A Humble Beginning
7.5 years ago when I met Tomer Weingarten, our CEO and co-founder, for the first time, he was as clear then as he is today about the mission. “I’m looking for a VP of customers” he said, and back then, we had none. But it was clear that in order to make a difference, we wouldn’t just need great technology and fortuitous execution, we’d also need happy customers, and lots of them.
Fast forward to today, over 5,400 customers, and in our first ever earnings call since becoming public, Tomer mentioned our phenomenal NPS score of over 70, which is a place the best SaaS companies in the world aspire to be in. So how did we get here? And what are we doing to make it even better? I’ll try to cover some of that in this blog, and with enough likes and shares maybe we’ll even make it a series :).
The Hierarchy of Customer Success
Before SentinelOne, I spent over a decade at the network security giant Check Point, so together with nearly 20 years of experience, I’ve created this simple visualization that showcases what it’s all about. I call this the hierarchy of CS, taken from the notion of Maslow’s pyramid of needs, the basic CS needs are at the bottom, and as you go up the hierarchy, you get to where all companies want their customers to be – delighted!
Customer Focus Across the Company
Remember it’s not enough to have customer focus in your post-sales functions alone to reach the top of the pyramid, you really have to create an understanding and adoption of that notion in all parts of the business.
From product management (building what customers actually need), to engineering (focusing on their use cases), Sales (Listening, caring), and even G&A (like comfortable payment terms). It’s both a bottom-up and a top-down approach, where executives are not just pointing fingers, but getting in front of customers to listen and be a partner.
It’s All About the People
My brother once told me not to be cheap on my car’s tires, “it’s the only thing connecting you to the road” he said.
Well, if the company is the car, and the customer is the road, then your post-sales teams are the tires–they are the only thing connecting you to your customers. Further squeezing that analogy, it’s also the best way you can get the customer journey to go to where you want it to.
Our methodology was always to hire the best possible talent, hand-picked, and make sure they reside in the location where customers need them the most. We also use a “follow-the-sun” model for most of our services, allowing us to hire the best engineers in their business hours, and maintain better work-life balance across the board. Happier engineers translate into happier customers.
The Rocket Ship is Leaving the Atmosphere
So by now you know how successful SentinelOne’s journey has been so far, but our IPO is only the beginning. We’re continuing to grow, innovate, and take bigger bites of our market.
This is your opportunity to join, and make a difference. If you want to work in an innovative and growth environment, and love customers – your place is with us. We’re hiring for dozens of roles across all parts of the business.
Interested in Learning More About Life at SentinelOne?
Learn more about SentinelOne’s values here. Explore global career opportunities with SentinelOne here.
