Women in Customer Success Podcast

138 - From Fashion to Customer Success: Melissa Garcia's Inspiring Career Journey

• Marija Skobe-Pilley • Episode 138

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How do you pivot from fashion to a leadership role in Customer Success with no SaaS experience?

We kick off Season 5 with Melissa Garcia, Senior Director of Member Success at Chief.

Melissa joins us to share her unconventional journey from a career in fashion merchandising to becoming a leader in Customer Success. She opens up about what it really takes to break into SaaS, how she built confidence in a completely new industry, and why leading with empathy is her greatest superpower.

We explore how mentors shaped her path, the lessons she learned navigating change, and her bold takes on modern CS practices, from ditching outdated QBRs to delivering “value you can’t Google.”

You’ll discover:

  • How to pivot into Customer Success without a SaaS background
  • Why “value you can’t Google” is key to becoming indispensable
  • Ways to own your voice in customer conversations (even when facing imposter syndrome)
  • Why traditional check-ins often fail (and what to do instead)
  • The transformative power of small steps, and the growing impact of women in CS leadership


If you're looking to break into CS, grow your leadership skills, or lead more human-centered conversations, this episode is a treasure trove packed with practical insights and heartfelt wisdom.


💚 This episode is brought to you by Hook: https://hook.co/


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👉 Follow Melissa Garcia: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-garcia-nyc/

👉 Learn more about Hook & grow your revenue on autopilot: https://hook.co/

👉 Learn more about Chief, the private network executive women rely on to raise their leadership game: https://chief.com/

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About Women in Customer Success Podcast:

Women in Customer Success Podcast is the first women-only podcast for Customer Success professionals, where remarkable ladies of Customer Success connect, inspire and champion each other.


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Host Marija Skobe-Pilley


NEW - Women in Customer Success Courses:

  • Thriving as a First-Time People Leader - https://womenincs.co/thriving-as-a-first-time-people-leader
  • The Revenue CSM - https://womenincs.co/the-revenue-csm



Speaker 1:

My younger self would have not imagined that I would have gotten into customer success. I actually went to school for fashion and thought I was going to do fashion merchandising as my career. There's so many interconnected teams in CS and like we need to really understand why people are coming to you. What is the thing that they are looking to gain from their, you know, purchasing your product or going through an experience or service, and so if you can't understand those from day one and there's not a fit, like you're kind of setting yourself up to fail from the beginning. Get rid of the QBR. You should not be one just only checking in with your customers because there's a calendar time on the calendar and it says you should. Right, we're not just trying to check a box. Women in CS can do anything.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to season five of Women in Customer Success podcast. I can't believe that it's going to be exactly five years since we just started recording wonderful conversations with wonderful people and today. What better way to start the season than with Melissa Garcia, Customer Success Leader, an amazing lady passionate about growing communities and supporting women, and she's currently Senior Director of Customer Success or Member Success at Chief. Melissa, it's wonderful to have you here. Welcome.

Speaker 1:

Yes, thank you. I'm so excited to be here. Congrats on five years. That is a huge milestone. It's almost halfway to a decade, so that's amazing.

Speaker 2:

Thank you, yeah almost half a decade. Melissa, I'm dying to know how did you get into customer success?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it's a good question. It is not a place that I thought I would go. You know how we keep seeing that there's a trend right now of talking to your younger self. My younger self would have not imagined that I would have gotten into customer success. I actually went to school for fashion and thought I was going to do fashion merchandising as my career, and so when I got out of college, I started working for a female women owned business. It was a small apparel company. I was their first employee that they ever hired and I was doing sales, which is also something I didn't think I was going to do. But ended up there because I met her through a mutual friend and just was really excited about what she was building and I thought that I would, you know, continue down the fashion path. And so I did that for a while and I started managing the relationships with the boutiques that I was working with. So I was working with a ton of different retail partners and also small boutiques around the country, going to trade shows and building those relationships.

