Renewal readiness
Objective. Score a renewal honestly ahead of the commercial conversation - outcomes delivered, risks open, roadmap boundaries and expansion handoff - so nothing surfaces as a surprise at the table.
A readiness checklist that forces a clear-eyed look at an account before renewal: did we deliver the outcome we promised, is adoption real, what risk is still open, and where does commercial ownership sit. It keeps you from walking into a renewal on optimism and from over-promising on roadmap. Fill it a quarter out, not a week out.
What it is and when to use it
Renewal readiness is a self-honest scorecard you complete well before the renewal date - ideally one quarter ahead, so there is time to fix what it exposes. Use it for every renewing account and as the input to the sales-CSM renewal partnership. It is not the commercial negotiation itself (pricing and terms follow internal commercial ownership) - it is the evidence and risk picture that the renewal conversation stands on. A green scorecard earns a clean renewal; a red one is a signal to act now, not to spin.
The checklist - copy this
Renewal readiness - <customer>, renewal date <date>
Score each: Green / Amber / Red, with one line of evidence.
- Outcome delivered: did we move the agreed success-plan metric, customer-validated?
- Adoption real: are the agreed routines run by the agreed people, now, not just at go-live?
- Value evidenced: is there a QBR-grade number the sponsor owns (capacity and cash separate)?
- Sponsor health: is the original sponsor still in place and engaged? (sponsor change = risk)
- Open risks / escalations: any unresolved dispute, blocker or support issue?
- Entitlement vs usage: are they using what they pay for? under- or over-using?
- Roadmap exposure: any promise outstanding that depends on an unshipped feature? (confirm with product)
- Expansion signal: any unmet objective that is a clean expansion, handed to sales?
- Commercial owner engaged: does the account owner know the renewal timeline and risks?
Overall readiness: Green / Amber / Red - and the single most important action before renewal.
How to fill it
Be strict with Green: it means evidenced and validated, not 'probably fine'. For 'outcome delivered' and 'value evidenced', point to the QBR worksheet - if there is no customer-owned number, that line is Amber at best. 'Sponsor health' is the most common silent killer: a sponsor change resets trust, so mark it Red and plan a re-introduction rather than assuming the relationship carries over. For 'entitlement vs usage', note both directions - under-use is a renewal risk and a training trigger; over-use or usage of something not entitled is a commercial conversation, not something to quietly allow. Keep roadmap exposure honest: list any promise riding on an unshipped feature and confirm its status with product before the renewal, never at the table. End with one action - the single thing that most changes the renewal outcome.
Honest caveat
This scorecard assesses readiness; it does not set price, terms or packaging - those follow internal commercial ownership, and you should not pre-commit them. A green technical picture does not guarantee a renewal (budget and priorities can move), and a red one does not mean churn is certain - it means act now. Do not use roadmap items to save a renewal unless they are confirmed with product, and never present a feature as 'coming' to close a renewal when its status is unknown. Expansion signals are handed to sales with the same qualification discipline as any other opportunity, not bolted onto the renewal to inflate it.
Interpretation check
Renewal readiness is an honest risk-and-evidence picture, not the commercial deal. Green means evidenced and validated; a sponsor change or an unshipped-feature promise is a risk regardless of how warm the relationship feels, and roadmap items are confirm-with-product, never a closing lever.
Practical task
Complete the full scorecard for a real account renewing within two quarters. For every Amber or Red, write the specific action and owner, and confirm the account's commercial owner has seen it.
Self-check
What does a Green on 'outcome delivered' require?
A customer-validated movement on the agreed success-plan metric - a QBR-grade number the sponsor owns - not a general sense that things are going well.
Why is a sponsor change marked as a risk even when the account seems healthy?
Because trust and context sit with the original sponsor; a new one resets the relationship, so it needs a planned re-introduction rather than an assumption that goodwill carries over.
An outstanding promise depends on an unshipped feature. How is it handled at renewal?
Confirm its status with product before the renewal and present only what is confirmed. Never use an unconfirmed roadmap item as a lever to close the renewal.
The scorecard is all green. Does that guarantee the renewal?
No. It strongly supports it, but budget and priority shifts are outside it; pricing and terms follow internal commercial ownership, which this tool does not set.
Verified vs demo. A process tool with no product claims of its own. Any value figure it references is the customer's own QBR-grade number, and roadmap and commercial items are confirm-with-product / internal-commercial-ownership respectively.