Customer Success Secrets Every AE Needs to Know | Matt Sterenberg (Modern Campus)

In this episode, I sit down with Matt Sterenberg, Senior Director of Customer Success at Modern Campus and a 12+ year EdTech leader with experience across customer success, sales, and customer advocacy, to unpack what customer success teams wish every AE understood. We get into how the higher ed ROI debate is changing buying behavior, why “time saved” isn’t a strong value prop unless you can tie it to outcomes, and what it really takes to build trust that turns customers into long-term champions.We also break down the churn equation: the metrics that actually matter (implementation, time-to-value, usage, sentiment), the hidden risk of “hostage” customers, and the simple pre-close habits that make CS infinitely easier on day one. We close with Matt’s rapid-fire sales advice on why listening is the real superpower, and how a few well-timed questions can save you months of wasted deal cycles.TOPICS WE COVERWhy higher ed is more ROI-driven and how that’s changing buying behaviorSelling value in higher ed: going beyond “time saved” to “to what end?” outcomesWhat creates customer champions, and the fastest ways to lose advocatesEarly warning signs of churn: implementation, time-to-value, usage, sentiment, and champion riskThe “hostage customer” problem: high usage, low satisfactionWhat AEs should document before close: key stakeholders + pain + success metricsABOUT THE GUESTMatt Sterenberg is the Senior Director of Customer Success at Modern Campus. He’s spent 12+ years in EdTech across customer success, sales, and customer advocacy, including leadership roles at Parchment and Instructure.LINKSConnect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carter-armendarez/Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.techsaleswithcarter.com/newsletter/Learn more about Modern Campus: https://moderncampus.com/