Speaker 1:

I was like this is fun, like I love this, this is like creating an energy in me that like I just was really enjoying and I didn't really know customer success existed.

Speaker 1:

Right, I was in the fashion world, I wasn't in tech, I wasn't doing SaaS Like I didn't really understand what I was doing with actually customer success. And so I started to explore that feeling and that pass and ended up pivoting. I went over to ClassPass and got into tech and started doing CS and I didn't think that that would be my career. I was just kind of following this path that felt good to me and felt fun and interesting and like challenging, and so that's that's kind of how I went into it and I never really looked back. I did have a stint where I did like a fashion tech company and my two worlds kind of overlapped for a little bit. But yeah, I never would have expected it. I didn't really know it existed at the time when I was like starting out my career and I kind of just ended up here. But I'm really glad that I did.

Speaker 2:

I'm really glad that you did so. Your younger self would have probably been surprised to find you in the current role. So what were you doing when you were around 16, you know, just before uni? How did you even end up in fashion? I think that's just an awesome path.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, it's a good question. What was I doing? Honestly, I don't know if I talk about this a lot, but I wasn't super like career focused. I didn't know what I expected for myself in my career. I was kind of like flying by the seat of my pants a little bit, which is which is normal, I think, for a 16 year old.

Speaker 1:

But I knew that I loved style, I loved fashion. Like I'm from New York, living in New York, right, there's so much like culture and fashion and interesting people and people are just so stylish and so it was always something I really cared about. I still do. I still find it really interesting, and so I was just kind of being inspired by the city, I think, and hanging around and like wasn't thinking like really forward about what my career would look like. Not that I would recommend that to other people, but that's kind of where I was. And then I just I thought fashion was cool, I wanted to be a part of it, and so I ended up applying to FIT, which is the Fashion Institute of Technology here in New York, and I applied twice. I didn't get in the first time, I got in the second time and ended up studying merchandising.

Speaker 2:

Amazing story, and I think it's so interesting how your two worlds also overlapped at some point fashion and customer success, and customer success. But now, speaking of customer success, since you've been in the industry for quite a while now, I wonder what is your maybe one customer success principle that you would never compromise on, even if you're facing some resistance, like was that one thing that is always true for you?

Speaker 1:

Oh, my God, that's such a good question. I think the thing that's always true for me in CS is that you have to be focused on the value that you're bringing to the customer and that remains, and always is, the most important thing. Like, yes, this is a relationship business. We're so good at like building those relationships and that's so important, but the relationship isn't going to carry you through to what you're there to do, which is to make sure your customer sees value. So I think if you're laser focused on that, whatever that might mean to your customer, to your business, that's kind of the principle that I'm always looking to and saying, okay, how is this action, how is how we're serving our customer, bringing them to the value that they're trying to get? Because it's always about their outcome. Right, yes, you're a business, your outcome matters, but it's always about the customer at the end of the day.

Speaker 2:

So I mean, without going way too much into details or in theory, but I wonder how would you and would you distinguish value and outcomes? Or is there any blueprint that you always like swear by to deliver customers in order for them to see that value Like? Was that one thing that everybody can start applying?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, no, that's such a good question. I think value and outcomes are interrelated, right? You can't have sort of one without the other. In order to see value, you have to see an outcome. And so I think you have to get really clear when you are either onboarding a customer or that first, like initial experience that they have with you, and even in the sales process, like let's back it up, right, there's so many interconnected teams in CS, and like we need to really understand why people are coming to you. What is the thing that they are looking to gain from their, you know, purchasing your product or going through an experience or a service? And so if you can't understand those from day one and there's not a fit, like you're kind of setting yourself up to fail from the beginning, right. So I think it's so important to understand one, what outcomes you can provide. So there's something about like the fit is this customer the customer for you? Right? And sometimes that starts before the CS team even gets there, oftentimes before the CS team even gets there.

