Finding Hidden Profit and Scaling Impact Without Spending More

Ece Caliskan has spent more than 16 years working with people and customers. She started in HR at IBM, studied psychology before that, and today she is Head of Service Customer Education. I’d been wanting to have this conversation with her for a while, and I’m happy we finally made it happen.We start with her journey, and Ece gives a framing I hadn’t heard before: she doesn’t see her path as HR, then consulting, then account management. She sees it as the same question from different angles. How do you help people and organizations get more value from what they already have?From there we get into what CSMs should pay attention to when positioning themselves. Ece names three things: be the bridge between the customer and your own company (high empathy, strong professionalism, and not saying yes to everything), keep asking what success means for the customer and not only for you, and read the signals before they turn into problems.We also tackle the debate about how many accounts a CSM or AM should manage. Ece’s answer is that there’s no magic number. It depends on the customers, the product, the model, and what your company is actually trying to achieve.Then we talk about Lisbon. Ece moved here from Turkey because of her husband’s research, had to rebuild her network without speaking the language, and worked her first two months with no salary, only commission. She’s very open about it, and it’s a good story for anyone starting over somewhere new.She closes with two pieces of advice for CSMs and AMs. I won’t spoil them, but one is about how much “life loves the ones who dare.” Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Seán Reid is Head of Customer Success at Supermetrics. He’s been in CS for over ten years, leads teams across EMEA and JAPAC, and was previously leading teams in the UK, Ireland and LATAM. He was also named one of the top 10 global voices in CS for 2026. When he’s not talking about customer success, he’s usually talking about horror movies, or being a dad to two girls.I found Seán on LinkedIn. We didn’t know each other, I kept reading his posts, and I thought he needed to be on MindVerse.Here’s what we got into:The build vs buy problem. A year ago, Seán maybe lost one or two customers a year to “we built it ourselves.” Now everyone is looking at their tech stack and thinking “I could do that.” His take, after talking to over a hundred CS leaders: it’s usually not that they think they can build something better. They needed an answer, waited too long, did it themselves, and then thought “wow, that was easy.” He doesn’t see it as a product problem. He sees it as a communication problem.Where AI works in CS and where it doesn’t. I told him about my Amazon chatbot experience, which tested my patience. Seán’s rule: AI is fine for the transactional stuff like billing details and “how do I do this in my account.” Once a question needs nuance or critical thinking, get it to a person.What it’s like to lead at this level. Seán misses customers. Most of the time he only talks to them when there’s an escalation, and he wants to hear from the ones doing cool things, because those are the people his decisions affect most.His biggest wow moment. A CSM in Benelux walked into a half-day on-site renewal with 11 people from the customer’s side, after weeks of escalation. He barely said anything. He listened, took notes, and put the customer’s own words back on the slides. They renewed in the room, and Seán left thinking they might upgrade.The churn question. On every churn call, Seán asked: “If you and I had this conversation three months ago, would you have considered staying?” Not one customer said no.AI and critical thinking. Claude connects to every tool on his team, which is great for data access. But you can ask it the same question twice and get two different answers. We called it fast food, and his biggest fear is people entering the industry without the critical thinking to question what AI tells them. He also explains why a health score is only about 40% data and 60% human.Advice for new SaaS leaders and anyone building international teams. Talk to your customers. Use his four Vs (customer value, company value, team value, your value, in that order). Build a global baseline, but don’t fight regional differences. Seán explains why a 7 out of 10 from a European customer doesn’t worry him, and why a 10 out of 10 would.Got feedback? Comments are now open on Spotify, or you can email me. You can also connect with Seán on LinkedIn, he’ll be happy to hear from you.New episode next week. Stay tuned with Mindverse. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jonny Havey has been an entrepreneur for 17 years, and before that he was an accountant and CPA. Today he runs eLearning Partners, where he helps companies find the profit they’re already losing and use education to grow without spending more money or time.We start with what he does when a new client walks in, and it’s not what I expected. Before anything else, he asks what return on investment everyone is after: the company, its customers, its employees, and sometimes a buyer who isn’t the end user. Where those overlap is where he builds. He calls it ROI Pi, and he says it took him about a decade to figure out.Then we go somewhere more personal. In college, Jonny worked at a memory care facility, planning games and activities with women living with Alzheimer’s and dementia. He still calls it the best job he’s ever had. Alzheimer’s has touched his own family too, and it’s why he cares so much about healthspan, not just lifespan.That leads to Athlete with Asthma. When Jonny was four, a doctor told him