Global Digital SMB

Overview of the Global Digital SMB Sales Model

Global Digital SMB Sales Model

All members of the Sales, Support, Billing and Deal Desk teams should familiarize themselves with the Global Digital SMB Model. The model leverages team-level account alignment so SMB customers have a team of SMB Advocates to assist them. Every SMB Advocate on the team is equipped to work with any SMB customer as the sales point of contact. The threshold for Global Digital SMB Accounts is <$30k cARR, <101 employees, and excludes Japan.

Account and Opportunity Ownership

Vision: SMB Accounts will not be owned individually, but by the entire team. This is meant to ensure that SMB customers are supported at the right time, in a scalable way. Each SMB Advocate will have a shared responsibility for collaborating in a customer-centric manner to provide a best-in-class experience to each SMB customer.

Accounts

  • All AMER SMB Accounts are owned by the AMER SMB Sales User.
  • All APJ SMB Accounts are owned by the APJ SMB Sales User.
  • All EMEA SMB Accounts are owned by the EMEA SMB Sales User.
  • Note that in SMB only, EMEA & APJ are considered one territory.

Opportunities

  • All AMER SMB Opportunities are owned by the AMER SMB Sales User.
  • All APJ SMB Opportunities are owned by the APJ SMB Sales User.
  • All EMEA SMB Opportunities are owned by the EMEA SMB Sales User. Advocate owned opportunities will routinely be updated by SMB Ops to the SMB Sales User

High Value Accounts

Some Global Digital SMB Accounts are considered to be High Value Accounts. These accounts, whilst owned by an SMB Sales User, will be managed in a 1:1 relationship between the SMB Advocate and the customer, via Cases.

You can use the criteria below to help determine whether an SMB account is a High Value Account or not.

  • License growth potential
  • Department expansion opportunities
  • Ultimate upgrade potential
  • Advocate wants to build relationship as a top 50 account

For additional information on how to select a High Value Account in Salesforce please reference the (Account Review Doc FY26) [https://docs.google.com/document/d/18vBLcLAKSsSGrav_QUqjt_3zrgqZOvLDVBADPvewa5U/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.3swk9suvcl1e]

Engaging with Global Digital SMB Accounts

Since all Global Digital & SMB Accounts are owned by generic SMB Sales Users, SMB Advocates will only engage with customers when specific customer events / scenarios are triggered. Once one of these defined scenarios is triggered, a case will automatically be created. An SMB Advocate will then be assigned to it, and work it through to completion.

For additional information on how our case routing system works please reference the (SMB Traction User Guide) [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1njy6nuwr-DddF6QzZnfpk5z_9ZCpA_ftk-fPYB_b8cQ/edit?usp=sharing]

Why?

  • Enables Advocates to focus on those SMB customers that require, or would benefit from, sales assistance.
  • Removes low potential customers from view, since these customers will seldom trigger a case.

How?

Cases are automatically created when;

  • A customer requires sales assistance in order to transact.
  • There is a high likelihood a customer will churn / contract.
  • There is a high likelihood that a customer is considering upgrading or adding additional products.
  • If none of the above apply, and the customer is on auto renew, a case will generally NOT be created.

Case Types

The cases that will be auto-created, are split into 5 distinct categories;

Inbound Request - These occur when a customer hand raises, and requests assistance from GitLab.

Renewal Sales-Assist - These occur when the account in question has exhibited signs of low usage/ adoption, payments failed, or the renewal must be processed by an Advocate.

Expansion Opportunity - These occur when the account in question has exhibited signs of growth, and that they are likely to expand.

Non-Renewal Sales-Assist - These occur when customers need assistance with payment issues, requiring outreach to help them update payment methods, renew subscriptions, or access promotional pricing.

Instructions and resources for working each case type are found in the consolidated SMB Case Enablement Deck:

FY26 SMB Advocate Case Instructions and Resources

FY26 SMB Case Triggers

Working with the Global Digital SMB Account Team

If a GitLab team member needs to loop in the Advocate team on a customer Account, they must create a case. (Chatter messages sent to the AMER/ APJ/ EMEA Sales Users are not monitored).

