In this episode of The Business of Success, we sit down with Alan Gonsenhauser, a 7x Chief Marketing Officer and expert in customer growth strategy, to uncover why most companies are focused on the wrong thing chasing sales instead of building sustainable revenue.

If your business is struggling with churn, poor customer retention, or inconsistent growth, this conversation will completely change how you think about marketing, sales, and customer success.

Alan breaks down the real drivers of long-term revenue, including ideal customer profiles (ICP), net revenue retention (NRR), customer experience, and how top companies align marketing, sales, and finance to scale effectively.

About Alan:

Alan Gonsenhauser, CEO of DemandRevenue, LLC., is an 11-times CMO, and 3-times P&L GM experience in marketing, sales, finance, and operations. He’s a CMO Coach & Mentor, Interim / Fractional CMO, and GTM Advisor for Private Equity portfolio companies.

Website- www.demandrevenue.com

Social Media - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alangonsenhauser/

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Whether you're a startup founder, marketer, or business leader, this episode will help you understand:

• Why chasing sales is hurting your growth
• How to identify and target the right customers (ICP)
• The truth about churn and customer retention
• How to build a customer-first growth strategy
• Why most companies fail at customer success
• How to turn customers into your best salespeople

00:00 – Intro & Guest Introduction
01:00 – Alan’s Journey: From Finance to 7x CMO
03:45 – What is a “Customer Capitalist”?
06:00 – Why Revenue is a Lagging Indicator
07:45 – The Real Problem with Chasing Sales
09:00 – Startup Phases: Problem-Market Fit vs Product-Market Fit
10:35 – How to Define Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
14:00 – Biggest Mistakes Companies Make with ICP
16:00 – Sales Incentives & Wrong Behavior
17:30 – Net Promoter Score (NPS) — Truth vs Myth
20:00 – Red Flags: When Your Business Is Doing It Wrong
22:30 – Why Customer Experience Starts BEFORE Sales
23:45 – Turning Customers into Advocates
26:00 – Why Negative Feedback is Gold
29:00 – How to Align Teams for Growth
31:00 – AI, Hiring & Future of Marketing Teams
34:00 – Final Advice for Startups & Leaders

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This podcast is sponsored by CustomerXSuccess, a consultancy which helps drive Company Growth through a focus on Customer Success. Follow along at www.customerxsuccess.com

The Caregiving Conundrum most companies and families ignore until it’s too late. Dr. Pooja Patel, double board-certified occupational therapist and gerontologist, exposes the hidden crisis of elder care and how working professionals (especially women) are left unprepared.

In this powerful episode of Business of Success with Parul Bhandari, Dr. Pooja Patel (founder of Aging Together) reveals:

• Why workplaces treat elder care as a “nice to have” while parenting gets full support
• The shocking FMLA truth: It doesn’t cover in laws a wake up call for South Asian families
• Why daughters and daughters in law carry most of the elder care burden
• How caregiving starts quietly and escalates into crisis without proactive planning
• Practical solutions: Proactive care planning workbook, emergency & end of life discussions, aging in place
• What employers can actually do flexible work, caregiver support, and retention strategies
• The coming demographic crisis: Baby boomers + working Gen X/Millennials = massive impact on economy and families

If you’re a working daughter, son, manager, or business leader - this conversation will change how you think about family responsibility, employee support, and long term planning.

👉 Visit Aging Together: https://aging-together.com

👉 Book by Dr. Pooja Patel: You Don’t Know When the Bridge Is Coming: A Roadmap for

Timestamps:

00:00 – The Caregiving Conundrum Intro

02:35 – Dr. Pooja’s Journey & Why Proactive Care Matters

05:16 – Elder Care Support in the Workplace (Almost Nothing)

08:09 – FMLA Limitations & In Laws Reality Check

11:27 – Proactive Care Planning Workbook Explained

15:38 – Heavy Burden on Women & South Asian Families

24:33 – Flexible Work Ideas for Employee Caregivers

30:44 – The Looming Elder Care Crisis & Call to Action

#CaregivingConundrum #ElderCare #DrPoojaPatel #AgingTogether #SouthAsianCaregiving #WomenCaregivers #EmployeeCaregivers #CaregiverBurnout #ProactiveAging #BusinessOfSuccess #FamilyCaregiving

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This podcast is sponsored by CustomerXSuccess, a consultancy which helps drive Company Growth through a focus on Customer Success. Follow along at www.customerxsuccess.com

The perfect recap, TLDR episode to help you get caught up!

This episode celebrates the milestone of launching five episodes of the Business of Success, reviews the episodes we have had and learnings, and provides a preview of the episodes covered.

Takeaways:

• It delves into empowering women in the workplace,
• Designing for employee and customer experiences,
• Addressing burnout and workforce productivity,
• Transitioning from leadership to individual contributor roles, and
• Effective communication and value delivery for leaders.

The Business of Success if sponsored by CustomerXSuccess, a customer experience consultancy to drive better journeys and organic growth. Visit out website for more information.

#customerexperience #employeeexperience #leadership #burnout #womenatwork #timemanagement

In this conversation with Andrea Bumstead of CS Impact, Parul delves into the world of #customersuccess leadership, emphasizing value-driven conversations, and Andrea's unique take on how to maximize them - through the 15-Minute QBR tool. This tool has changed how teams can drive value for their customers, and actually connect on what matters.

