🚨Turn Budget Cuts Into Career Growth [+ Templates]
Budget axes are falling, in particular across government and education sectors where I’m focusing in today’s edition.
But here’s your career paradox:
This crisis is your golden ticket to become indispensable.
💡 Ed Tech Industry Expert Take:
"It's very short-sighted and the opposite of what companies should do in this economy. Keeping existing customers is extremely important when it's so challenging to acquire new customers." - from my interview with Jill Favro Sawatzky, Chief Customer Officer, Thought Industries—The Customer Learning Platform
While 68% of institutions plan spending cuts this fiscal year (particularly in Gov/Edu), top CS pros across all industries are using these three strategies to reduce churn and boost retention:
✅ Turn compliance data into promotion fuel
✅ Position themselves as funding experts
✅ Bulletproof their book of business
The Impact:
Teams using targeted value metrics see 40% higher feature adoption
Conversion rates improve from 17% to 25% with proper value documentation
Effective consulting increases average order size by 15%
1. The Skill That Gets You Promoted During Cuts
Why It Matters:
Budget committees are axing "nice-to-have" tools.
Your survival depends on mastering value quantification—the #1 skill gap in CS (2024 TSIA data).
Takeaway:
→ Transform operational metrics into career currency:
"Our platform saved 200 hours/year" → "I recover 10 FTE weekly for strategic initiatives"
"Our compliance automation saved $250,000/year" → "We prevented $1.2M in potential fines last fiscal year”
Real Impact Story:
A CSM implemented quarterly validation sessions and turned around a struggling account—which led to a promotion to VP role. (This approach works in any industry facing budget pressure)
The account renewed and increased their deal from one year to two years with $100K in additional value.
2. Become the "Funding Interpreter" Teams Fight to Keep
Real Career Win:
A CSM got promoted to Director after creating this alignment guide for budget-conscious environments:
[District]'s FY25 Funding Alignment
✅ Allowable Use: "Staff Retention"
🔗 $82k expiring 9/30/25
📈 Our Impact: 74% faster compliance → 31% more funds secured
💡 Expert Insight:
"Customer Success is not just about keeping customers happy. It's about ensuring that they are getting the most value from a product or service, which in turn drives retention and growth." - Jill Favro Sawatzky, CCO, Thought Industries
Want more insights on protecting revenue during budget cuts? Check out my in-depth interview with Ed-Tech industry expert Jill where she shares:
How to secure CS's seat at the board level
Strategies for demonstrating bottom-line impact
Tips for turning metrics into strategic value
Also explore my in-depth guide to demonstrating bottom-line impact, featuring actionable frameworks used by top CS leaders.
Get The Complete Revenue Protection Kit
Easy to adapt to any industry
Upgrade Now & Get Instant Access To:
🚀 11 Funding Playbook Templates
🚀 17 Battle-Tested Scripts
+ Implementation Guides & Examples
Teams using these tools report:
✓ 73% faster response to budget cuts
✓ 82% success rate in finding alternative funding
✓ 91% stakeholder alignment on value