Why You’re Not Landing Director/VP CS Roles (And How To Fix It)
Stop Speaking Ops. Start Speaking P&L.
Executives already assume you can run 1:1s, fix escalations, and ship playbooks.
They’re testing one thing:
Do you think in revenue terms, and can you recommend what to do next?
The Manager-To-Executive Language Gap
Managers describe activities.
Directors/VPs price outcomes, forecast impact, and recommend allocation.
If your best stories sound like “we improved onboarding by 30%”, you’re still speaking ops.
Executives hire P&L translators, people who turn customer work into retention, expansion, and margin.
What Executives Actually Listen For
Economic framing
“Delays in onboarding were deferring ~$400k in expansion per quarter. We re-sequenced the journey and pulled that revenue forward by one quarter.”
Segmented insight
“41% of enterprise logos breached time-to-first-value >21 days due to SSO and data mapping.”
Clear recommendation
“Shift two CSM FTE to enterprise activation; add weekly cohort sessions; expected recovery $350k in two quarters.”
Activities are assumed. Pricing, segmentation, and recommendations are what get you hired.
Executive Answer Framework (PAER): Overview
The PAER framework structures executive-level answers around four business-driven components:
(P) roblem (business-level): NRR, churn, payback, LTV/CAC.
(A) nalysis (segmented + causal): Where it concentrates and why.
(E) conomic impact ($ / ARR / NRR): Size it, even directionally.
(R) ecommendation (allocation + ROI): What you’ll do, trade-offs, by when.
Example (old → PAER):
“Reduced TTV by 30%.” →
P: Expansion lagged as activation slipped
A: 41% of enterprise logos >21-day TTFV due to SSO + data mapping
E: ~$400k quarterly expansion deferred
R: Re-sequence onboarding, move 2 FTE to enterprise activation, add weekly cohorts
→ recover ~$350k within two quarters.
Manager-Speak → Exec-Speak (Quick Swaps)
“We ran QBRs”
→ “Standardized QBRs for top 20% logos; expansion win rate +11 pts.”
“Built health score”
→ “Surfaced $2.3M at risk; save plays protected $1.4M ARR.”
“Improved onboarding”
→ “Re-sequencing pulled ~$400k expansion forward by a quarter.”
“Hired 3 CSMs”
→ “Reallocated headcount to enterprise where LTV/CAC is 3.1x vs SMB.”
Launched playbooks
→ “Churn 3.2% → 2.1%/qtr, $960k retained.”
“Customers said feature X is confusing”
→ “62% enterprise admin drop-off; fix restored +15% MAU.”
A Credibility Booster In 4 Lines
Context: $32M ARR; mid-market churn 18%.
Action: Segmented risk by product fit + value depth; consolidated save plays to 3 moves.
Result: $1.8M ARR recovered in two quarters; NRR improved from 102% → 109%.
Next: Double down on enterprise value depth; expect +3–5 pts NRR.
The Language Upgrade You’ll Use Everywhere
“I recommend shifting 40% of CS time to enterprise activation; expansion is 3x vs SMB.”
“This saves $900k ARR on current run-rate and pulls $300k expansion forward.”
“Trade-off: we will accept a slower SMB response time for two quarters.”
That’s executive posture: priced, prioritized, and honest about trade-offs.
Because when you talk in economics and trade-offs, you sound like someone ready to make $120K–$200K+ decisions.
Common Mistakes That Keep You Stuck
Tactical monologues: tools, cadences, templates. No price tag.
Anecdotes with no numerator/denominator: “customers felt…”
No trade-offs: everything can’t be priority #1.
Vague impact: “better,” “improved,” “more”, without $ or %.
🔐Below is the complete playbook: scripts, templates, metrics, and a 7-day plan.
Inside you’ll get:
Director/VP interview answer bank (copy/paste scripts)
PAER implementation playbook (4 ready-to-use stories)
90-day plan template with explicit trade-offs
Quant pack slides (NRR ladder, save plays, expansion map)
7-day sprint to executive-ready
Final checklist before final rounds
Plus: Download the NRR Ladder Builder (Interactive Excel Sheets), the artifact that signals you think like a VP. Bring it to every final round.