Case Creation How-to Video FY26 SMB/SDR Handover Process

  • Navigate to the end user Account in Salesforce.
  • Hover over Cases, and select New Case.
  • Select SMB Sales Case, from the Record Type dropdown.
  • Add the Contact, to the Contact Name lookup field. (A Lead can also be added, instead of a Contact, however in this scenario, the Account the Lead is matched to must also be manually added to the case. To find the matched account, view the Traction Complete Leads: Account field)
  • Add the Opportunity, to the Opportunity lookup field (if relevant).
  • Describe the ask of the AE in the case Description box. Include any relevant links or resources. (Once the case has been created, you can also upload files e.g. a PO, in the Google Docs & Attachments section at the bottom of the case record).
  • Select a Type that most closely matches the origin of your request. (e.g if you are in Support, select Inbound Request)
  • Set the Priority to High.
  • Complete the Subject field, using one of the below options;
    • Support Ticket (if you are an SE)
    • Partner Opp (if you reside in the Partner org)
    • Referral (if you are in Sales)
    • FO Opp (Startup) if you reside in the Community relation team, and a free customer is ready to transition to paid.
    • AR Request (if you are in AR/ Billing)
    • Note: if you are an SDR creating the case, the Case Subject must be either equal FO Opp, or SDR Created (See Use Case Specifics below)
  • SDR must create a case with the Subject: FO Opp. Note: Please ensure the Account includes a complete Billing Address prior to setting the Record Owner to the AMER/EMEA/APJ Sales User in the Lead conversion screen.
  • This Case will now routed and worked by an SMB Advocate.
  • If a case has not been actioned as per the stated SLA, please chatter the regions ASM on the case to escalate.

Tracking Cases you have created

Once you have created a case, you can easily view its progress by using the report below as a template.

FY26 - Cases created by Department X

  • Click Customize on the report.
  • Click Edit next to the Created by filter.
  • Enter in your name in the free test box. (You can also add the names of your colleagues who will also be creating cases. The names must be comma separated).
  • Click OK
  • Click Save As
  • Choose a relevant name for the report, and save it in your teams folder.

You can now return to this report at any time to check;

  • Who the current case owner is. They can be chattered on the case should you have any questions.
  • Case Status (This should be either Open, In Progress, or Closed)
  • Next Steps (Useful if the case is still set to In Progress)

SMB Advocate Playbook

SMB Advocate Case Workflow

FY26: GDS Case Enablement

  • As of 02/01/2025, all cases will be auto-assigned to Advocates using Traction Complete’s round-robin functionality.
  • Information pertaining to the case will be displayed in the Context, CTA & Description box.
  • An Advocate must then update the Status to In Progress. (This shows the case is being worked).
  • To work the case, the SMB Advocate should contact the customer, with all activities logged on the contact/ account, via Groove. The Next Steps fields on the case should also be updated to include the case next steps/ date.
  • Note: when assigned a case created by a GitLab stakeholder e.g the Support Team, it is crucial that the Advocate updates Next Steps as soon as the case has been actioned. This allows the stakeholder to view case updates, and negates the need for them to chatter the Case Owner requesting an update. Any updates that are requested via chatter, should be answered by the Advocate/ Case Owner within one business day.
  • (If the Advocate is working on an Expansion Opportunity case, any Add On or Growth opp they uncover should be manually created, and linked to the case in question, via the Opportunity lookup field).
  • Once a Case is considered closed, the Status should be set to one of the three Closed options, and the Resolution Action updated. This will automatically update the Date/ Time Closed field.
  • Note: Inbound customer requests must only be marked as closed once the customers needs have been addressed.
  • If applicable, the linked opportunity should also be closed.
  • At any time, an SMB Advocate can view their cases by navigating to the My Cases list view in Salesforce.
  • When working cases, the following Groove cadence should be followed.
    • Day 1 - Email
    • Day 3 - Call
    • Day 5 - Email
    • Day 7 - Email
  • An Advocate should look to resolve/ close a case within 7 days of it being opened. The max time to resolve a case is limited to 15 days (except cases with containing the subject: High Value Account).
  • The Advocate must also adhere to the Required 10, to ensure that the correct case fields and opportunity fields are updated when picking up, working, and closing out a case.

Required 10

The Required 10 acts a to do list which should be followed by all Advocates when picking up and working cases.