Speaker 1:

But I think as a CSM or as a leader, you really have to understand what your customer is looking to gain and what those outcomes are, and then the value will come right If you're able to deliver those things. That is the value, and the value is kind of the result of what you're doing. So I think it's outcomes lead to value, and that's the tip. And if you can understand what your customer needs and also how you can get them there, you will then be able to deliver on the value that you're set out to do. So it's just that constant kind of almost equation of like how do I get from A to B? And then the result is D, and that's the value.

Speaker 2:

And, as we're seeing in the industry, there are so many different ways of getting there and understanding what customers need and how we approach them. What is the type of engagement we need to understand what they need and then in order to deliver. So, as you said, it's always a circle. It's always like a flywheel of different actions and touch points that need to happen. Now I would like you to imagine you were a CEO of any business today. Could be tech, saas, whatever.

Speaker 2:

Is there any I call it untouchable customer success practice that you would immediately demolish, destroy completely Something that is so ingrained into businesses that you think it's absolutely wrong? And then what would you do instead? You have all the power as a CEO to do it right now.

Speaker 1:

Wow, that's such a good question. Okay, so I'm the CEO and I'm saying to my customer success team I don't want you to do this anymore. I want you to do this instead. Yes, yeah, I think I mean this is like, I feel like a hot topic, but also common. But what do you do instead is kind of the question. I mean these ideas of check-ins, qbrs. I just want to see how you're doing, like.

Speaker 1:

I think that's been part of the CS playbook for a really long time and I know there's a lot of discourse on this, and it's not to say you shouldn't check in or have relationships or speak with your customers, but if you're checking in just to check in, like, and even as, let's say, I'm the CEO, I don't want someone to do that to me. Why do I want to do that to someone else? What value again? And am I providing them? And so I think what I would do instead is get rid of the QBR. You should not be one just only checking in with your customers because there's a calendar time on the calendar and it says you should, right? We're not just trying to check a box. Nobody, especially right now, right? Everybody's so busy, there's so much going on. People are pulled in so many different directions. Teams are leaner, like there's just no time right, or people feel that there's no time and so if you're not scheduling you know, meetings with people, you don't really want to have that time to do that, and so I think instead, it's more about creating these like organic, natural moments with your customers.

Speaker 1:

So, like, turn on your Google alerts, understand what's going on with their business. Something happens. There's a door, Look for those doors, look for those pockets of like. How can I, you know, then contact a customer when it makes the most sense to do so for them? Like it's not just about you and you're checking a box, and like you're a CSM and you want to be able to say you know, I did outreach to this many customers and I had this many activities and all of these things.

Speaker 1:

I think it's really important to say, okay, how do I approach it from? Like, when I come in, the customer is happy to hear from me, and so I love just finding those little pockets and those little doors where you can say I saw this is going on with your business. How is this maybe changing what your goals are? What do you think you need to do next, because I acquired another company. You know, whatever it is, I think it's just looking for those small little entryways into having way more organic conversations, and that's what I would replace it with and, like you're getting way more of a pulse on your customer that way than just saying I'm checking in, I'm going to tell you about all the things the company is doing and this has nothing to do with you, right?

Speaker 2:

It worked in the past. I just don't think it really works anymore. Oh my, I couldn't agree more. It worked in the past to check in. Recently I worked with a company that is pretty mature with customer success and we started having that conversation and I asked them really, if your customers show up on a call like you can consider yourself really lucky because that's rarity. Why do we always expect customers to just be there every single month? Just because the call is in, the customer like you can be really lucky. They're showing up simply because people are not showing up anymore, just because stuff are in the calendar. So I wonder, instead of like if, if let's say there is that you know high touch engagement where you maybe you're even contractually obliged to speak with customers every month or similar, instead of checking calls, how would you call those important calls that have to happen because they are in the calendar?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, like what would you do on those calls, knowing that you have to have them but you don't just want to be like hello, how?

