the unsexy audit

"CSMs probably spend about 60% of their time in customer-facing activities."

It's a common assumption many CS leaders make.
But when we track it, the number often dips below 50%.

This gap between perception and reality is costing you more than you think. You can't optimize what you don't measure, and you can't defend resource requests without data.

The solution isn't fancy or sexy — it's a basic time audit. Two weeks of tracking can reveal more about your operational reality than months of speculation.

The exercise is almost embarrassingly simple. For two weeks, CSMs track their activities in 30-minute increments using a few basic categories like customer-facing time, administrative tasks, internal coordination, research and preparation, tool switching, and reactive problem-solving.

But simple doesn't mean ineffective. The patterns that emerge consistently shock even experienced leaders. I’ve done this across several companies now - and here’s what I’m finding in most scenarios:

Most CSMs spend 35-45% of their time on administrative tasks and internal coordination, not customer-facing work. They jump between 6-8 different systems daily, burning 45-60 minutes just switching tools and waiting on platforms to load. Unplanned work — urgent requests, internal fire drills, last-minute escalations — devours 20-30% of their week, making a proactive strategy impossible.

These aren't technology problems or hiring problems. They're process problems that can be fixed once you see them.

Why quarterly? Because this old-school approach works best when it becomes a habit. Each quarter reveals different inefficiencies. Q1 might expose tool chaos. Q2 might show that your Q1 "fixes" created new bottlenecks. Q3 might reveal that team growth introduced coordination overhead you didn't anticipate.

The audit data transforms into a competitive advantage when you act on it systematically.

• CSMs spending too much on CRM updates? Build workflows that handle these automatically.

• Tool-switching eating up the day? Integrate systems or eliminate redundant platforms.

• Prep time all over the map? Create templates that help CSMs prep efficiently.

• Reactive work constantly disrupting execution? Block specific time for urgent requests instead of allowing constant interruption.

The goal isn't eliminating all non-customer work — it's ensuring every internal minute directly enables better customer outcomes.

CS organizations that embrace this unsexy discipline operate fundamentally differently. They make resource decisions based on data, not gut feelings. They catch operational inefficiencies before they become chronic problems. Most importantly, they free up massive amounts of customer-facing time without adding headcount.

Just think - what if I could find another 15-25% of capacity without hiring?! You’d take that today.

Sometimes the most powerful tools are the simplest.

When was the last time you actually measured how your CSMs spend their time? What could two weeks of honest tracking reveal about your operation?

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