HeyJaredClearPath Conversations
ClearPath Conversations is where customer journeys find direction. Hosted by Mark Bernardin - author of The Path to Green and founder of ClearPath CX - this podcast delivers tactical advice, playbooks, and stories from the front lines of Customer Success.
- Indexed episodes, last 90 days
- 6
- Latest publication
- Aug 28, 2026
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- Earliest in this view
- Jul 8, 2026
Latest episodes
40 - When Renewal Goes Sideways: Recovery Without Panic (opens the original)
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In this episode of ClearPath Conversations, Mark Bernardin closes out the Renewal Mastery series by addressing what happens when a renewal goes sideways despite a strong campaign, solid relationships, and a clear narrative. Mark introduces a five-category framework for classifying renewal failure: administrative delay, commercial pressure, value challenge, scope reduction, and relationship or priority breakdown. Each category requires a different response, and treating every late-stage issue as
39 - The Renewal Risk Audit: What to Check 6 Months Out (opens the original)
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In Episode 39 of ClearPath Conversations, Mark Bernardin breaks down the renewal risk audit: a structured review CSMs should run six months before a customer's renewal date. Mark explains why this window matters more than any other point in the renewal timeline. It's late enough that the renewal feels real, but early enough that the outcome can still be changed. Mark walks through the five dimensions every renewal risk audit should cover: stakeholder health, value clarity, competitive exposure,
38 - Handling Price Objections Without Giving Ground You Will Regret (opens the original)
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In Episode 38 of ClearPath Conversations, Mark Bernardin tackles one of the most consequential moments in the customer lifecycle: the price objection. Mark breaks down why a customer saying "the price is too high" is rarely a single, simple statement. It can signal affordability constraints, unresolved value uncertainty, competitive comparison pressure, or routine procurement posturing, and each version calls for a different response. Treating them all the same way, he argues, is how Customer Su
37 - How to Build a Renewal Narrative That Does Not Depend on ROI Slides (opens the original)
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In this episode of ClearPath Conversations, Mark Bernardin continues the Renewal Mastery series by challenging one of the most common assumptions in customer success: that a strong ROI slide is enough to secure a renewal. Mark argues that ROI graphs and adoption metrics can support a renewal, but they cannot carry it. The real test is not whether the CSM can explain the value. It is whether the customer can explain it without the CSM in the room. Mark introduces a three-layer framework for build
36 - Renewal Is Not a Conversation, It Is a Campaign (opens the original)
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In Episode 36 of ClearPath Conversations, Mark Bernardin kicks off a new mini-series on renewal mastery with a core premise: renewal is not a conversation, it is a campaign. Mark argues that most CSMs treat renewal like a single meeting near the end of the contract, checking in with the account executive, confirming procurement is engaged, and building a few value slides. He calls this what it is: late-stage damage control, not renewal management. By the time the contract date approaches, the cu
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