They further discuss impact of #AI on #value proposition expectations, and the importance of closing the financial literacy gap for leaders. The discussion highlights the need for leaders to speak the language of their customers and understand financial literacy to effectively communicate and drive business growth.

Takeaways

• Value-driven conversations
• Leadership language
• Financial literacy

About Andrea Bumstead and CS Impact:

Andrea is the Founder and CEO of CS Impact, a consultancy providing fractional leadership and strategic advisory services to B2B SaaS companies with $50M–$150M in ARR. Known for turning Customer Success into a revenue engine, Andrea has helped growth-stage companies generate millions in incremental revenue through outcomes-driven retention and expansion strategies.

An award winning thought leader in the CS space, Andrea is the creator of the 15-Minute QBR, a viral framework celebrated for its practical, executive-ready approach to customer alignment.

Thought Leadership:

https://csimpact.substack.com/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreabumstead

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/customersuccessimpact/

**Link to the 15-min QBR by Andrea

The Business of Success is sponsored by CustomerXSuccess- a Customer Experience consultancy. We help companies define their customer journeys, drive value creation and retention, and realize sustainable organic growth.

What if your next Individual Contributor (IC) was a former leader? Think of the richness that could bring to your team and your customers?

In this episode, Parul talks to Mike Lemon about the challenged, hiring process for experienced hires, preparing for interviews, and overcoming objections. Additionally, it discusses the adaptation of experienced hires in the workplace, value realization, strategic customer success, measuring value, the role of AI, driving business outcomes, and success metrics.

Takeaways

• How interviewees can prepare
• Value in experience
• Navigating career transitions
• How Managers can prepare

Mike Lemon is an enterprise leader brought in when high-value relationships are exposed, growth has stalled, or organizations need clarity at the intersection of customer value and commercial performance. He specializes in stabilizing complex global portfolios, rebuilding executive trust, and aligning cross-functional leaders around measurable revenue outcomes.

Connect with Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelklemon/

Read his article: https://medium.com/@michaelklemon/the-untapped-superpower-4d48cd476948?source=social.linkedin

Read Parul's article: https://www.inc.com/parul-bhandari/what-to-know-about-the-great-downshift/91265991

The Business of Success is sponsored by CustomerXSuccess- a Customer Experience and Customer Success-focused consultancy. We help companies define their customer journeys, drive value creation and retention, and realize organic growth. Learn more at: www.customerxsuccess.com

#experiencedleaders #experiencedhires #hiringtrends #buildingbetter #businessofsuccess

In this conversation with speaker and leadership coach, Princess Castleberry, Parul dives into her career, her new book The Truth is in the TriggerTM, and how leaders can drive growth through reducing their own burnout. The conversation also delves into self-awareness and empowerment for all levels of employees, as well as an important trigger mapping exercise (on Princess's website).

Takeaways

• Empowering burnt-out leaders with tools for self-awareness and recovery is crucial for sustainable growth and decision quality.
• Frameworks in the book like Live, Lead and Build LeverageTM are useful for any stage of life or goal achievement.
• Toxic driveTM and sinking egoTM are behaviors that impede success and decision-making quality, often rooted in insecurity and validation-seeking.
• Trigger mapping exercise helps individuals connect their behaviors to personal, global, and professional environment triggers.

#burnout #leadership

About Princess:

Princess Castleberry is the CEO of Castleberry Global, and author of The Truth is in the TriggerTM. Learn more about Princess and her work at:

https://www.princesscastleberry.com/

This podcast is sponsored by CustomerXSuccess, a consultancy which helps drive Company Growth through a focus on Customer Success. Follow along at www.customerxsuccess.com

In this episode, Parul explores the impact of investing in employee and customer success on sustainable business growth. It emphasizes the importance of employee and customer experience, retention, and the revenue bow tie concept - how growth is not just measured till the point of sale. Parul highlights the significance of advocacy and the success flywheel in building a sustainable business.

Takeaways

• Investing in employee and customer success drives sustainable business growth.
• Advocacy and the success flywheel are key components of building a sustainable business.

Resources for this episode:

• Revenue Bowtie - https://www.inc.com/parul-bhandari/grow-your-business-using-principles-from-revenue-bowtie.html
• FREE Customer Value Assessment - https://share.hsforms.com/15b0bX2JxTtC-TONTn8lJRgqupmi

  The Business of Success is Sponsored by CustomerXSuccess, building business success with a focus on customer success. Inquire on working with us at www.customerxsuccess.com.

Kicking off the inaugural conversation for The Business of Success with Priya Bathija, CEO of Nyoo Health, who is focused on making the world a better place for women at work.

This conversation explores the challenges faced by women in the workplace, including career specialization, workplace dynamics, and the impact of menopause. It also discusses the need for women-friendly workplaces, supportive work environments, and predicts positive changes for women in the future.

Takeaways

• Women in the workplace face challenges related to leadership, family building, and menopause.
• Employers can support women in the workplace through policies, benefits, and cultural changes.
• Small shifts in policy and benefits are expected to continue, leading to positive changes for women in the workplace.

Follow Priya and her work at: www.nyoohealth.com.

This podcast is sponsored by CustomerXSuccess, a consultancy which helps drive Company Growth through a focus on Customer Success. Follow along at www.customerxsuccess.com