Inside the CS - Sales Interplay: How CS & Sales Partner Across the Customer Journey
The Women of Customer Success NYC chapter is kicking off 2026 with a conversation that sits at the heart of modern growth: the Sales - CS interplay.
Thank you to our wonderful partners Optimizely for hosting us in their beautiful space.
Inside the Sales–CS Interplay: How Sales and CS Partner Across the Customer Journey
Sales and Customer Success are deeply connected - yet often misaligned.
From the first sales conversation to onboarding, adoption, renewal, and expansion, the way Sales and CS work together shapes not only revenue outcomes, but the overall customer experience. As Customer Success teams take on more commercial responsibility, the lines between selling and serving are becoming increasingly blurred.
This panel brings together Sales and Customer Success leaders to unpack what effective partnership really looks like across the customer journey. We’ll explore how teams collaborate in practice (not theory), where friction typically shows up, and how organisations balance growth goals with long-term customer trust - without losing the core identity of Customer Success along the way.
Meet Your Panelists
What We’ll Explore
Where Sales and CS Alignment Breaks Down and How Teams Fix It: Common friction points across the customer journey, from handoffs to expansion, and the practical ways teams reduce confusion and missed opportunities.
Maintaining CS Identity in a Revenue-Driven World: How CS leaders protect the customer advocacy role as revenue targets increase - and what gets sacrificed when this isn’t done intentionally.
Growing Revenue Without Losing Customer Trust: How CS and Sales should approach renewals and expansion in a way that strengthens relationships rather than eroding them, including when to collaborate and when to draw clear boundaries.
Ownership Across the Customer Journey: How high-performing teams define who owns what at each stage, how this evolves as companies scale, and why clarity matters for both customers and teams.
Agenda
6:00 PM — Arrival & refreshments
6:30 PM — Panel discussion begins
7:15 PM — Live audience Q&A
7:30 – 8:00 PM — Networking & informal conversations
What to Expect
An honest, practical conversation — not theory or buzzwords
Perspectives from both Sales and Customer Success leaders
Real examples of what works (and what doesn’t) as CS becomes more commercial
Discussion of trade-offs leaders don’t always talk about openly
Space for audience questions and shared experiences
Time to connect with peers across CS and Sales roles
Who This Event Is For
This event is designed for anyone working in or closely with Sales or Customer Success, including:
Customer Success Managers, Account Managers, and Sales Executives
CS, Sales, and Revenue Operations professionals
Team leads, managers, and senior individual contributors
Heads, Directors, and VPs shaping growth and customer strategy
Anyone navigating the balance between revenue responsibility and customer advocacy