he’d never be a runner. His parents found a different doctor, and over years he built up his lungs bit by bit. At 34 he won a 100K ultramarathon without using his inhaler. He’s clear that this is his experience and anyone with asthma should check with their own doctor. I started running recently and look like someone is chasing me, so this part hit home.We close on business: why more marketing and more salespeople can raise revenue while lowering profit, why he treats every expense as an investment, and the one piece of advice he’d give any founder. It’s not about money.LinksPlug The Profit Leak Challenge: plugtheprofitleak.comWebsite: e-learningpartners.comeLearning Partners on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@e-learningpartnersAthlete with Asthma on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AthletewithasthmaJonny on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonnyhavey/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week on MindVerse I sat down with Alison Bukowski, a voice in customer experience, customer marketing and customer advocacy with more than 20 years across marketing, customer success, sales operations and leadership. Empathy is at the center of how she leads, and you can hear it in everything she says.We started with the customers who stay with you. Alison told me about a client from a decade ago who texted her out of the blue to congratulate her on the book and ask how the dog and the cat were doing. Her take on building a real connection with anyone, executives included: find a little thread on the sweater and give it a tug.We also talked about leadership. Alison became a VP of marketing in her late 20s, and she’s honest that it was too early. She stepped back into an individual contributor role after her second daughter was born and returned to leadership when she was ready. Her advice is to not wait for the perfect moment, because it isn’t coming, but to know the difference between being a fish out of water and being a little uncomfortable.Then the book. Customer Advocacy That Counts comes out in April 2027, and Alison just sent the last three chapters to her editor. She was open about the impostor syndrome that came with putting 20 years of work on the page, even from the C-suite, and what helps: closing the laptop on a bad day, giving yourself some grace, and finding your person.We also got into why she’d tell companies not to send an NPS survey they won’t act on, why pushing harder when sales are down is the wrong move (pump the brakes, not the gas), and how a recommendation from an ex-boyfriend led to her first customer advocacy role. Short version: don’t burn bridges.If something in this one resonated, leave a comment on Spotify or send me an email and I’ll pass it on to Alison. See you next week. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I met Summer through LinkedIn. She had started posting and building her own brand, and I found it inspiring and honestly a bit brave, because it’s something I hadn’t done myself. So I asked her to come on the show.Summer is a sales executive and level four apprentice with experience across B2B technology, property and hospitality. Right now she sells hardware leasing into the education sector, which she’ll tell you is not easy over the summer holidays. She’s also doing all of this while finishing her apprenticeship.In this episode we talk about:The hard parts of starting early. Keeping friendships going when your classmates are out on a weekday afternoon, moving from eight weeks of summer holiday to 28 days of annual leave, and the comments she got for choosing an apprenticeship over A levels. I share a bit of my own start too, a night shift in customer service straight out of college.Staying organised without getting stressed. Getting in early to beat the traffic, what Parkinson’s Law taught her about long to-do lists, and her 30-minute bursts of calls, about four a day. I add my own thoughts on buffer time and the pins example from Atomic Habits.What she loves about sales. Every day is different, and the skills (negotiation, customer service) are valuable in almost any industry.Burnout, honestly. Summer is open about how drained she felt in her first months, and about being too tired to talk to the friends she loves after speaking to 70 people in a day. We talk about what helps, from time blocks to getting out of the house at the weekend.Her lessons for anyone just starting. No one is coming to save you. Start building your brand from day one. Make yourself valuable by doing things your coworkers don’t, like topping the call board, running the company TikTok and collecting customer reviews. And advocate for yourself, because no one will hand you a gold star.If you’re at the start of your career, in sales or not, I think you’ll take something from this one.Tell us what you thought in the Spotify comments, or send me an email like you always do, and I’ll pass your feedback on to Summer. You can also connect with her on LinkedIn, where she shares her insights every day. Next episode is coming next week. