You can build the perfect EBR deck - beautiful slides, compelling data, clear outcomes - but if you don't know how to facilitate the conversation, you'll fail to create the strategic impact you're looking for.

In this episode, Mark Bernardin breaks down the critical shift from presenting at executives to facilitating strategic conversations with them. Drawing from hundreds of EBRs with Fortune 500 customers including Lowe's, The Home Depot, and Ernst & Young, Mark shares the systematic approach that allows Customer Success Managers to lead high-stakes meetings with confidence.

You'll learn:

• The fundamental difference between presenting and facilitating - and why most CSMs get this wrong
• The 5 Executive Questions framework that every effective EBR must answer
• How to open with a Strategic Alignment Check that proves you've been listening
• Why strategic pauses are more powerful than rushing through your content
• How to translate metrics into language that resonates with CFOs, CIOs, and CISOs
• The right way to surface problems proactively without looking defensive
• How to read the room and pivot in real-time when energy shifts
• The closing script that creates mutual accountability and locks in next steps
• Why the best facilitators aren't naturally charismatic - they're systematically prepared

This episode includes real examples from Mark's work at Swimlane, Deepwatch, and Palo Alto Networks, showing exactly how to handle challenging situations like executive turnover, security incidents, and roadmap delays while maintaining trust and driving expansion.

Whether you're preparing for your first EBR or looking to elevate your executive presence, this episode provides the frameworks, scripts, and preparation checklist you need to facilitate like you belong in the room.

All frameworks referenced in this episode are detailed in The Executive Business Review Playbook: The CSM's Guide to Owning the Room, available on Amazon.

You've done the prep work. You've aligned internally. You've confirmed the meeting with your executive stakeholders. Now comes the moment that separates good CSMs from great ones: building the actual deck.

Most EBR decks fail before the meeting even starts. They're built around what the CSM wants to say, not what the executive needs to hear. Twenty-five slides packed with usage metrics, support ticket summaries, and product roadmap updates. No strategic alignment. No business outcomes. No clear path forward. Just a status dump disguised as a review.

In this episode, Mark breaks down the six-slide EBR framework he teaches in The Executive Business Review Playbook - the same structure he's used with customers like Lowe's, Ernst & Young, Accenture, and dozens of others. This framework works because it's built around what executives actually care about, not what we think they should care about.You'll learn exactly what each slide needs to accomplish and how to deliver it without losing the room:

• SLIDE 1: Strategic Alignment RecapProve you've been listening. Show the executive you understand their current business priorities and how your platform supports those goals. This isn't a bio slide - it's proof that you know who they are.
• SLIDE 2: Outcomes DeliveredConnect your work to their measurable business results. Not your features. Not your platform capabilities. Their outcomes. Time saved. Risk reduced. Revenue protected. This is where you answer: What did we accomplish together?
• SLIDE 3: Current State and GapsThe honesty slide. Show them what's working, what's not, and where they're leaving value on the table. Executives respect transparency. They can't stand being blindsided. Frame gaps as opportunities, not accusations.
• SLIDE 4: Success Plan and Next StepsMove from observation to action. Tell them exactly what needs to happen next, who needs to do it, and when. Include mutual accountability - what you're committing to AND what they need to do.
• SLIDE 5: Expansion or Roadmap (Optional)Introduce what's next - but only if you've earned it. New features aligned with their priorities. Expansion opportunities. Strategic roadmap initiatives. Read the room. If they're engaged, go for it. If not, skip it.
• SLIDE 6: Recap and CommitmentsYour closer. Summarize what you covered. Confirm action items and owners. Set the date for your next check-in. Don't end with "any questions?" - that's passive. You're leading this meeting. End with clarity.

Mark also reveals the one slide most CSMs screw up completely: Outcomes Delivered. Because most CSMs confuse activity with outcomes. Usage stats and feature adoption are not outcomes. Business results are outcomes. If you can't tie your work to time saved, money saved, risk reduced, revenue generated, compliance achieved, or efficiency gained - you're not delivering an outcome, you're delivering a service. And services are replaceable. Outcomes are not.

