More Than a Customer Success Manager - John Bell

Tell us about your role at Decision Time.

My role has varied over the years. I started as a consultant and worked in sales and marketing and training. After that, I worked primarily in the customer success team for the last couple of years. My role as a customer success manager requires me to be more than just reactive. For me, it's not about just fixing problems and finding workarounds; it's about being proactive and doing everything in our power to ensure that customers are getting the best value from our system.

How long have you been with the company, and how did you come to work here?

I have been with Decision Time for over six years now, and I remember when there was about half of the amount of staff back then. I came to know about Decision Time when I worked in the events industry at a local event called Digital DNA. Decision Time was a customer of ours, and I got to know the team, especially the directors Geoff, Sinead and David, quite well through that process. I was attracted by the setup of Decision Time and the traction they were getting, even at the early stages. The position became available, so I applied and, fortunately, was successful. 

Describe a typical day working at Decision Time.

When working remotely, it's really important that we have daily engagement among the team, so we start the day off with a daily catch-up. In our meetings, we cover everything from what happened the day before, if there are any successes or anything that needs to be addressed. We also discuss the work that we have coming up. The work could be anything from training sessions with customers to scheduled reviews, ensuring that things are going well and maybe identifying new opportunities to help them. In my role, I manage quite a lot of projects and identify the actions that may depend on others, as well as manage deadlines. So really, I make sure we're on top of everything that's coming in.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

Probably a cliche, but it has to be the people. We have a fantastic Decision Time team that is genuinely passionate about the product and customers. Most of my time is spent with customer success, and they’re a great team to work with. Many of our customers are in sectors which deliver so much value to society and I think that is reflected in the people I work with directly. They care passionately about the contribution they make to society and it is not hard for us to buy into that mission too! It’s really rewarding to know that we’re playing an important role in helping many of these organisations run successfully and effectively.

What are the biggest challenges of your role?

The biggest challenge for me has to be time. Fortunately, the sales team in Decision Time have been incredibly successful over the last year or two, providing us with a steady stream of work and projects to be involved in. In my role, I primarily focus on managing a significant number of projects which can be difficult. 

Tell us something interesting about yourself.

Something I want to share is the positive impact that the pandemic had on my outlook on life. During lockdown, I took up running and recently ran my first marathon in Amsterdam. So, that has had a positive impact on my well-being. Whilst these things are forced upon you, sometimes it's important to embrace the opportunities that come with them.