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You don't need the same culture in every office. You need the same standards. That's how Adam O'Connor answers the first question I ask him, and it sets up the rest of our conversation.Adam has spent over 20 years in global sales and revenue leadership. He's helped companies grow from under $1M to more than $150M in annual revenue and led teams across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. He's now Chief Revenue Officer at Connectys. In this episode we talk about what actually makes global teams hard, and what he's learned from the C-suite.Some of what we get into:Why silence means different things in different cultures, and Adam's tip for learning the local rules fast: ask the taxi driver on the way in from the airportWhy 99% of founders think building more features will fix everything, and why polishing something that isn't finished doesn't make it finishedWhat happens when customers show up having already asked ChatGPT about you, and why the human conversation matters more now, not lessWhy servant leadership isn't soft, and why Adam doesn't try to take pressure off his team. He tries to find out what's blocking them.How you build trust with people who won't speak up in a group, even if it starts with a private messageOur own culture clashes: Adam is British, married to a Turkish wife, and spent ten years in the Philippines. I'm from North Macedonia and based in Portugal. Neither of us has it figured out.His advice for anyone stepping into a C-level role: you don't have to know everything. Ask your team. Nine times out of ten, someone knows it better than you do.I also mention The Culture Map, one of my favorite recent reads, if you work in a global company.If you enjoyed this one, leave us a rating on Spotify or a comment, or message me directly with feedback. You can also find Adam on LinkedIn, and he's happy to take your questions. New guest next week. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hi everybody, welcome back to Mindverse! Season 8 is here, and I'm starting it with Scott Zuckerman, financial services professional and founder of Financial Fitness Passport.Scott's point is that nobody teaches us this stuff in high school or college, so we end up asking family and friends for money advice. He puts it this way: you wouldn't ask them for medical advice, so why ask them about your money? We talk about the mistake he sees most (living beyond your means, because people love credit cards and credit cards really love people), and why so many of us feel that first-paycheck "I can finally treat myself" pull.We also get into why finance feels so overwhelming, how the jargon makes people give up, and how Scott keeps it simple, sunglasses and umbrellas included. And we talk about AI. ChatGPT can explain what life insurance is really well, but it won't ask whether you have kids, what you're trying to protect, or what your situation looks like. That's where the human side still matters.Scott's advice is to start somewhere, because "I don't have enough money" is one of the biggest myths out there. You can get a free score from 0 to 100 at Financial Fitness Passport, and if you're under a 70, you've got some work to do.Connect with Scott on LinkedIn and check out Financial Fitness Passport. See you next week with another guest! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Feeling like life is moving too fast to keep your home in order? In this episode of MindVerse, we're talking about something every single one of us deals with: house chores and the chaos of daily life. Whether you live in a big house or a small apartment, the to-do list never really ends — laundry, dishes, cleaning, organizing... it piles up fast, and before you know it, you're avoiding it altogether. We break down the most common household chores, why apartment living comes with its own set of challenges, and most importantly, how you can organize everything without losing your entire day to it. No overwhelming systems, no unrealistic routines — just simple, doable steps that actually stick. This is the first in a series of short, practical guides designed to make everyday life a little easier.  Stay tuned with MindVerse! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week on MindVerse, I'm flying solo — and honestly, it feels a little scary (which is fitting, given what we're talking about). Over the next 2 episodes, it's just you and me, and I'm kicking things off with a topic that's deeply personal: facing your fears. In this short but honest episode, I open up about my own fears — where they came from, what they felt like, and the small but meaningful steps I've taken to start working through them. Because here's the truth: fear doesn't just disappear on its own. But it also doesn't have to run your life. I also talk about something we don't say enough — setbacks happen. You might make progress, then feel like you've gone backwards. That's not failure. That's just part of the process. Whether you're dealing with something big or something that feels too small to mention, this episode is your reminder that you're not alone — and that moving forward, even slowly, counts. In this episode: Why I decided to talk about fear (and why now) My personal experience with fear and where it started The steps I've been taking — and what happens when progress slips Why these solo episodes are designed to feel like a short, practical guide Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of MindVerse, we sit down with Jermaine Ee, entrepreneur and founder of HeirLight, to talk about what it really takes to build a company around helping people make better decisions — for their money, their career, and their future. Jermaine shares the personal story behind HeirLight, including a conversation with his late mother that set him on this path, and opens up about the early choices that shape a strong, trustworthy product. The conversation turns practical too: what founders should focus on when they're just starting out, and the advice Jermaine gives to anyone trying to build something meant to genuinely help people. It's a conversation about purpose, clarity, and what it actually takes to build something that matters — both as an entrepreneur and as a person. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.