Behind the Book

February is a month that celebrates partnership, trust, and the kind of relationships that stand the test of time. 💘 This book is exactly that.

One of the things I’m most grateful for this year is completing one of the biggest accomplishments of my life (so far). Becoming an Amazon bestselling author in five categories for The Customer Success Talent Playbook. ❤️📚

For those who don’t know me, I’m the Founder and CEO of Melo Associates, a talent firm focused on revenue recruitment with a large emphasis on Customer Success. Through years of working closely with Customer Success leaders, I kept seeing the same questions come up again and again around hiring, recruitment, and long-term success in Customer Success.

That’s what led to this book. 💌

The Customer Success Talent Playbook is a practical resource that covers the full lifecycle of Customer Success talent from both the hiring manager and candidate perspectives, including recruitment and job search, titles, career pathing, fit, community and networking, and training. Every section is written with both perspectives, making the book comprehensive and truly all-encompassing. ✨

I’m grateful for the milestone itself, and just as grateful for the leaders I got to do this with. Because this book wasn’t just written. It was built through trust, respect, and shared passion. 💞

I wrote Section 1 of the book, focused on recruitment and job search, and I initiated and led the project, bringing all of our voices together. I’ve had folks ask how I decided who to invite into this project, so I wanted to share that here, in the order the chapters appear.

💖 Section 2: Parul Bhandari (Titles)

I met Parul Bhandari in 2019, and she was a CuSP: A Chicago Customer Success Community (community I co-founded) virtual speaker in 2020. We had our first in-person lunch in May 2022, and we became fast friends after that, bonding over a shared passion for event planning and community building. She joined the CuSP board in December 2022. In Fall 2023, as I was starting the Melo Associates webinar series, I wanted it to focus on very niche talent topics that don’t get enough attention. One of those topics was titles. When I brought it up to Parul, I quickly learned she was just as passionate about it as I was. She went on to lead a webinar for Melo Associates on “Titles,” and that conversation became the starting point for so much of what followed.

What stood out to me early on was her entrepreneurial spirit and her rich HR and Customer Success experience. She was actually the first call I made for the book. We ideate, challenge each other, and always end up with a better solution, so it was a no-brainer to have her be part of this.

🌷 Section 3: Elizabeth Blass (Career Pathing)

Elizabeth Blass and I met in August 2023 in Chicago at a Women of Customer Success happy hour event. I was tired, but I really wanted to go, and I’m so glad I did.

She had amazing energy, and as I learned more about her work and her passions, I knew I wanted to stay connected. I saw her at two other conferences within a few months, and we continued to gravitate toward each other. When I decided to write the book, I immediately reached out to Elizabeth to discuss career pathing. Her career path is so impressive and intentional, and I knew she was the perfect person to write this section. I also knew we’d have a blast working together, which made the decision an easy one.

❤️‍🔥 Section 4: Ejieme Eromosele (Fit)

The first time I saw Ejieme Eromosele was at Gainsight Pulse in May 2023, where she was on the main stage. If you’ve seen Ejieme speak, you know how incredible she is at articulating big ideas in ways that are easy to understand.

I loved hearing her speak and reached out to connect. 🤍 We quickly found a way for Melo Associates and Success in Black to become partners and started working on how to deepen that partnership. When I thought about leaders I wanted in the book, I gave her a call. While I had a couple of ideas to start, Ejieme was really passionate about doing a deep dive into fit, which became her section. If you’ve read her section, you know how deeply personal it is.

💌 Section 5: Julie Fox (Community & Networking)

Julie Fox and I connected on LinkedIn in 2023 and met in person at Gainsight Pulse that same year. Every time she spoke, everyone listened. She has a great way of capturing community, and I really enjoyed networking with her.

I continued to follow her on LinkedIn and loved how she engaged her community virtually. The conversations she sparked felt thoughtful and personal, even though I had only met her once. I kept thinking about how powerful it would be to take the conversations she was already leading around community and networking on LinkedIn and scale them into something bigger. So when I thought about community and networking as a core part of this book, I immediately reached out to Julie to see if she wanted to be part of the project.

💐 Section 6: Kristen Hayer (Training)

I attended Kristen Hayer’s first webinar in May 2020, and she was pouring knowledge into every sentence. Even though we didn’t have many direct interactions early on, I always remembered her, and I consistently heard amazing things about Kristen and her work.

I later became a fellow sponsor with Kristen and The Success League at ChurnZero’s Zero-In conference in 2022, and then again in 2023. Each time I saw her, she greeted me with a smile and was genuinely wanting to connect. I loved attending her sessions and seeing her passion for training and the experience behind it. When it came time to write the training section of the book, Kristen was the obvious choice.

Every single leader here stood out, was making an impact long before we connected, and had a story worth telling. When I reached out, every one of them said yes, and I never once had to think about anyone else for this book. I’m incredibly grateful that these brilliant women chose to start, join, and complete something we are all so proud of.

This book is proof that when the right people come together with shared purpose, incredible things happen. 🤝

If you’re curious about the conversations we explore in the book, or you’re navigating Customer Success from either the hiring or career side, I hope it’s a resource you find yourself coming back to. I poured a lot of intention into it, and so did each of these women. 💗

You can check out The Customer Success Talent Playbook on Amazon today. 💝

With gratitude and appreciation,

Thank you,

Swati Garg ❤️
Founder & CEO, Melo Associates
Co-Author, The Customer Success Talent Playbook
Co-Founder & Chair, CuSP: A Chicago Customer Success Community