Here's the truth: the slides don't matter as much as you think. What matters is whether you walk into that room sounding like someone who understands their business, can connect your work to their goals, and can have a real conversation - not just click through a deck. The slides keep you honest and give the executive something to hold onto after you leave. But the real work happens between the slides.

Perfect for CSMs preparing for their first EBR, experienced practitioners looking to level up their presentation game, or CS leaders building EBR frameworks for their teams.Download the companion guide "The 6-Slide EBR Framework" at ClearPathCX.com for the complete breakdown with examples, common mistakes, and a quick reference table.

Your first Executive Business Review can make or break your credibility as a Customer Success Manager. It's the moment you step out of reactive, day-to-day account management and prove you're a strategic partner who understands the business, drives outcomes, and owns the relationship at the executive level.

But here's the problem: most CSMs either over-prepare or under-prepare. They spend four weeks obsessing over slide animations, or they throw something together two days before the meeting. Neither approach works. And when you walk into that room unprepared - or prepared for the wrong things - executives notice immediately.

In this episode, Mark Bernardin kicks off a four-part mini-series on Executive Business Reviews by tackling the most critical phase: preparation. This isn't about building beautiful decks. It's about doing the strategic groundwork that ensures your EBR actually lands.

You'll learn how to run a readiness audit before you even schedule the meeting - because if you can't answer key questions about the executive's priorities, your proof of value, and your internal alignment, you're not ready yet. Mark walks through the exact checklist he uses from The Executive Business Review Playbook to determine if a CSM is prepared to lead an executive conversation.

From there, Mark breaks down a structured three-week timeline that balances thoroughness with sanity. Week one is all about discovery and alignment - internal syncs with your AE, champion calls to validate assumptions, and strategic data gathering. Week two focuses on building the narrative first, then the deck. And week three is where you rehearse, refine, and prepare for what could go wrong.

You'll also learn what NOT to waste time on during EBR prep - because perfecting slide transitions and building backup decks "just in case" won't save a poorly constructed narrative. Mark shares the pre-flight checklist he runs 48 hours before every EBR, covering logistics, content validation, stakeholder alignment, and contingency planning.

Throughout the episode, Mark draws from real experiences - including a story from his time at Cofense where he nearly built an entire EBR around the wrong executive priority, and only a last-minute champion call saved him from wasting two weeks of work.

This episode also tackles burnout head-on. If you're managing a portfolio of ten accounts, you don't have three weeks to dedicate to one meeting. Mark shares practical strategies for setting time boundaries (13 hours total across three weeks), using reusable templates, delegating data pulls, and rehearsing in bite-sized chunks.

And here's the crucial part: Mark explains when to delay your EBR. A bad EBR does more damage than no EBR. If you're scrambling to finish slides the night before, if you don't know the executive's current priority, or if your internal team isn't aligned - reschedule. Your credibility is more valuable than hitting a deadline.

This episode is part of the Executive Business Review mini-series on ClearPath Conversations, following the 10-episode Path to Green series on rescuing at-risk accounts. Whether you're preparing for your first EBR or looking to tighten up your approach, this episode gives you a clear, actionable framework.

Grab the companion guide - Your First EBR Preparation Checklist - at ClearPathCX.com. It includes the full three-week timeline, readiness self-check, and pre-flight checklist you can use for every EBR moving forward.

If you're reading The Executive Business Review Playbook, this episode maps directly to Chapter 3 on preparation and internal alignment.

Connect with Mark on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/markbernardin if you're preparing for your first EBR and have questions.

You rescued the account. You turned red to green. You did the hard work - the internal alignment, the customer conversations, the late nights building the get-well plan. But if nobody knows about it, did it really happen?

In this episode, we're closing out the Path to Green mini-series by tackling something most CSMs overlook: how to tell the turnaround story.

This isn't about bragging. It's not about taking credit that belongs to your team. It's about strategic storytelling that protects your credibility, reinforces customer confidence, and documents impact in a way that actually matters.

We're covering two critical audiences: your internal stakeholders and your customer. Each needs to hear the story differently, and each conversation serves a different purpose.

