Measuring What Matters: Shared KPIs for Sales and Customer Success Alignment

Sales and Customer Success may be in the same business, but they don't always act like it. Sales is about bringing in new deals, while Customer Success is about attempting to keep those customers satisfied and returning. Both groups work hard, but if they optimize for different outcomes, the entire system fails.

This type of arrangement introduces tension. Customer Success loses out on a big deal, but Sales is left with a customer who is a wrong fit. Promises made during the presentation do not correspond to the customer's actual experience. No one takes responsibility for anything, leaving customers caught in the middle.

The reason this continues to occur is easy. Separate goals score sales and Customer Success. Sales desires closure. Customer Success desires retention. They won't play the same game if they're not reading the same scoreboard. That's why common KPIs are more important than people realize. Both teams behave like one team when they are accountable for the same results.

Why Different KPIs Create Division

When each team has its objectives and incentives, its behaviors do not align. Sales may be forced through transactions that are not a good fit to meet numbers. Customer Success then encounters challenges in serving those customers, leading to increased churn rates. It is a cycle where one team's "win" equals a loss for another.

Such misalignment results in finger-pointing, lost opportunities, and mixed-up customer experiences. To prevent it, the best method is to have both teams report the same outcomes.

KPI Alignment Map: Sales & Customer Success

KPI	Definition	Sales Role	Customer Success Role	Shared Objective
Customer Fit Score	Measures how well a new lead matches the ideal customer profile	Ask discovery questions, qualify properly	Monitor outcomes of high-fit customers	Reduce churn by selling to the right customers
Time to First Value	Time it takes for a new customer to achieve their first success milestone	Set clear expectations during the sales process	Deliver early wins post-onboarding	Accelerate value realization to improve retention
Early Expansion Revenue	Tracks upsells or additional purchases in first 90 days	Identify cross-sell opportunities during closing	Follow up proactively to promote value-add features	Indicate customer health and product-market fit
Churn Reasons Analysis	Structured feedback on why customers leave	Review churn cases to improve qualification	Conduct exit interviews, track churn reasons	Learn from loss and prevent repeat churn scenarios
Shared Health Score	Unified score including usage, support history, billing, and satisfaction	Access and understand health trends to avoid overselling	Monitor and intervene when signals degrade	Proactively support at-risk accounts
Net Revenue Retention	Measures retained + expansion revenue minus churn	Focus on long-term value during selling	Drive ongoing product adoption and expansion	Maximize customer lifetime value

Start With the Customer Fit Score

This score measures the close alignment of a new lead with your ideal customer. It measures with real information such as company size, industry, and planned use. If the lead doesn't hit the mark, Sales should wait. And Customer Success should monitor what happens when a high-scoring lead joins. This provides both teams with a clear definition of success from day one.

Track Time to First Value

This evaluates the duration required for a new customer to acquire value from your product. The quicker they see results, the better your chances of keeping them. Sales need to ask the right questions before the sale, and Customer Success needs to help them achieve those first wins quickly. It is a shared responsibility that creates the environment for the whole relationship.

Look for Early Expansion Revenue

If the customer doesn't expand in the first three months, that is a red flag. Perhaps the account was not good, or maybe the follow-up was poor. Regardless, early expansion indicates that value is being delivered. Sales and Customer Success both need to look for expansion soon after onboarding—not just at renewal time.

Always Do Churn Reviews

When a customer departs, don't speculate why. Ask. Did they anticipate features that weren't fulfilled? Was the onboarding experience botched? Did support fail? Each churned customer should arrive with a brief narrative and a definitive reason. This assists both teams in learning and not repeating the same errors in the future.

Apply One Shared Health Score

Forget multiple tools and various metrics. Use a single health score that both teams believe in. It must encompass product usage, support history, billing behavior, and satisfaction. If Sales and Customer Success see the exact numbers, they can remain harmonious and respond quickly.

Shared Numbers Build Shared Success

When both teams are interested in the same outcomes, everything shifts. Sales no longer hurries unqualified leads through the door. Customer Success is increasingly focused on helping accounts to expand. The handoff between teams becomes smoother, and the customer feels they're working with one firm—not two departments.

Alignment does not happen by having more meetings or sending more emails. It comes from having clear, shared goals that are important to both sides. These shared KPIs create a system where success is collective and accountability is clear.

What Happens Next Is Up to You

If your Sales and Customer Success teams are still on parallel tracks, now's the time to correct them. Begin by identifying a handful of easy-to-understand KPIs that each side can take ownership of. Use simple language. Check the results frequently. Most importantly, ensure everyone knows what the numbers actually mean.

You don't have to use a high-end gadget to begin with. You need one choice: to stop measuring performance in a manner that divides your teams and start measuring what actually unites them.