Why Understanding What Success Means to Your Client Changes Everything
When I first started in Sales Engineering, success was easy to define:
Did the deal close?
Did it hit our quarterly goal?
Did we beat the competitor?
Check the boxes, hit the number, high five the team—done.
But the longer I stayed in this role, the more I saw a frustrating pattern. Deals that looked like wins on our side were quietly stalling on the client’s end. Logins would taper off. Internal adoption lagged. Follow-ups felt awkward instead of energizing.
The implementation hadn’t failed.
But we had missed the mark on what success actually looked like—for them.
Clients Aren’t Just Buying Software—They’re Trying to Win
Here’s something I remind myself regularly: No one wakes up excited to buy more software.
They’re buying a story where they come out ahead.
That story might look like:
- A junior stakeholder proving they can lead a successful rollout
- A CISO finally getting cleaner visibility across systems
- A security analyst getting time back from repetitive triage
When a client says, “We need better reporting,” what they might mean is:
“Our exec team is tired of surprises, and I need to stop getting blindsided in QBRs.”
When they say, “We want to improve workflows,” they may really mean:
“My team is on the verge of burnout, and if we don’t simplify things, I’m going to lose people.”
Your job isn’t just to take their request at face value.
Your job is to gently dig for the emotional and operational weight behind it.
Ask:
- “How will you know this initiative was a success?”
- “Who’s watching this internally?”
- “What does a win look like six months from now?”
Speak to Their Scorecard
Once you know what’s truly driving your client, everything changes.
Let’s say you’re demoing a feature-rich dashboard. It looks great. But if the person you’re speaking to isn’t a power user—and they just need to show one clean weekly report to their boss?
Then what they really care about is clarity, not complexity.
Or maybe the IT team is asking about integrations. That sounds like a technical conversation—until you learn they’re trying to avoid a support ticket backlog from tool sprawl.
Here’s how I adjust:
- ✂️ Trim the fluff. Focus the demo on what connects to their business pressure.
- 🔄 Reframe features as outcomes. “This isn’t just alert grouping—this is your ticket volume cut in half.”
- 🧭 Narrate the journey. “Here’s how we get you to a 30-day time-to-value, based on what you told me.”
Your client isn’t grading your product knowledge.
They’re silently asking:
“Can you help me solve the thing I’ll get measured on?”
Celebrate Their Wins, Not Just the Close
I’ll be honest—I used to ghost a bit post-sale. Not intentionally, but once the deal closed, I moved on to the next opportunity.
That was a miss.
Because trusted advisors don’t disappear after the signature.
They check back in:
- “Did that launch go the way you expected?”
- “What feedback have you gotten so far?”
- “Need help showing ROI before your next board review?”
Sometimes, I offer to help prep a slide or write a summary. Not because I have to—but because I want to see the client win.
Helping them look good internally is one of the most effective, low-effort trust builders there is.
✨ Bonus Tip: Try a “Client Win Tracker”
This is something I’ve started incorporating more into my own process—and it’s made a difference.
It’s just a simple Google Doc or spreadsheet where I log:
- What success means for this client (in their words)
- Who on their team cares about what (user vs buyer vs exec)
- Any numbers or milestones they mentioned
- Key dates where follow-up matters (QBRs, renewals, product launches)
When I revisit an account six months later, I don’t have to guess.
I already know what mattered to them—and I can show up like I’ve been listening all along.
That’s how you go from “vendor” to valued partner.
🚀 Coming Up Next…
In Blog #7, we’ll wrap the series with a topic that doesn’t get enough attention:
How to protect the relationship when things get hard.
Because trust isn’t just built during good times—it’s proven when you stick around through delays, tough feedback, and moments of uncertainty.