For your internal team - your CS leadership, your AE, Support, Product - they need to see that this wasn't luck. They need to understand the methodology you used, the challenges you overcame, and why this outcome is repeatable. That's how you earn credibility, autonomy, and resources for the next fire you need to fight.

For your customer, the turnaround story isn't about reminding them how bad things were. It's about showing them the journey, acknowledging their role in the recovery, and building confidence in the partnership going forward. When done right, this becomes the foundation for expansion, advocacy, and long-term retention.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Specific milestone triggers for when to tell the story (because timing matters - tell it too early and you risk undermining credibility if momentum stalls; wait too long and the moment passes)
• The three-part framework for internal storytelling: Problem (specific), Approach (strategic), Outcome (business impact)
• How to structure the turnaround narrative in your next Executive Business Review, including the exact slide framework and language to use
• The three most common mistakes CSMs make when telling turnaround stories - and how to avoid them
• How to leverage the turnaround story beyond the initial telling: case studies, onboarding materials, performance reviews, and career development

This episode is for CSMs who've done the hard work and need a clear framework for communicating that impact. Whether you're preparing for your next EBR, documenting a win for your leadership team, or building institutional knowledge for your CS organization, this episode gives you the structure you need.

The companion resource - The Turnaround Story Framework - includes milestone trigger tables, the internal storytelling structure, customer-facing EBR templates, and a complete documentation checklist. Grab it at ClearPathCX.com.

This is the final episode in the Path to Green mini-series. If you missed the previous episodes, go back and listen - they build on each other. Next episode, we're starting a new mini-series on Executive Business Reviews, beginning with how to prepare for your first EBR without burning out.

You can write the most beautiful get-well plan in the world. You can diagnose every risk factor and map out every milestone. But if your own team isn't on board - if Sales is working against you, if Support doesn't know the plan exists, if Product thinks this is just another CSM fire drill - you're dead in the water.

This episode is about the work nobody sees but that makes everything else possible: internal alignment.

Most recovery efforts fail not because the plan is bad, but because the CSM tries to execute it alone. The recoveries that work? Those are the ones where Sales has your back, Support prioritizes what matters, Product commits to high-visibility fixes, and leadership gives you air cover when things get messy.

In this episode, Mark walks through his signature Pre-Flight Checklist - the five boxes every CSM must check before presenting a recovery plan to a customer. He shares real stories from enterprise accounts where internal alignment made the difference between losing seven figures and turning red accounts green in under 90 days.

You'll learn:

• How to brief Sales without them undermining your plan with early discounts
• The exact message to send Support to get priority treatment during recovery
• How to get Product to commit to 1-2 high-impact fixes instead of a 47-item wish list
• The one-page, three-section format for briefing leadership so they're never blindsided
• Why documentation is your insurance policy when someone says "I didn't know that"

Mark covers what happens when you skip internal alignment (hint: you end up fighting internal fires while trying to stabilize the customer), and shares tactical examples from government, retail, and cybersecurity accounts where the invisible work of alignment turned impossible situations into expansion opportunities.

This isn't theory. This is the battle-tested playbook Mark used to rescue accounts at companies like Palo Alto Networks, Cofense, and Swimlane - accounts worth millions in ARR that everyone said were lost causes.

If you're managing an at-risk account right now, this episode will change how you approach recovery. Because the customer doesn't care about your internal dysfunction. They care about results. And you can't deliver results if your own team is working against you.

What You'll Get:The companion PDF download available at ClearPathCX.com contains:

• The Pre-Flight Checklist (to use before every customer presentation)
• Internal Alignment Tracker (document all your recovery team coordination)
• Email Templates (copy-paste messages for Sales, Support, and Leadership)

This is part of the Path to Green Playbook mini-series from ClearPath Conversations - where customer journeys find direction.

You can have the best recovery plan in the world, but if no one reads it, it doesn't matter. In this episode, Mark breaks down the harsh truth about most get-well plans: they're too long, too detailed, and too focused on documenting problems instead of driving solutions.

Drawing from a painful early-career mistake - a 37-page recovery plan that accomplished nothing - Mark walks you through exactly how to write a get-well plan that stakeholders will actually read, understand, and act on. No 50-page novels. No endless retrospectives. Just clear, actionable roadmaps that respect people's time and get results.

