Why CSMs Need Commercial Skills More Than Ever | Anika Zubair, Customer Success Pro

In this episode, Mike and Deborah are joined by Anika Zubair, founder of the Customer Success Pro, a training and enablement organisation helping CSMs and CS teams become more commercially confident and revenue ready. Anika brings 15 years of B2B SaaS experience, from SDR to VP of Customer Success, and she is one of the most recognised voices in the CS world when it comes to bridging the gap between customer success and commercial skills. We kick off with a Reddit post from a CSM who has just joined a startup mid-renewal season and is feeling the pressure to level up fast. Anika, Mike, and Deborah unpack why this is such a common experience, and what to do about it. In this conversation we cover: Why commercial and revenue skills are now essential for CSMs, not optional extras The key difference between selling to a prospect versus reselling to an existing customer How to handle the most uncomfortable CS conversations: value objections, price increases, and renewal pushback Why CSMs avoid the renewal conversation and how to change that with one simple technique Stakeholder mapping in CS: why one contact is never enough What CS leaders need to do differently to fight for budget, headcount, and enablement investment Why your CS team almost certainly controls more revenue than your sales team, and how to use that fact Whether you are a CSM looking to build confidence in commercial conversations, or a CS leader trying to equip your team in a tougher economic environment, this episode is packed with practical advice. Subscribe to the Customer Success from the Ground Up podcast for more conversations with people who have built CS from scratch. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Introduction 00:24 Meet Anika Zubair, founder of the Customer Success Pro 01:40 How the role of CSM has evolved over the last 15 years 03:11 Why commercial skills matter more than ever in 2026 04:29 The value of speaking the same commercial language as sales 04:55 Selling to a prospect vs reselling to an existing customer 06:24 Anika’s background: from real estate to SDR to VP of CS 08:05 First impressions and the energy Anika brings 08:32 Reddit review: CSM overwhelmed mid-renewal season 10:05 Why CSMs everywhere are feeling this pressure right now 11:46 AI and the economy: the two forces reshaping CS 13:11 Deborah’s take: understanding your levers in at-risk renewals 14:03 Connect the glimmers of hope back to business impact 15:17 Put yourself in the customer’s position 16:29 Partner closely with your AE when you are newer to renewals 16:41 The three reasons customers buy software 18:19 Icebreaker: what is on Anika’s podcast playlist? 19:10 Why Anika does not listen to CS podcasts 19:32 Dancing with the Stars, reality TV, and switching off 21:54 The biggest skill gap Anika sees in CSMs 22:40 People pleasing vs handling objections with confidence 24:04 Value amnesia: why customers forget why they bought you 25:01 Reframing the conversation: what it really means 26:24 Ask the next question to open up the conversation 28:03 It is okay to ask the harder questions 28:49 How CS commercial training is different from sales training 30:50 Why the renewal gets left to the last five minutes 31:50 Setting the agenda and getting psychological buy-in upfront 33:21 Money is not a dirty word unless you make it one 35:32 Stakeholder mapping: why one contact puts accounts at risk 36:41 You need at least five points of contact, including one with the credit card 38:09 Commercial skills as attitude and confidence, not just knowledge 39:36 Taking ghosting more seriously than you might think 41:40 What CS leaders should focus on beyond AI fluency 43:00 Understanding the profit and loss and fighting for your team 44:17 Ask for enablement budget the same way you ask customers for money 47:07 Why outsourcing training is not a failure for CS leaders 48:01 The closing thought: your CS team controls more revenue than you think 50:11 Wrap up and thank you Customer Success from the Ground Up is hosted by Mike Marshall , Global CS Programme Lead, and Deborah Knight from KaptivCX.