Speaker 2:

are you Absolutely. It all depends on the agenda, right?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I think and that's the big thing for me it's about the agenda. What do they want to talk about, like, are there things that they have been doing, or trends that you're seeing that other customers are learning or doing, or things that they maybe aren't doing that you can then provide to them and that brings value to them? I think customers want to know what their peers are doing. So, like you have other customers, you're like the expert on what they can use your product or service for, and so I think there's a lot of value saying OK, we do have this meeting. How can I show up and also prepare them and have an agenda and make sure you're saying does this align? And talking about what you've learned from other customers, how that might apply to them, knowing their business, I think there's always a way to have a valuable conversation. If your customer is willing to get on the phone because, to your point, if they are, you're lucky, you're right Like they want to connect with you, that is a huge win.

Speaker 1:

I think a lot of people are like chasing people now because they don't have the time, they don't want to chat, they have too much going on, maybe they've forgotten about your product, or maybe they don't think it's valuable, so they don't want to talk to you. If they want to talk to you, that is an in, that is a win in and of itself. Time. But I also would say, don't be afraid not to cancel the meeting, but say, like, is this the best time still for you to meet? Like, do you want to talk about these things? How are we providing value to you in this conversation? Because if you're just getting on and not, you know, speaking about anything that's important to the customer or important to your business, I think it's almost making things worse, right? So I think, like you want to make sure you're using the moment in a way that is good for everybody on the call.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely, and I think when you are already on those calls, it's important to provide different type of information or just different best practice or value that they literally couldn't get somewhere else. If they can read about it online, they don't need you to deliver that information. But if you're going to tell them how similar customers did something in the past few weeks and how now it's an amazing time for them to try something similar, you are then providing some best practices, and I think that's such a huge superpower for CSMs that they don't realize it's not about information, it's not even about the data. It's about what else have you seen been working well with other customers, because there's no chance your customer would know it otherwise. So you as a CSM really has that huge strategic value really in providing all of those collective information together to customers.

Speaker 1:

No, exactly, and I think you really nailed it with, like you're becoming this almost strategic advisor and I think in like the best case scenario for a CSM. That's what you are. You're getting something to exactly your point that you can't get somewhere else, because if you can Google it, then it's probably not a good use of your time If you have it on your, if you have a blog or a webpage or you have webinars where you host these types of things, like the information that they're getting should be unique to them and something that they can't find there and that that's value, right? That's how you actually showcase your product and your value as a CSM honestly, and that they want to get on the phone with you again after that, like then they'll take your calls, right. Then they'll want to talk to you because they're going to learn something new and also important and relevant to them.

Speaker 2:

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Speaker 2:

Melissa, I really love your approach to customer engagement models and also what is the type of role customer success managers should have in the whole. You know we call it customer success framework, but customer experience really. I want to go further with talking about your career, because for me it's always fascinating to hear how a woman builds career in today's world. What are the lessons that everybody are learning? Simply because there are so many different paths and different ways to build yourself at the moment. So I wonder, throughout your career, what have been some lessons or maybe one lesson that you feel everybody should learn at some point in their lives?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's such a good question. I feel like I have a few. I feel like this is a very simple one, but, like, if you don't do something, like if you don't try something, it's never going to happen. Like, I think there's a lot of like wish or hope and dream I want, I want to do this, I want, and it's, I think, reframing that. All it really takes is you doing the thing and saying I can, I will, I am right, like, I do these things now, I'm a person that does this.

Speaker 1:

I think, like a lot of times, we think there's so much that you have to do to get somewhere, and that's true, right, it takes a lot, like to start a podcast. Right, it's not, it's not eating you these things, but the only person preventing you from doing it is you and I get. There's a lot of things going on. There's time, there's so many factors in people's lives. There's so much that people are dealing with on a personal level and I'm not saying everyone has the time and the privilege to do anything they want all the time.