FY26: SMB Required 10

Picking Up

Case: Status

  • Should be set to In Progress, (then Closed - Resolved/ Duplicate/ Unresponsive once worked).
  • “Waiting” statuses can be used to indicate a dependency on a business partner team.

Case: Owner

  • Should always be set to the Advocate working the case. Cases can be moved in rare circumstances i.e the end user wishes to converse in a language that you do not speak, but another Advocate does.

Case: Contact

  • Advocate to add/update the main contact, as the case is being worked. If a lead exists on the case, it must be converted to a Contact before the case is closed out.
  • A case cannot be set to Closed Resolved unless a Contact is attached to the case.

Managing

Case: Next Steps & Date

  • To act in the same fashion as Opp: Next Steps. Field is mandatory.
  • Format must be; Date, Advocate Initials, What the Next Step is
    • 2024-07-12 MS Send quote to customer

Account: GitLab Admin added

  • Only for cases related to an opportunity
  • Must be added in order to move opp to closed won.

Related Opportunity

  • If the case involves an open opportunity, it should be linked to case in this field.

Opp: Close Date

  • Only for cases related to an opportunity
  • To help with forecasting. Must not be in the past.

Opp: Renewal Risk Category

  • Only for cases related to an opportunity
  • To help with forecasting
  • If an opportunity is marked as guaranteed churn, please remember to set the stage to Closed Lost

Contact/ Account: Activity

  • Must be logged via Groove on the Contact

Closing

Case: Resolution Action

  • Mandatory when closing out a case.

Opp: Status

  • Only for cases related to an opportunity

  • To mimic the case i.e if the case is closed, the opp should be closed won or lost

Case: Feedback

  • A place where an Advocate can share feedback pertaining to the case itself, or the customers use case. This is mandatory. If there is no Feedback to share, NA should be entered in this field. Next Steps and general comments should not be listed in this field - feedback only.
    • e.g Customer Feedback : “thank you for helping me resolve my problem very quickly”

Case Closure Criteria

Closed - Resolved

  • The Advocate was able to address the customers’ concern/ transact the renewal, and no further action is needed. A case cannot be marked as Closed - Resolved if the Next Steps Date is in the future, and/ or the Contact field on the case is blank.

Closed - Duplicate

  • An Advocate has already addressed the customer’s concern via a similar case.

Closed - Unresponsive

  • After 15 days of trying to contact the end user, no response have been received.

Use Case Specifics

Email to Case

SMB customers are able to email smallbusiness@ in order to speak to an Advocate.

When they do so, an SMB Case will automatically be created and will be routed to an Advocate in AMER/EMEA/APJ.

The subject of the email will be displayed in the Case Subject field, and the email body will appear in the Case Description field.

FAQ

Q. As an Advocate, if I am assigned a case, but there is no contact/ account/ lead attached to the case - how do I know if the case falls into my region?

A. If a customer emails smallbusiness@ and they do not exist in Salesforce as a contact, the contact and account fields will not be populated on the case. When this happens, we have no way of knowing which region the customer resides in.

Traction will attempt to match the person to a Contact or Lead using the Web Email field. If that fails, SMB Ops will be notified to determine where the case should be routed.

Q. If a case is routed to me, but the customer continues to email smallbusiness@, how will I know?

A. Once you have been assigned a case, any future emails from the customer in the same thread will trigger a notification to be sent to the case owner. All emails in the thread are also attached to the case.

Q. If a customer has a new request, but they send an email to smallbusiness@ via an old thread, will a new case be created?

A. No. Unfortunately, the email will be attached to the prior case which is likley to have been closed. In this scenario, the owner of the prior closed case (who will receive a notification of the customers email), should either ask the customer to initiate a new request (by sending a new email to smallbusiness@. This will create a new case, and start a new thread. Or, the Advocate can create a new case on the customers behalf, and work that case.

High Value Cases

Whilst Accounts are always owned by the regions SMB Sales User, High Value Cases attached to accounts are owned by the SMB Advocate.

These cases are to remain open for the entirety of the FY26, even if the customer renews. This means that if a HVA customer renews mid way during FY26, they will be assisted by the same Advocate both pre and post renewal.

These cases act as a reminder that these customers require continual attention and should be worked strategically during the financial year.

