what we think they should care about.You'll learn exactly what each slide needs to accomplish and how to deliver it without losing the room:

• SLIDE 1: Strategic Alignment RecapProve you've been listening. Show the executive you understand their current business priorities and how your platform supports those goals. This isn't a bio slide - it's proof that you know who they are.
• SLIDE 2: Outcomes DeliveredConnect your work to their measurable business results. Not your features. Not your platform capabilities. Their outcomes. Time saved. Risk reduced. Revenue protected. This is where you answer: What did we accomplish together?
• SLIDE 3: Current State and GapsThe honesty slide. Show them what's working, what's not, and where they're leaving value on the table. Executives respect transparency. They can't stand being blindsided. Frame gaps as opportunities, not accusations.
• SLIDE 4: Success Plan and Next StepsMove from observation to action. Tell them exactly what needs to happen next, who needs to do it, and when. Include mutual accountability - what you're committing to AND what they need to do.
• SLIDE 5: Expansion or Roadmap (Optional)Introduce what's next - but only if you've earned it. New features aligned with their priorities. Expansion opportunities. Strategic roadmap initiatives. Read the room. If they're engaged, go for it. If not, skip it.
• SLIDE 6: Recap and CommitmentsYour closer. Summarize what you covered. Confirm action items and owners. Set the date for your next check-in. Don't end with "any questions?" - that's passive. You're leading this meeting. End with clarity.

Mark also reveals the one slide most CSMs screw up completely: Outcomes Delivered. Because most CSMs confuse activity with outcomes. Usage stats and feature adoption are not outcomes. Business results are outcomes. If you can't tie your work to time saved, money saved, risk reduced, revenue generated, compliance achieved, or efficiency gained - you're not delivering an outcome, you're delivering a service. And services are replaceable. Outcomes are not.

Here's the truth: the slides don't matter as much as you think. What matters is whether you walk into that room sounding like someone who understands their business, can connect your work to their goals, and can have a real conversation - not just click through a deck. The slides keep you honest and give the executive something to hold onto after you leave. But the real work happens between the slides.

Perfect for CSMs preparing for their first EBR, experienced practitioners looking to level up their presentation game, or CS leaders building EBR frameworks for their teams.Download the companion guide "The 6-Slide EBR Framework" at ClearPathCX.com for the complete breakdown with examples, common mistakes, and a quick reference table.