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Headspace is one of the most recognized names in mindfulness, having spent over a decade helping people improve their mental health with its guided meditation platform.
While most people know Headspace as a mindfulness app for individuals, fewer realize it’s also a powerful tool businesses use to support their employees. As head of the Client Success team in the UK, Célia Bellucci’s role involves looking after those accounts and helping them to get the most out of the platform.
Célia has been with Headspace for over four years, leading a team that manages all non-US client partnerships. These include a wide mix of businesses, from mid-market to large enterprise, all of whom integrate Headspace as part of their employee wellbeing strategy.
However, with growing competition and changing client expectations, that role has become more complex than ever.
When Headspace first launched in 2010, the idea of a mindfulness and meditation app was still a novel concept. Since then, hundreds of apps have launched in that space, with more solutions launching all the time.
“The mental health benefit space is very crowded,” explains Célia. “We have a lot of competitors, some direct, some indirect. We also compete with employee assistance programs (EAP) because we are more than a mindfulness app; we’re also providing a lot of additional mental health support. We’re definitely in a good position, but we have tough competition.”
With more competitors every day, Célia’s role has evolved. While the team historically focused on client success and renewals, that has expanded to include driving commercial growth through upselling, cross-selling, and deepening strategic partnerships.
This hybrid role—part customer success, part sales—posed a unique challenge.
The team needed the skills and the confidence to handle more complex sales conversations. They needed to be able to ask the right kind of questions and spot potential growth opportunities. At the same time, they had to do so in a way that kept the empathy and support that are a core part of Headspace’s identity.
On top of that, the increase in remote work after COVID had made things trickier. The team was often speaking to just one person in a client company, without knowing if anyone else in the company was even aware of the conversation.
“I wanted to ensure that we weren’t just providing client support, but also looking at growth,” says Célia. “So, how do we empower our team to have this growth mindset, to have the right sales skills, to be able to upsell? We needed training.”
Célia looked at a few different sales enablement providers before a team member recommended she meet up with Aaron and Raff at Flow State. “I just really enjoyed the conversation,” says Célia. “They were really helpful and took the time to understand our company and our needs.”
As a result of that initial discussion, Célia decided to go ahead and bring Flow State in to support her team’s growth.
Célia and Flow State discussed the importance of discovery discussions, one of the sales skills that Célia felt could be improved. Together, they co-created a custom program focused on mastering discovery, helping the team learn to ask deeper, more strategic questions to uncover the client’s needs.
Following that conversation, Flow State came back with several ideas that they then worked alongside Célia to develop and tailor to the Headspace team. “It was very conversational and I knew it would be quite a fun interactive thing to do with the team,” explains Célia. “Obviously, you want to train them, but you also want them to have a nice time so that they’re more likely to remember what they learn.”
After confirming what the training would cover, Flow State delivered in-person sessions, with Raff leading an interactive discussion on discovery.
Team members were actively involved with the training, asking questions and practicing what they’d learned. All the exercises were built around real client scenarios, so the team could apply the training right away.
“Raff has a good way of holding your attention,” says Célia. “He wasn’t just delivering information; he was making us think and, most importantly, making us question the way we think. That led to the whole team interacting and engaging with him well.”
After the initial training session, Flow State continued to support the team and reinforce what they’d learned. For example, Aaron and Raff set up a shared Slack channel where team members could post questions, revisit frameworks, and seek advice.
“Overall, I really felt that we were supported through the whole journey and not just one session,” says Célia.
The Headspace team began using what they learned in their daily work. They revisited their accounts, proactively identified upsell opportunities, and became more intentional in discovery conversations.
In addition, Célia set up further internal training and follow-up sessions. Whenever the team closes a deal, win or lose, they review what they’ve learned. They set up a more rigorous Salesforce agent, updated their sales playbook to include more guidance on discovery, and implemented regular demo training sessions together.
While transformation takes time, the sales enablement and training has already had a positive impact.
By equipping the team to uncover deeper client needs, they’ve generated more meaningful opportunities for expansion. Deals entering the pipeline now reflect genuine interest, meaning they’re more likely to close. “We see more deals coming in our pipeline that are better qualified,” says Célia. “We definitely have a higher-quality pipeline.”
In addition, Headspace has seen a tangible uptick in closed upsell business. This is especially significant as the company integrates new products. The sales team had rewritten their upsell playbook after merging with another company, and the Flow State training helped bring that to life. They’re seeing more upsell deals close, with more progressing strongly.
The team still faces tough competition, but with the work they’re doing internally and with the help of external expertise like Flow State, Headspace can provide their clients with a better service and outshine any rivals.
“There was an element in the training around asking the right questions and helping your client to think about their wellbeing strategy,” explains Célia. “It’s like having a consultative session. You need to understand their own interest rather than plough on with your pitch. That’s where you can start differentiating yourself from competitors.”
As Headspace plans for the future, Célia sees this work as foundational. The team is refining its go-to-market strategy, exploring more ways to deepen existing client relationships, and pushing to globalize offerings across regions and languages.
While the team is currently focused on closing the new, healthier pipeline they’ve generated, they’ll be looking at bigger, stickier partnerships in the future. Flow State’s training will remain a key component of this evolution, especially as Headspace looks to scale sales efforts and support larger enterprise clients across APAC and beyond.
Célia endorses Flow State to anyone looking for consultative sales advice, pipeline strategy support, or practical team training. “I view Flow State as a good partner to advise on building pipelines.
If you require specific training with a relaxed and interactive atmosphere, guaranteed to engage your team, then I would definitely recommend them.”
For other client success managers, Célia offers this advice: “Always stay attentive to what’s going on in the marketplace and industry. Partnering with a company like Flow State is a great way to ensure that you stay abreast of how and why the market is evolving. This training was for my team, but I also benefited.”
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