Speaker 1:

However, I think the only person stopping you is you, and if you learn that earlier on in your life, I think there are so many things that, like I might have done earlier in my career, or even just being focused on my career, on like my personal brand, on, like posting on LinkedIn, like it's you can do one thing a day and it can get you closer to the thing you want to do. And I think, if you just learn, it's really about just saying, like I'm a person, even a simpler thing. I'm a person that wakes up at 7 am every day Like now, great, now you're that person, now you just have to do the thing. Like you just wake up and you do it. And I think I think that's the lesson I would, I would teach myself earlier on is like things seem really big and hard and scary, and sometimes they are, but sometimes it's just about you can change your life and the way that you do things at any moment and the only person that's in control of that is you.

Speaker 2:

Oh, my God, this is such an important lesson and I'm so glad that you mentioned a few bits of it, like podcast. How many times I heard people or women telling me oh, I wish or I would like to start a podcast. Yeah, cool, there are steps. You just have to start moving into that direction. But it's also with LinkedIn, post or everything else.

Speaker 2:

I think we can't be wishing about doing something unless you actually create time for it, because there is never extra time in anyone's day to start doing the things that we would want to do. But it's really all about, as you said where do you want to see yourself in two years, like I'm the person who you know? Fill in the blanks. And if you want to be that person in a year or two, then those are the steps you have to do. Meaning, yes, maybe you need to be a bit more strategic with other things in your day, even at work. Maybe some things like check-in calls or something else is not things that necessarily have to happen every day. You have to create time to do those steps. That's an amazing lesson. You could do it, but you need to start maybe with small, simple steps.

Speaker 1:

Yes, exactly, it's just one day at a time, one foot at a time, and I honestly think in all things in life and I continue to learn that lesson. It's not like it's like fully ingrained in my head instantly, but I think it's something that I learn and remind myself of over and over in life.

Speaker 2:

It seems that you are very aware of it and that you are doing necessary steps to be that person that you want to, you know, become in a year or two, and even further. But I wonder if you could build your career all over again or start something completely new. Is there anything that you would change?

Speaker 1:

I mean yes and no. I don't really believe in like regrets. I kind of think that and not regrets necessarily, but I don't think I would change the course of my career. Like I spent a lot of time earlier on when I was younger and I think the world has changed maybe and it's not as easy to kind of just like not be as career focused right away earlier in your career, but I spent a lot of time like not being as work was my, you know, entire life. I think I spent a lot of time understanding like who, who I was and like what I enjoyed doing before. I really like full speed ahead, went super, like career woman mode. But I think I don't regret that.

Speaker 1:

But if I had to change anything, I think it would be to kind of adopt the mentality I just mentioned earlier of like I, what do I want, what, what, what can I do, what kind of person do I want to be. Because I think it would have accelerated, you know, my career and my wants and open up doors for me like earlier. Right, but I think so. I think it's important to do that work for people. I think it's important to try and understand yourself a little bit earlier and not just kind of, you know, do the daily thing and kind of have that be your day and not really think any more forward looking than that. But I don't think I would change anything per se, like I kind of think everything is a learning lesson. If I had like another career down the line, like maybe I would do something really like physical I feel like open a physical business or like you know which one, which one like Pilates. Yeah, like honestly, that would be, that would be a dream down the line, maybe like open a.

Speaker 1:

Pilates studio. I would need to be certified in Pilates I am not but like that's something I could do down the line and I think I think that's important too to know that like your career can can change and you can shift and pivot, like even your story right. Like you've kind of you have your own business and I think that that's so just interesting and important to show that like you can pivot at any time, you know, if you want. It doesn't have to be this forever. And the beautiful thing about being in customer success which I love and adore and don't know I'd ever leave is that it prepares you for so many different skills, right. Like I feel like women in CS can do anything because we learn so many different really important skills and how to work cross-functionally and like how to prove value and all of that is just like so easy to apply to other things.

