Renewal Playbook Skill

This skill produces a complete renewal playbook for a specific customer account, covering health assessment, commercial strategy, negotiation preparation, expansion opportunity mapping, and a step-by-step timeline. Output is ready for the CSM or account team to execute 90–180 days before renewal.

Required Inputs

Ask the user for these if not provided:

Account name
Renewal date
Current ARR and proposed renewal ARR (if different)
Account health — RAG status and main reasons (or describe the account situation)
Key stakeholders — economic buyer, champion, and any detractors
Renewal risk factors — budget pressure, low adoption, competitive threat, champion departure, etc.
Expansion opportunity — any upsell or cross-sell potential?
Contract terms — current plan, duration, and any terms up for renegotiation

Output Structure

Renewal Playbook: [Account Name]

Renewal date: [Date] Current ARR: [£/$/€ X] Target renewal ARR: [£/$/€ X — flat / +X% expansion / contraction risk] Health status: [Green / Amber / Red] CSM: [Name] Account executive: [Name] Days to renewal: [X days]

1. Account Health Snapshot

Dimension	Score (1–5)	Evidence
Product adoption	[X/5]	[e.g. 3 of 5 purchased seats active; core feature used weekly]
Business outcomes	[X/5]	[e.g. Customer reports X% improvement in [metric]; no formal ROI review done]
Relationship depth	[X/5]	[e.g. Strong champion in [name/role]; limited exec sponsorship]
Support & satisfaction	[X/5]	[e.g. 2 open P2 tickets; last NPS 7; no escalations in 6 months]
Commercial engagement	[X/5]	[e.g. Invoice paid on time; no discount pressure raised yet]
Overall health	[X/5 — weighted]	[Green / Amber / Red]

Renewal thesis: [One sentence: why this account will renew — or what must change for it to renew.]

2. Stakeholder Map

Stakeholder	Role	Influence	Sentiment	Our relationship
[Name]	Economic buyer	High	[Positive / Neutral / Negative]	[Warm / Cold / Unknown]
[Name]	Champion	High	[Positive]	[Warm]
[Name]	End user	Low	[Neutral]	[Limited]
[Name]	IT / procurement	Medium	[Neutral]	[Transactional]

Champion risk: [Is our champion secure in their role? Any signals of departure or reorganisation?]

Multi-thread plan: [Who else do we need relationships with before renewal? How do we get there?]

3. Risk Register

Risk	Likelihood (H/M/L)	Impact (H/M/L)	Mitigation
[Budget pressure / cost-cutting]	[H]	[H]	[Build ROI case 90 days out; identify budget holder's priorities]
[Low adoption in [department]]	[M]	[H]	[Run targeted enablement session; tie to champion's OKRs]
[Competitor evaluation]	[M]	[M]	[Request competitive intelligence; schedule exec-level call]
[Champion departure]	[L]	[H]	[Map two additional stakeholders; executive intro call]

4. Value Story

Build the ROI narrative for the renewal conversation:

Headline result: [e.g. "[Account] saved X hours/week or reduced [metric] by X% using [product]"]

Evidence sources:

Product usage data (logins, features used, seat utilisation)
Business metric improvement (pull from QBR deck or success plan)
Support resolution time improvement
Customer-provided testimonial or case study quotes

Value gaps to close before renewal: [Are there outcomes the customer expected but hasn't seen yet? What's the plan to close these?]

5. Expansion Opportunity

Map upside beyond flat renewal:

Opportunity	Type	Estimated value	Likelihood	Timing
[Seat expansion — [dept] wants to add 10 users]	Upsell	[+£X ARR]	[High]	[Renewal or +3M]
[Cross-sell — [Product B] use case identified]	Cross-sell	[+£X ARR]	[Medium]	[+6M]
[Multi-year commitment]	Discount for term	[+£X TCV / -X% discount]	[Low]	[At renewal]

Expansion play: [Which opportunity to lead with, and the sequence for raising it in the renewal conversation]

6. Commercial Strategy

Renewal scenario planning:

Scenario	Probability	ARR outcome	Response strategy
Flat renewal	[X%]	[£X — same as current]	[Accept; plant seeds for +6M expansion]
Expansion	[X%]	[£X]	[Lead with ROI evidence; pitch seat or feature expansion]
Contraction risk	[X%]	[£X — downgrade to lower tier]	[Propose phased commitment; demonstrate path to full adoption]
Churn risk	[X%]	[£0]	[Escalate to leadership; executive sponsor engagement]

Discount guardrails:

Floor discount: [X% — do not go below without VP approval]
Triggers for discount: [Multi-year / volume / reference customer commitment]
What to ask for in return: [Reference case study / G2 review / executive intro / case study participation]

Pricing flexibility:

[e.g. Can offer monthly billing in exchange for 24-month commit]
[e.g. Can offer X seats free in exchange for expansion commitment]

7. Objection Responses

Prepare for the most likely objections:

"The price is too high"

Anchor on value delivered: "[Customer] achieved [X outcome] — at [£X ARR], that's [£Y per outcome / hour saved / user]. What would it cost to deliver that outcome without us?" If budget is genuinely constrained, explore: phased payment, reduction in scope rather than full churn, multi-year pricing.

"We're not seeing enough adoption"

Acknowledge, then commit: "You're right — [X seats] are actively using [core feature] out of [Y]. We want to fix this. Here's our 60-day plan: [exec sponsor on enablement call / training session / in-product nudge campaign]."

"We're evaluating [Competitor]"

Don't panic. Ask: "What's driving the evaluation — is it specific features, pricing, or something else?" Then map gaps honestly. Offer a feature roadmap preview if relevant. Get clarity on their criteria and timeline before responding defensively.

"We need to reduce spend this quarter"

Separate the commercial conversation from the value conversation. Offer to protect the relationship with a reduced scope today with a committed expansion trigger at a business milestone. Avoid discounting without a reason.

8. Renewal Timeline

Week	Action	Owner	Notes
W–16 (4 months out)	Internal renewal review — health, expansion opportunity, risk	CSM	Flag to leadership if Red
W–12	QBR / executive business review — ROI evidence delivered	CSM + AE	Book 45–60 min with economic buyer
W–10	Champion 1:1 — pulse check on satisfaction and upcoming priorities	CSM	Uncover internal dynamics before commercial discussion
W–8	Expansion conversation — plant seeds, share roadmap	AE	Do not lead with pricing
W–6	Send renewal proposal — pricing, terms, options	AE	Include multi-year option
W–4	Negotiation — address objections, finalise commercial terms	AE + CSM	Escalate to VP if >X% discount required
W–2	Legal / procurement — contract redlines, signature process	AE + Legal
W–0	Signed. Handoff to post-renewal success plan	CSM	Thank the champion; begin next cycle

9. Success Criteria

Renewal signed before deadline
ARR outcome within target range
Champion relationship maintained or improved
At least one expansion conversation started
ROI evidence documented and accepted by customer

Quality Checks

Stakeholder map includes the economic buyer — not just the champion
Risk register has a mitigation for every H/H risk
Value story uses product data and business outcomes, not just feature lists
Commercial strategy includes a floor discount and a reason-to-discount framework
Timeline starts at least 90 days before renewal date
Objection responses are specific to this account, not generic

Anti-Patterns

Do not start renewal conversations less than 90 days before the renewal date for accounts over $50K ARR
Do not build a renewal strategy without first honestly assessing account health — wishful thinking leads to last-minute churn
Do not treat all renewal objections as negotiating tactics — some objections signal genuine dissatisfaction that requires resolution first
Do not offer discounts as the first response to price objections — explore value gaps before reducing price
Do not close the renewal without confirming the expansion opportunity — every renewal is also an expansion conversation

Example Trigger Phrases

"Build a renewal playbook for [Account Name] renewing in [Month]"
"Help me plan the renewal strategy for an at-risk customer"
"Prepare a renewal brief for my QBR with [Company]"
"What's my renewal strategy for a Red account coming up in 60 days?"
"Create a renewal and expansion plan for [Account]"

Renewal Playbook