G2

Mary-Anne R.

Director of Operations

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

10/14/2026

"Practical, personal, and immediately useful CStraining with Alia Pirani"

5/5

What do you like best about Winning by Design?

Working with Alia Pirani was the highlight of the CStraining, and I absolutely loved it. My cohort happened to be just me, so I was lucky to get 1:1 time with Alia, and it made the course feel special. Every session was tailored to our real customers and challenges instead of generic examples. She was so generous with ideas, from adapting the frameworks to a non-subscription business to practical plays we can’t wait to implement. The roleplays, live feedback on my customer story, and Kahoots made it engaging and fun. I came away with practical tools, not just theory. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Winning by Design?

Honestly, very little. My one suggestion is to keep the LMS materials and the exam fully in sync. One exam question referenced something that wasn’t in the course materials, though Alia confirmed and fixed it quickly. It would also help to have every blueprint available as a clean, downloadable PDF in one place, which makes it easier to teach the content to the rest of the team. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering Winning by Design:

Come to each session with a real customer in mind, and bring that same customer all the way through the course. It makes the frameworks stick, and you’ll leave with work you can use right away. Read the full blueprints, not just the overviews. Ask questions about your own business. Alia Pirani was so generous with ideas and helped translate every concept to our world. And if you’re a services business without a subscription model like us, don’t worry that it won’t apply. The CStraining adapts well. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Winning by Design solving and how is that benefiting you?

We recently restructured our Customer Success team and shifted our focus to client retention. As a services business without a subscription model, we didn’t have a clear framework for showing ongoing impact or growing accounts after delivery. Winning by Design’s Customer Success for Impact course (CStraining) gave us that framework. SPICED is now becoming our shared language for sales-to-CS handoffs, so our clients never have to repeat themselves. ACE and connecting the wagons are changing how we run every meeting, and the impact review and storytelling content is helping us cure “impact amnesia” with our clients. I’ve already started applying it, from rethinking our kickoff calls and debriefs to building a story library and a playbook for at-risk accounts. The biggest benefit is that I now have a clear, repeatable approach I can teach to my whole team. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.