Speaker 2:

That was awesome, especially when you said and I love it, I wouldn't move out of it, but actually we can do anything else after being in CS, because you always take that part of CS with you, because it's so necessary in any work and in any situation you're working at. So, yeah, it's always part of it. Once you're a woman in CS, you are always a woman in CS.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, customers are always important. Like no matter what business you have or business you work for, like the customer is always going to be important, exactly.

Speaker 2:

And you always are going to have customers most likely. I mean, which business can you have without having any customer? There's always somebody who is your customer Exactly. I really like your learning how there's nothing that you would need to change in your career because obviously things happen for a reason and everything that is happening every part of your career is always building you to those next steps.

Speaker 2:

You made me think how in earlier parts in my career, when you mentioned the type of business woman that I want to be, I probably had some role models, that role models, or the only women models available to me, that were women who were just constantly working, and in earlier phase of my career, I thought well, that's how it is right. You just have to work a lot, be present and you know you progress little by little. Today I have completely different idea of what a real businesswoman looks like, and it's so much more about working less, having more freedom to other things and just incorporating it all together while working on the things that you want to do Completely different. I never had even exposure to that type of career earlier on. So, yeah, all goes to your point how things change and you can always pivot and it's just all about embracing that mindset of accepting what is out there, what is new, what do you like, and go for it. Yeah, start doing those steps.

Speaker 1:

No, exactly, I love it. I think you brought up such a good point about just like not having those types of role models or people or people that you can kind of emulate or mirror, having those types of role models or people or people that you can kind of emulate or mirror. I've also come from a place where people who are successful, they're working, all they're doing is like working constantly, and I think like, yes, that still happens, yes, I still struggle with that myself, like I will admit. But I think the word freedom that you use, like there, is this like freedom to your schedule, freedom to like pursue the things that you want and unlocking. That, I think, is such a powerful thing and I think there's going to be a lot more of that as people kind of evolve in careers over the next, you know, years, decades, whatever, that there's going to be a lot more flexibility and I think that's a great thing.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely. Who inspires you? Who are some of your actual role models?

Speaker 1:

Who inspires you? Who are some of your actual role models? Yeah, that's a great question. I will give a shout out.

Speaker 1:

I had a boss at a previous company that I worked at and it was when I pivoted into tech. I didn't tell her I was going to mention her in this, but I'm going to anyway, because I don't think she will be mad. Her name is Carolyn Moore. She took a chance on me when I pivoted into tech and wanted to, you know, get into CS, and I am so grateful for it. And now she coaches women and I think I've just watched like her career journey is similar to yours, like high up in corporate right, like doing the most and leading teams, like being at really you know big companies and really like you know name brand companies and went out on her own and has built this like incredible business and like continues to be a role model of mine and she inspires me.

Speaker 1:

One for her journey. But also like the way she took a chance on me is something that now I try and do wherever I can, and so I just I love that and also I'm on the Mel Robbins train, as everybody else is right now. I'm like let them right, I know that's like this will sound. Probably it will age over time in this recording, but right now, in the moment, let them is everywhere, and so that's also really inspiring me right now, because you can only control so much.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah, oh my gosh, Let them. I have tickets for the whole family to see Mel Robbins in London for her. Let them book, and I can't wait, my God, that's so exciting.

Speaker 1:

That's going to be amazing. You have to let me know how it is.

