Topline · 17 May 2026 · From the week of 11 May
Playbook: AI-Era Customer Success For Hyper Growth | Sam Slevin, Global SVP CS @ AlphaSense
These are notes on the conversation, checked against its transcript. The episode itself has the full discussion.
In brief
Sam Slevin, Global SVP of Customer Success at AlphaSense, joins hosts Sam Jacobs, AJ Bruno and Asad Zaman to discuss customer success in the AI era. Topics include whether CS should own a revenue number, the gap between finance's per-AM productivity targets and real account capacity, service as a differentiator, and the risks of usage-based pricing. Slevin's central argument is that service could be the major differentiator over the next two to three years, though he says this may change. The episode also covers CS and RevOps compensation benchmarks and a bull-versus-bear debate on HubSpot.
For founders
- Slevin says he would never take a customer success role that does not own a revenue number, and that at any new company he builds a forecast from day one.
- Slevin argues that service could be the major differentiator over the next two to three years, while saying this view will probably change.
- Slevin warns that companies rushing into usage-based pricing can become addicted to the spike in net retention it creates.
- Slevin says that for a high-growth company, customer success should own an upsell and growth number in conjunction with sales.
- Slevin says that in consumption deals, the salesperson should define deliverables without overselling, using a proof of concept to show usage and agree what the customer is buying for the year.
For revenue leaders
- Slevin says CS must own gross renewal and gross retention, and that CS should carry its own pipeline number separate from AEs and SDRs.
- Slevin says CS can only source pipeline once an account is healthy and has good advocates, using introductions from customers who already get value.
- Slevin describes a gap between finance's per-AM targets, such as $15 million, and what individual managers can actually support, and says he looks for operational drag like billing friction and AM-to-AE handoffs.
- AJ Bruno reported that a chief customer officer role at a PE-backed company paid about 30% less total compensation than a CRO role of similar size and location.
- Asad Zaman said VP and SVP RevOps roles at companies with $20 to $30 million in revenue can be the second-highest paid role after the CRO, at around $300,000 base plus bonus and equity.
What was said 18, most useful first
Finance's per-AM ARR target and the capacity a real account team can support are two different models. Listen
He said he wants to raise ARR per AM and that finance might want $15 million per AM. He said that was only doable when one or two customers paid that much, so the account became the AM's full-time job with a team supporting it. For mid-market accounts, he said a person may manage about $3 million, which may not fit the finance model.
“What's interesting is I feel like there's a finance model and then there's a real life model... finance will say we need $15 million per AM.”
Listen to the episode Metrics & finance Link to this Report a problem
Slevin warns that companies rushing into usage-based pricing can become addicted to the spike in net retention it creates. Listen
He said this model is not new and that many companies have used it. When a host compared it with buying gas, he replied that with gas the buyer knows exactly what they are getting and can see a meter. He said usage pricing needs clear value, or customers get surprise top-up notifications and friction.
“And so I think that people rushing into consumption based pricing or usage based pricing, this isn't new. Like it's been around for, and there's tons of companies that have done this and they get addicted to this like spike in net retention.”
Listen to the episode Pricing & packaging Link to this Report a problem
A chief customer officer role at a PE-backed company paid about 30% less total compensation than a CRO role of similar size and location. Listen
He compared a CCO and a CRO role at PE-backed companies of similar size, using Carta and QuotaPath data. He suggested PE may push toward CCO titles because benchmark compensation is lower, while noting the CCO job description was in effect a CRO role.
“it was about 30% difference in total comp in chief customer officer in same location same everything else industry than it was CRO level.”
Listen to the episode Sales team, hiring & comp Link to this Report a problem
VP and SVP RevOps roles at companies with $20 to $30 million in revenue can be the second-highest paid role after the CRO, at around $300,000 base plus bonus and equity. Listen
He said Sales Talent Agency is placing RevOps leaders at companies of that size, with big bonus plans and lots of equity. He also said great RevOps people are few and far between, which makes searches very hard.
“We're placing VPs, SVPs of RevOps that are making maybe the second highest comp after the CRO in that. In companies with $20, $30 million of revenue, I'm making $300,000 plus base with big bonus plans and lots of equity”
Listen to the episode Sales team, hiring & comp Link to this Report a problem
Pursuit-based incentives can turn activity into an end in itself, according to an Axial example where bonuses were tied to deal pursuit. Listen
Slevin recalled a quarter at Axial when his team could earn about a $5,000 bonus for getting customers to pursue a set number of deals. Sam Jacobs explained the goal was to show deal senders the platform was alive and attract better deals, but agreed it became an end in itself. Slevin used it to illustrate how comp drives behaviour.
“But it became an end unto itself”
Listen to the episode Sales team, hiring & comp Link to this Report a problem
He would never take a customer success role that does not own a revenue number and call the forecast from day one. Listen
He said he has worked 17 years in customer success leadership and that whether CS should own a number has never been a debate for him. He wants a role focused on revenue impact that owns a number and calls the forecast from the start, including what the renewal rate looks like.
“I would never take a role that doesn't have revenue focused. Impact owning a number calling your forecast from day one”
Listen to the episode Retention & customer success Link to this Report a problem
At each new company, Slevin builds a bottoms-up and top-down forecast on day one, with everyone calling their number. Listen
He said the first thing he does at any company he joins is make sure there is a forecast built both top-down and bottoms-up, with every person calling their number. He validates it the same way a sales forecast is validated, and says this is how CS gets treated as a revenue function.