Mark shares the seven essential elements of an effective get-well plan:

1. THE ONE-SENTENCE SUMMARY - Your elevator pitch that goes at the very top. Make it bold. Make it clear. If someone only reads the first paragraph, they should know exactly what this plan is about.
2. CURRENT STATE (3 bullets or less) - Provide context without writing a memoir. Three bullet points maximum. You're not reliving every mistake. You're setting the stage for action.
3. THE OUTCOME (Your Guiding Star) - Define the measurable end state you're driving toward. Make it specific. Make it time-bound. Make it a statement, not a wish.
4. THE PHASES - Break the work into 2-3 clear phases. Typically: Stabilization (stop the bleeding), Remediation (fix core issues), and Reinforcement (sustain improvement). Each phase gets a name, timeframe, and clear goal.
5. THE ACTIONS - This is where most plans fall apart. Every action needs four things: WHAT will be done, WHO owns it, WHEN it's due, and HOW you'll know it's complete. No vague action items. No missing owners. No ambiguous success criteria.
6. THE ASK - State clearly what you need from stakeholders. Be specific and actionable. You need support to execute this plan, so ask for it upfront.
7. THE FOLLOW-UP CADENCE - Define how you'll keep everyone informed. Plans die in silence. If you're not updating it, no one's going to believe you're executing it.

Throughout the episode, Mark shares real stories from his work with enterprise accounts at companies like Cofense and Palo Alto Networks. You'll hear about the two-page plan that saved a stalled retail customer deployment, the financial services account that went from red to reference in 90 days, and the critical lessons learned from plans that failed because they tried to do too much.

The key principle: constraint creates clarity. When you force yourself to keep it under three pages, you force yourself to be strategic. You can't document everything, so you have to prioritize what actually matters.

Mark also covers what NOT to include: no root cause analysis (save that for the post-mortem), no detailed project plans with Gantt charts (that's for internal management), and no "what if" scenario mapping (focus on the most likely path forward, then adjust as you go).

This episode is part of the Path to Green mini-series, which explores Mark's signature framework for rescuing at-risk accounts. Whether you're facing a red account, a stalled deployment, lost trust with an executive sponsor, or a relationship that needs rebuilding, this episode gives you a practical template for writing recovery plans that move the needle.

Perfect for: CSMs managing red accounts, team leads mentoring junior CSMs, customer success managers who've inherited messy situations, or anyone who's ever written a plan that got ignored.

Companion resource: Download the free Get-Well Plan Framework template at ClearPathCX.com. It includes a one-page summary template, phase-by-phase action tracker, and stakeholder communication guide, all designed to help you write a plan in under two hours that you can send with confidence.

Next episode: We'll tackle what happens before you ever send that plan - how to get internal alignment from Sales, Support, and Product before taking your recovery plan external.

When an account goes Red, most CSMs panic. Meetings multiply. Emails fly. Sales blames Support. Support blames Product. And you - the CSM - are expected to fix it.

But here's the problem: without a shared framework, everyone's just running around with their hair on fire, hoping something works. Spoiler alert: it doesn't.

In this episode, Mark introduces the Path to Green: a repeatable, milestone-driven methodology for taking at-risk accounts and moving them back to health in 90 days. This isn't theory - it's the exact framework Mark used to save millions in ARR. It's the reason people call him the "At-Risk Whisperer."

You'll learn why most recovery plans fail before they even start. The answer? CSMs skip the most important step: defining what "Green" actually means. Without a bullseye, every shot is off-target. Mark walks you through how to sit down with your customer, capture their version of success, align it with your internal requirements, and merge them into one clear, measurable definition that everyone agrees on.

From there, Mark breaks down the three phases of recovery:

Phase 1: Stabilization (Days 1-30) - Stop the bleeding. Rebuild basic trust. Fix the most urgent pain points. This phase isn't glamorous, but if you can't stabilize the account, nothing else matters.

Phase 2: Execution (Days 31-60) - Deliver on your commitments. Prove progress through action, not words. Track everything in a Recovery Progress Dashboard so nothing falls through the cracks.