The Advocate is advised to build relationships with these customers, understand their journey with GitLab, and identify what we can do to grow the account (Ultimate or Add On licenses) or promote adoption and churn prevention.

The Advocate is advised to schedule ongoing touchpoints, update Next Steps/ Next Steps Date, and create future dated reminder Tasks, so that they plan their outreach throughout the year.

Note that these Accounts will still trigger other cases types, which should be worked and closed out within the 15 day period. Any opp created off the back of these cases i.e If a High Value Check In Case results in an Add On Opp, the opp should be linked to the originating case. Once the opp is closed, the case should be closed. Reminder: The High Value Account case should never be closed.

Note: A High Value Account can be closed out if the customer advises ahead of renewal that they definitely fully churn. Only in this scenario should the case be closed out, and the Resolution Action must be set to Request Not Possible. By setting the Resolution Action to Request Not Possible, future High Value Cases will not be created on the account.

For more information about managing HVA cases over the year, please review this (FY26 SMB Account Planning slide) [https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1zS6nkAUBMg_zpJjRM_dEfdc5uBTjt6RkdoQalndPZ-o/edit#slide=id.g341dcdaeb6b_1_0]

FO Opp (an SDR engages with a net new lead who has been qualified)

Before picking up the case, the Advocate checks that they can attend the meeting (IQM) that appears as an Activity on the Contact record, and in the Next Steps fields. The SDR will be able to see that the case has routed to the Advocate assigned in the IQM.

The below SDR Handover Process steps, and Handover Criteria, detailed below should also be followed by both the SDR and Advocate.

Note: If Prospect is ready to buy (i.e no IQM is required), does not qualify for Advocate support, and is unable to purchase their license via Web (Ex: Multi-Year, Needs PO, Duo Pro, etc), please proceed with the Blocked Purchase Workflow. Criteria here.

Before creating a case, the SDR should convert the lead to a contact, under the customer account. When creating the case, this newly created Contact should be added to the Case. The below SDR Handover Process steps, and Handover Criteria, detailed below should also be followed by both the SDR and Advocate.

FY26 SDR Handover Process

FO Opp Case Example

SDR Created Case Example

The above examples can be used as templates for when an SDR creates a case.

Support Cases

When an Advocate picks up a support case, and the case contains a link to a Zendesk ticket, they must comment in the Zendesk ticket advising that they have picked up the case, and will be reaching out to the customer.

Customer MQL Cases

Whilst working the case, the lead on the case should either be;

  • Converted to a contact under the linked account, if the lead confirms they work at the linked account/ company, AND there is an nARR opportunity.
  • Not converted/ disqualified if the lead does not work at the linked account/ company, OR there is no nARR opportunity.

Expansion Opportunities

If an opportunity is uncovered whilst working an Expansion Opportunity case, a new Growth/ Add On opp should be created, and linked to the case via the Opportunity lookup field. An Add On opp must be created from the prior closed won renewal opp that exists on the account. If the customer is looking to upgrade to Ultimate/ add users at the time of renewal, the existing Renewal opp should be linked to the case. The renewal opp should also be used for any new quotes that are generated.

Case Hygiene

Case SLA

All cases should be picked up and reviewed within 24 hours of being routed and assigned.

Open Case Guidelines

All cases should be worked, and closed out, within a 15 day period (except High Value Account cases).

The above, and other data points, will be tracked on the below dash. Periodically, the info will be presented to the Advocate so that they can ‘clean up their room’.

Due to the high case volume, it is imperative that the Required 10 is followed, so cases do not become stale.

Case Resolution Action Dictionary

  • Answered Question
  • Recommended Resource
  • Transferred To Support
  • Growth Conversation
  • Directed to Online Purchase
  • Completed Sales Assisted Order
  • Request Not Possible
  • No Action Required
  • Failed to Engage