“the first thing that I always do is at any company that I join is make sure that we have a forecast that we are focusing on bottoms up top down and bottoms up that everyone is calling their number. We're validating that in the exact same way that you do a sales forecast.”
Listen to the episode Retention & customer success Link to this Report a problem
For a high-growth company, Slevin says CS should own an upsell and growth number, done in conjunction with sales. Listen
He said that to join a high-growth, high-velocity company you need to own an upsell and growth number. He said this matters if the company is trying to grow 40 to 70%, because someone needs to protect the flank and make sure the customer gets more value than they pay for.
“you absolutely need to own an upsell and growth number. Now, I believe that doing that in conjunction with sales, is really important actually if you're trying to grow it 40, 50, 60, 70% growth rate”
Listen to the episode Retention & customer success Link to this Report a problem
CS can only source pipeline once an account is healthy, and that its pipeline number should differ from AEs' and SDRs'. Listen
He said CS earns the right to source pipeline by delivering value over time, then asks satisfied customers for introductions to other teammates. He contrasted this with AEs and SDRs, who look for new pockets and soften the ground.
“And so you can't source pipeline if the account isn't healthy and you don't have good advocates and good people working for you.”
Listen to the episode Pipeline & demand generation Link to this Report a problem
Slevin's method for closing the gap is to find the roughly 10% of operational drag, such as billing or handoff friction, and remove it. Listen
He asks what breaks when a manager is capped at a set number of accounts or users, such as why a manager cannot go from 600 to 800 users. He names billing, AM-to-AE handoffs and AMs working with too many AEs as likely causes, then removes the biggest blocker and explains the renewal and churn risk to finance.
“Is it billing? Is it the AM to AE handoff? Are they working with too many AEs? And you start to figure out what is the 10%? If I move this 10% burden, then what do I do?”
Listen to the episode Retention & customer success Link to this Report a problem
At AlphaSense, where the product works well, Slevin says the CS job is to change how the customer works so they adopt the product and see its value. Listen
He contrasted a tech-enabled CS model, where the team bridges gaps in the product, with AlphaSense, where the product works well once customers start using it. His team's job is to get customers to use it, change their behaviour and connect the value by telling them a story.
“I got to make sure that I change the way that you like I change your behavior and I I tell you a story I connect the value”
Listen to the episode Retention & customer success Link to this Report a problem
Segmentation determines CS playbooks, because strategic, mid-market and corporate accounts need different things. Listen
He gave the example that a corporate IR user at a Fortune 500 company is very different from a user at a mid-cap life sciences company. He said the team needs the right playbooks and focus areas for each segment to stay focused across its product lines.
“I think it comes down to segmentation ultimate ultimately it's like What's important for a strat account might not be the same thing that's important for a mid-market account”
Listen to the episode Retention & customer success Link to this Report a problem
Slevin keeps one owner for the gross and net number across support and CS, with the model shifting to match product technicality. Listen
He said sometimes a very technical product needs a support-heavy model, while other times it needs a more consultative one. He has a head of support and CS leaders under him, and said the support roles are very important even though the leadership layer owns the number.
“I own the number of what levers do we pull to deliver gross and net and sometimes you need to be support heavy on a very technical product. Sometimes it needs to be more consultative.”
Listen to the episode Retention & customer success Link to this Report a problem
On consumption deals, Slevin says the salesperson should define deliverables without overselling, using a proof of concept to show usage, with CS reviewing usage and ROI at strategic reviews. Listen
He described the salesperson running a proof of concept, turning it on, and agreeing on usage patterns, deliverables and what is bought for the year. He said CS should then hold a strategic business review, comparing results with what the customer said they wanted and recommending next steps.
“Here's a proof of concept. Let's turn it on. Here's what your usage patterns look like. Here's the deliverables that we got. This is what you're buying for the year.”
Listen to the episode Pricing & packaging Link to this Report a problem
The CS north star is delivering more value than the customer pays, and that CS earns the right to be commercial by doing so. Listen
He contrasted this with salespeople, who must hit a number regardless of the account's health. He said he has talked with team members about whether they want the maximum earnings of sales or an account role, and that the two suit different personality types and motivations.
“where the north star of the customer success team is, how do I make sure I'm delivering more value than the price that they are paying?”
Listen to the episode Sales team, hiring & comp Link to this Report a problem
AJ Bruno is bullish on SDRs in an AI future, because they can experiment with messaging and bring in top-of-funnel for new products. Listen
He argued AEs need clarity on value proposition and are poorly suited to experimentation, while SDRs sit at the tip of the spear. He said QuotaPath measures its SDRs against ARR per FTE, similar to ARR per AE and AM.
“the SDR, they are the ones that are really going to jump in with both feet to be able to be at this experimentation and bring in top of the funnel for new products.”
Listen to the episode Sales team, hiring & comp Link to this Report a problem
A CS leader must own gross renewal rate and gross retention rate, and there should be no debate about it. Listen
He treats gross renewal and gross retention as the baseline number for customer success. He contrasts this with growth numbers, which he says depend more on the business.
“So I think you absolutely need to own a gross renewal rate and a gross retention rate.”
Listen to the episode Retention & customer success Link to this Report a problem
Slevin predicts service will be the major differentiator for customer success over the next two to three years, and says this may change. Listen
He argued that CS teams that build deep relationships and meet customers where they are can win renewal and expansion. He hedged, saying he is biased and that the view will probably change over time.
“I don't think there could be a more exciting time to be in customer success where service feels like it could be the major differentiator over the next two to three years.”
Listen to the episode Retention & customer success Link to this Report a problem