Phase 3: Optimization (Days 61-90) - Shift the narrative from crisis to growth. Run the pre-renewal conversation. Transition the account back to normal CSM management.

Mark also shares the three core principles that make this framework work: clarity (everyone knows what Green means), alignment (all actions support a shared goal), and accountability (tasks, owners, and timelines are locked in and visible). He explains why visibility is just as important as the work itself - if no one can see progress happening, confidence doesn't build. And confidence drives renewals.

To make it real, Mark tells the story of a $2 million retail account he inherited that was about as Red as they come. The executive sponsor had stopped returning calls. The primary user was openly badmouthing them in industry forums. The internal team was paralyzed. Mark walked through exactly how he applied the Path to Green framework: defining success with the IT director, building a 90-day plan, stabilizing the relationship, delivering on commitments, and shifting the conversation from "what went wrong" to "what's next." Three months later, they renewed. Six months after that, they expanded.

This episode also covers what to do when you're ready to implement this yourself. Mark gives you the four-step process: pick an account showing early signs of risk, define Green with the customer and your internal team, build your 30/60/90 plan with specific milestones and owners, and execute while tracking progress weekly. If you want to go deeper, Mark mentions that the full methodology - including templates, the Recovery Progress Dashboard, and stakeholder mapping tools - is available in his book, The Path to Green.

Whether you're managing a healthy portfolio or currently staring down a Red account, this episode gives you the playbook to lead recovery yourself. Because at-risk accounts aren't a failure - they're an opportunity to prove your value, build trust with leadership, and turn a customer who was ready to leave into your biggest advocate.

Grab the free companion download pack with worksheets, templates, and the complete recovery planning framework at ClearPathCX.com.

What does it really take to build a Customer Success toolkit from the ground up? Not the theoretical frameworks from textbooks or the polished playbooks from enterprise teams with unlimited budgets - but the real, practical tools that frontline CSMs actually need to do the work.

In this episode, host Mark Bernardin breaks down how to assemble your essential CSM toolkit when you're starting from scratch, working with limited resources, or stepping into a role where nothing has been built yet. Whether you're a new CSM figuring out where to start, a team leader trying to standardize your approach, or a seasoned professional looking to refine your arsenal, this conversation cuts through the noise to focus on what actually matters.

Mark shares insights from years in the trenches of cybersecurity SaaS customer success, exploring the difference between tools that look impressive and tools that drive real outcomes. You'll discover how to prioritize what to build first when everything feels urgent, how to create lightweight documentation that actually gets used, and why the best toolkit isn't about having everything - it's about having the right things at the right time.

This episode tackles the hard questions about building a toolkit that serves your customers' success.

You'll hear practical strategies for creating customer health frameworks that aren't just red-yellow-green guesswork, building templates that drive real conversations instead of checkbox meetings, and developing escalation protocols that actually prevent fires instead of just documenting them. Mark also explores how to navigate the tension between standardization and customization, knowing when consistency matters and when flexibility wins.

But this isn't just about spreadsheets and slide decks. This episode digs into the mindset shifts that separate CSMs who collect tools from CSMs who wield them effectively. It's about understanding that your toolkit is never "done." It evolves with every customer conversation, every renewal cycle, and every lesson learned from the accounts that didn't go as planned.

Whether you're working at a startup where you're inventing the playbook as you go, or at an established company where legacy processes need an overhaul, this episode gives you a clear framework for building something that works. No fluff, no corporate jargon - just honest guidance from someone who's built these toolkits multiple times and learned what matters through trial, error, and plenty of at-risk accounts saved along the way.

Join Mark Bernardin for a conversation that treats Customer Success like the craft it is: one that requires the right tools, the wisdom to use them well, and the courage to build something better when what you have isn't working.

ClearPath Conversations brings you inside the world of Customer Success with real-world lessons, strategies, and stories from the frontlines. Hosted by Mark Bernardin, author and "At-Risk Whisperer," each episode explores practical ways to build stronger customer relationships, rescue at-risk accounts, and unlock growth. Whether you're a new CSM or a seasoned leader, you'll find clear, actionable guidance to help customers succeed - and careers thrive.