Episode Overview
When it comes to software implementation and ongoing management, a Customer Service Manager is your best friend, especially with a platform like ServiceTitan that continuously releases updates to improve the user experience.
“We were very lucky to have amazing CSMs just from day one,” says Jen Alonso, Director of Sales & Marketing at Lowry Overhead Doors, who onboarded with ServiceTitan in 2021. “They have really helped guide us along the way.”
Going from pen and paper to ServiceTitan, then later re-onboarding their entire commercial construction process, provided Alonso with unique insight into maximizing the CSM partnership. In a recent episode of the Mastering ServiceTitan podcast, Alonso shares these tips, which include how to keep your CSM informed on support tickets and why you should always let them set the agenda and prioritize your goals for growth.
Read on for the podcast highlights.
Getting Started with ServiceTitan
When first starting with ServiceTitan, you have to figure out a process for everything you do inside the platform, which can be overwhelming.
“You can’t bite it all off at once, or you’ll drown,” Alonso says.
To make it more manageable, Lowry’s CSM started by asking what top 10 processes the company needed to keep the business running.
This allowed Alonso to focus on the most important aspects first as she learned the software.
Tips for Working with a CSM
Alonso provides the following tips for building a productive working relationship with your ServiceTitan CSM:
Keep an open mind: You probably won’t be able to do things the way the company has always done them. Your CSM knows ServiceTitan inside and out, so listen to their suggestions on how to best maximize the platform.
“You’re not supposed to make ServiceTitan fit your service,” Alonso says. “You need to adapt to ServiceTitan.”
Meet regularly: “Take time every month to talk to your CSM and hear what they have to say because they’re always learning,” Alonso says. “ServiceTitan is an ever-evolving software.”
Prepare for meetings: Before meeting with her CSM, Alonso ensures she has a list of what she wants to discuss, whether it be a problem she’s running into on the platform or a new feature she wants to try. She typically shares this in advance, so the CSM is prepared with the right resources, too.
Keep them informed: Alonso informs her CSM about any support tickets the company opens with ServiceTitan.
“I also rope them in on anything I have going on,” Alonso says, while describing an issue she had with Marketing Pro.
“We had turned something on and it made it so all of our contacts, 50,000, had marketing notifications turned off,” Alonso says. “Everybody we talked to said we would have to manually turn those on. And I was like, ‘How many TV shows can I binge while I manually turn on 50,000 contacts?’
“I was whining to my CSM, then he said, ‘Wait, there’s a button for that.’”
Within a second, all the marketing contacts were turned back on.
“Just involve your CSM,” Alonso says. “They know the core product backwards and forwards. They are there to help you stay on track with what you need to do for your business to scale and grow.”
Lessons from Onboarding Twice
A huge undertaking Alonso worked with her CSM on was reclassifying their company from residential to commercial construction within ServiceTitan. Alonso realized that a lot of the work they considered residential was actually contracted through a contractor, builder, or retailer. This meant it should be classified as commercial within ServiceTitan.
The misclassification meant their workflows were off. The solution? Completely rebuilding their processes using ServiceTitan's Projects feature—something Alonso learned about at the company's Pantheon conference.
With their CSM leading the charge, Lowry redesigned every process. The changes affected how salespeople sell jobs, how purchasing operates, and how accounting closes out work.
Going through onboarding twice taught Alonso a critical lesson about data management: work backwards from your goals.
“The devil's in the details,” Alonso says. “At the beginning of ServiceTitan, you're just trying to get it all in. The second time around, we were able to say, ‘OK, what do we want to have out of this information? At the end of the day, when we are looking back at this in five years, what information do we want to know?’”
Instead of just inputting data, they started with the end in mind. For example, if they wanted to know how many doors they'd installed for a particular store chain five years down the line, they needed to structure their pricebook correctly from the start, input data in a specific way, and organize services and materials appropriately.
“Our CSM was vital in that she walked us through every single process,” Alonso says. “Your CSM should be your greatest advocate in ServiceTitan. Listen to them. Take their advice.”
You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to Mastering ServiceTitan on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here.
Know a business that could use a bit of muscle from ServiceTitan? Refer them here!
Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Mastering ServiceTitan in your favorite podcast player.
Related Videos
About ServiceTitan
ServiceTitan is a comprehensive software solution built specifically to help home service companies streamline their operations, boost revenue, and substantially elevate the trajectory of their business.
Our comprehensive, cloud-based platform is used by thousands of electrical, HVAC, plumbing, garage door, and chimney sweep shops across the country—and has increased their revenue by an average of 25% in just their first year with us.
Ready to learn more about what ServiceTitan can do for your business?