Speaker 2:

I will, but I'm so glad you brought your role model. That is, a person who took a chance on you how much influence somebody's action have over our lives and in this example it was such a positive influence and you almost contribute. It was such a positive influence and you almost contribute your tech career by partaking chance on you. Imagine how much influence we all have with other people around us just by sometimes providing a good encouragement or nice words or taking a chance on somebody. It's wonderful. I just love the story and also, of course, that previous boss's career journey. That sounds absolutely awesome. But yeah, it's really beautiful to hear how much influence she had on your career and how much you are almost grateful to her. You speak of such respect towards her for that.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, no, and I think it's so important to give that chance to people. I just it's something I've carried with me for you know, the past few years of just how can I pay that forward Right, and I think we're all always trying to do that. Like we forget that. I think, like a lot of people, people are inherently good. We want to help other people and so it's like I think it's just reminding ourselves how much that can matter and it just it helps us continue to do it and pass that along. And as much as I can help someone else, I always will try because it can make a difference. You can like change someone's life with a little, a little thing. Or you can make someone's day, like if someone sends you a nice note like hey, I really enjoyed this episode of your podcast. Or like, hey, I thank you for you know, referring me for this job. Or I like your shoes. You know, like those things. Just yes, please. Like yeah, I love your outfit. I think that stuff just makes people smile, so I love it.

Speaker 2:

I wanted to ask you last question. I kind of feel that you already are responding to it, but I wonder if you could be remembered for one thing. What could that be?

Speaker 1:

I think it's for how and this is, like I guess, cliche to say, but it's for like how I make other people feel and how I like help others in the community. I'm really big on community in general. It's why I love the CS community so much. People are so supportive, the women in this community are just so powerful and so kind and so willing to give you a reference, help you, you know anything, and so I just want to be remembered for somebody who does that, because they think it's those small moments that can really have an effect on people's lives.

Speaker 1:

Like and I mentioned even in CS like that you're looking for that one little door, that one little in, and I think that can be in your career, it can be in life, it can be in anything. And like if someone helps you open that door, or even open it a crack right or open it wide open, whatever it is like, every little thing helps, and so that is what I would say. I hope I hope I will be remembered for that. I will continue to work towards it, but that is my hope and I feel like you're doing the same thing. You're like supporting the community. You showcase all these amazing women doing amazing things, and it's just about moments like this, I think.

Speaker 2:

I would agree with you Sometimes, when you just have a platform or the opportunity to do it, it's just the most natural thing in the world to do. I'm sure that lots of people are already remembering you for exactly that for giving them nice moments, just giving them nice comments, like about the output shoot. Which woman doesn't like to hear that? Especially now when most people are remote and you know they put whatever on themselves. And it's such a beautiful thing when you go out there and actually see people in person. What an amazing thing to hear that you look so good. Or I love your shoes. Yes, please, anytime. Like that's the smallest thing we can do as women, for sure.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and no one's going to be mad at it. Like, imagine if you complimented someone on like I don't know something and they're like oh, please don't talk to me. Like I don't think that ever happens. I would hope not, but it's always good to put yourself out there, even in small ways.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely, as you said, it makes somebody smile, it makes their day and people remember you for that, as we always know. You know people remember how you make them feel and whether it's with customers, whether it's with anybody within the community, it's always a huge plus. It's always a huge plus, it's always a huge door opener, just showcasing some kind words to others yeah, exactly, I couldn't agree more.

Speaker 2:

Melissa, this has been a wonderful conversation. Thank you for sharing some of your customer success frameworks and things you would never compromise, but also so many beautiful insights on your career and lessons that you have learned and, especially, things that you wish you're known for. I think you have some beautiful aspirations and I love what you are doing within the community, because it is just so great to gather women. Today it's women. Tomorrow it can be, you know, anyone, but that's why we are all here for right, just to support each other in a nice way. So thank you so much for coming to the show.

Speaker 1:

Thank you so much for having me. I'm so happy to be here and just wonderful conversation. I think you're doing so much for the community too, so I just so appreciate you having me and we're continuing to support each other and others. And yeah, it's just, it's a great little swirl in a cycle and I hope to keep it going.

Speaker 2:

Thank you for listening to today's episode. I really appreciate you taking time to learn something new and propel your career in customer success and beyond. If you like this episode, share it with your colleague, with your team member, with someone you know needs to hear it. Today we appreciate your support, so please follow us and subscribe to our channels so many more women can hear about this.