Dashboards, Reports & Enablement Docs

FAQ

  • Q. Will cases be assigned to me everyday?
  • A. Yes, we expect new cases to be created daily, and to total approximately 400 per month.
  • Q. Can I pick up any Case in the queue?
  • A. No, cases will now be routed via Traction and the queue is no longer used. Any case considered a High Value Account will be routed to the corresponding Advocate.
  • Q. How many cases should I work at any give time?
  • A. An Advocate should only own 50 In Progress cases at a time. Once at 50, the Advocate is deemed to be at capacity.
  • Q. Where can I provide feedback on this model/ process?
  • A. Please submit all feedback via the global-digital-smb_feedback slack channel. If you want to share Feedback relating to a specific case, please enter the feedback in the Case: Feedback field.
  • Q. Is additional enablement material available?
  • A. Yes, please see the Dashboards, Reports & Enablement Docs section of this page.
  • Q. As a GitLab Team Member who is not part of the SMB Team, how do I engage with the team?
  • A. Follow the process above entitled Working with the Global Digital SMB Account Team.
  • Q. What happens if the end user speaks a different language than I do?
  • A. Discuss with your manager who might be best placed in the team to handle this case, then switch the Case Owner to that individual. Also add the tag #languagebarrier to the Feedback field on the case. This will allow the SMB Team to track how often language becomes an issue.
  • Q. As an Advocate, if I am assigned a FO Opp case, and discover the customer is actually a MM account, what do I do?
  • A. Follow the below steps;
    • If the FO Opp is still in Stage 0, advise the SDR via Chatter that they should loop in the MM AE.
    • Mark the case as Closed - Duplicate
    • If the IQM has taken place, and you have moved the opp to Stage 1, loop in the relevant MM AE on the opp, via Chatter.
    • Closed the case as Closed - Duplicate.
  • Q. There is no opportunity linked to the case, but I have identified a Growth/ Add On opportunity, what do I do?
  • A. If you discover a Growth opportunity, you should manually create a Growth/ Add On opp and link it to the case via the Opportunity field. If an opp is already attached to the case (Renewal or QSR opp), this opp should be updated to reflect the possible growth.
  • Q. If I am working a case, and the customer advises they are looking to expand but not for 6 months, should I close out the case?
  • A. No, update the Next Steps stating that the customer is open to a conversation in 6 months. Also, change the Next Steps Date to 6 months from todays date, and update the stage of the case to Open. Please remember to leave the open case in your name.
  • Q. I am an AE not in the SMB Org, and a former customer has reached out to me. This customer is now owned by an SMB Sales User. How do I hand this customer over to the SMB Sales Team?
  • A. Follow this process.
  • Q. I just closed won on opp for a SMB Customer, which took them above the $30k CARR threshold. How do I hand this over to MM?
  • A. See this doc. Note that accounts will be moved to MM at the start of the next quarter.
  • Q. When I am working a case, and the customer is interested in speaking in 6 months, do I keep the case open, or close it out?
  • A. In this scenario, the case should remain open and left in your name. To do this;
    • Update the Next Steps on the case, as per your conversation with the customer.
    • Set to Next Steps Date to 6 months from today.
    • Set the Case Status to Open
  • Q. If a prospect/ customer emails me directly requesting assistance, what do I do?
  • A. First check the account to see if there is an In Progress SMB Sales Case owned by a different Advocate. If there is, add the nature of the customers request to the Description field, and chatter the Advocate on the case. If no case is present, and this enquiry represents a nARR opportunity, follow the above process (Working with the Global Digital SMB Account Team.), and assign the case directly to yourself. Note: for general enquiries, you should direct customers to smallbusiness@gitlab.com
  • Q. As an Advocate, when I go on PTO, what happens to my cases?
  • A. Whilst on PTO, your In Progress cases will remain in your name. In your OOO email signature however, you should include the contact details of a fellow Advocate who has agreed to cover you whilst you are away. Ideally, this Advocate should be located in a similar region with similar langauge skills. When a customer emails you (and the Advocate providing coverage), the Advocate providing coverage should assign the active case to themself, and work it through to completion. Also, be sure to follow the standard PTO guideline stated here.

Escalation Paths

Solutions Architect

An Advocate should talk to their Manager to determine if SA support is necessary and available.

Support

Loop in supportteam@gitlab.com, and set the Resolution Action of the current open case to Transferred to Support.

Transitioning Accounts to Mid-Market / Enterprise

Chatter Sales Support, advising that the account in question may need to be re routed to the correct team.

SMB Advocate Onboarding + Enablement

By Case-Type

First Order

Expansion/Upgrade

Churn/Contraction Mitigation

Renewal and TRX Support

Last modified March 19, 2025: Updates to the Global Digital SMB handbook page (951f1d3e)
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