Why CS Gets "Thanks" While Sales Pops Champagne
Sales pops champagne for new logos.
CS prevents churn, drives expansion, and then? Gets a…”thanks.”
That’s not politics. It’s design.
You’re funding acquisition and starving retention → the engine that compounds revenue.
It’s the gap you feel every quarter.
The Revenue Math Most Teams Ignore
Acquisition dollars are expensive. CAC, discounts, long cycles.
Expansion dollars are cheap. Same account, higher ARPA, near-zero CAC.
A $50,000 churn at month 11 nukes CAC payback.
A $25,000 year-2 expansion generates new revenue at an 80–90% margin.
If you believe the P&L, you must pay the people creating those cheap dollars, like a revenue team, not a ticket queue.
Why Customer Success Compensation Trails (And The Fix)
“Sales Takes More Risk”
We hear this all the time, and it’s super annoying for most CS pros.
The reality is that CS leaders would take the risk IF the upside was uncapped. Today, most orgs cap bonuses at 5-10% no matter how much expansion revenue CS drives.
The solution is simple:
Move to 70/30 or 75/25 splits with uncapped expansion commissions and accelerators above target.
“CS Impact Is Hard To Measure”
Reality: Expansion and NRR are measurable.
Solution: track upsell/cross-sell / seat growth sourced by CS and anchor the org to NRR. Set clean credit rules.
Treat CS Like A Revenue Org
Split: Leaders 70/30 or 75/25
Senior CSMs 80/20 with book ownership.
Uncapped expansion. Same as Sales.
Targets: Aim NRR ≥ 110% (segment-specific).
Scorecard: Expansion MRR/ARR + NRR + GRR + a small slice for leading indicators (value proof, multi-threading, QBR ROI).
Key Takeaway
Sales builds the house. CS turns it into a flourishing garden.
Fund it like your growth depends on it, because it does.
What follows is the copy-paste plan you need: scorecards, credit rules, OTE bands, payout formulas, and rollout scripts you can use today.
Plus, you get 2 Excel tools that do the math for you:
CS Compensation Calculator (XLSX)
Plug in your team’s numbers, see instant payout scenarios with accelerators (saves 4+ hours of spreadsheet work)
Revenue Attribution Matrix (XLSX)
Pre-built credit rules for 12 expansion scenarios to end Sales-CS turf wars (steal this, customize, ship Monday)
Open these tools in your next comp plan or boardroom meeting. In minutes, you’ll have payout clarity and eliminate CS/Sales disputes for good.
If you run CS or partner with it, this is your 0→1 playbook.
Here’s Proof It Works
“Hakan’s newsletter provides tactical examples and resources that can be adopted, rather than just listing buzzwords.” — Carissa Jaji, Senior Director, Client Success @ Ontheside.com
“The CS Café is incredibly valuable! It gives a view on how and what to do next.” — Lara Barnes, SVP Customer Success
“The CS Café Newsletter is the ultimate resource for all things Customer Success. Always current and actionable.” — Kevin Herrholtz, VP Client Success, AddShoppers
🔐The Customer Success Compensation Blueprint (Copy-Paste + Calculators)
Role Bands And Splits You Can Use Now
What you’ll get: Exact scorecards, payout formulas, credit rules + 2 Excel tools