Renewal & expansion proposal
Builds on Topic 6.
What you'll produce
A renewal & expansion proposal for Brightline Logistics: a one-page internal plan plus the customer-facing recap and recommendation you'll use to turn the renewal into a non-event and grow the account. It pulls together the value Brightline has actually received, surfaces and pre-resolves the concerns that could blow up at the deadline, and makes a justified, value-led upsell/cross-sell ask framed around Brightline's own outcomes. This proves the Topic 6 skills that separate a CSM from a help desk: making renewal feel automatic by demonstrating value, defusing churn risk before the deadline, and driving expansion as a trusted advisor — and tying both halves of the job to Net Revenue Retention (NRR). This is the deliverable where the relationship work becomes revenue, and it's the artifact a hiring manager most wants to see you can produce.
Instructions
- State the renewal facts up front. Write the renewal date, current contract value (ARR), term, the named decision-maker, and the renewal type (flat / at-risk / expansion). For Brightline, you're entering renewal as an expansion play, but the CFO is the gate — say so explicitly.
- Build the value recap from real results, not adjectives. List 3–5 outcomes the customer achieved against the success criteria from Deliverable 1, each with a baseline → current number and, where you can, a dollar or hours figure. Use the same baseline you agreed at kickoff and reported at the QBR — don't quietly reset it to flatter the result. "Empty-mile rate down" is weak; "empty-mile rate 27% → 16%, ~$31k recovered" is a renewal.
- Translate the value into ROI the economic buyer cares about. Compute realized value against the $48k they paid, as a ratio or payback. The CFO bought on a promise of ROI before renewal — hand them the number so they don't have to compute it.
- Surface every concern that could derail the renewal — and resolve each one in writing. For each, name the concern, who holds it, and your specific resolution (not "we'll address it"). Cover at least the obvious one (price/budget) and one adoption or relationship risk. Surfacing a concern before the deadline is the whole point of Topic 6.
- Make the renewal itself frictionless. State the renewal terms you'll propose, the paperwork path, and the timeline so the customer never feels cornered at the deadline. Start early — name the date you'll open the conversation.
- Write the expansion recommendation as a trusted advisor, not a sales pitch. Identify one primary upsell or cross-sell that is justified by a gap you can see in their usage or goals. Tie it to a Brightline outcome, attach a number, and state the price. Add a "not now" item you're deliberately not pushing — restraint is what makes the ask credible.
- Quantify the impact on NRR. Show the math: current ARR, churn/contraction risk, expansion ARR, and the resulting net retention. Name NRR explicitly and state whether this account lands above or below 100%.
- Close with the ask and the next step. One clear recommendation (renew + expand to what, at what price, by when) and the single next action with an owner and date.
Worked example
(Account: Brightline Logistics · RouteIQ route-optimization & dispatch · CSM: you)
Renewal snapshot
- Renewal date: 2026-09-15 (Day 365). Today: Day 305 — 60 days out, opening early per Topic 6.
- Current contract: $48,000 ARR · 12-month term · 15 dispatcher seats (Pro tier).
- Decision-makers: Maya (Head of Operations, champion — wants to renew) · CFO (economic buyer, skeptical, controls the signature).
- Renewal type: Expansion — strong adoption and proven ROI support growth, but the renewal is gated by the CFO's ROI proof, so the plan must lead with the numbers, not the relationship.
Value recap (against the success criteria from the success plan)
Same success criteria, same baseline, traced end to end — the empty-mile line is one continuous story: 27% at handoff → 24% at the QBR → ~16% now, on a path toward Brightline's original 12% goal. The renewal isn't a new pitch; it's the next point on a line the CFO has already watched bend.
| Success criterion | Baseline (handoff) | At QBR (Day ~180) | Now (Day 305) | Realized value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cut empty-mile rate | 27% | 24% | 16% | 11 pts off the 27% baseline ≈ ~$31,000/yr in recovered fuel + driver hours |
| Dispatcher adoption (DAU) | 0 of 15 | 9 of 15 | 14 of 15 daily | Tool is now the system of record, not a spreadsheet |
| Real-time dispatch visibility | None | Partial | Live board, all 15 | ~9 hrs/week of manual status calls eliminated |
| Time-to-value (first win) | — | Day 19 | Day 19 | First route re-optimized live in the kickoff, saved on its first run |
- ROI for the CFO, computed: ~$31k recovered empty miles + ~$11k in reclaimed dispatcher time (9 hrs/wk ≈ 0.25 FTE) = ~$42k of realized annual value against a $48k spend in year one — roughly break-even already, with the savings curve still climbing. Year two, with no onboarding drag, the same run-rate clears the cost outright. That is the renewal sentence: the bet has paid for itself before the renewal date Sales promised it would.
Concerns surfaced and resolved (before the deadline)
- "The price is high for what's still partly a spreadsheet replacement." (CFO.) → Resolution: lead the renewal conversation with the ROI table above; reframe the $48k as a line item that returned ~$42k and is trending up. Offer a 12-month renewal at flat pricing (no increase) to remove price as a renewal objection entirely.
- "One dispatcher (Dave, the senior on nights) still won't use it." (Maya.) → Resolution: 1:1 enablement session booked for Day 312; Dave's resistance is a shift-handoff workflow gap, not the tool — I'll configure a night-shift board view and pair him with the dispatcher who adopted fastest. Closing this also de-risks the "15th seat."
- "What happens if Maya leaves?" (My own risk read — champion concentration.) → Resolution: I've scheduled a working session to bring the CFO's analyst into the next QBR so value is visible to a second stakeholder, not just our champion.
Frictionless renewal mechanics
- Terms proposed: 12-month renewal, 15 seats, flat $48,000 (no increase). Order form drafted and ready to send Day 310.
- Path: Maya confirms intent → I send the order form → CFO signs via e-sign. No re-procurement, no new security review.
- Timeline: Renewal conversation opens Day 305 (now); target signature by Day 345 — a full 20 days ahead of the deadline, so renewal is never a last-minute scramble.
Expansion recommendation (value-led, one ask)
- Recommend: add the Carrier Analytics module — $14,000/yr. Justification, not pitch: Brightline's empty-mile win has plateaued at 16% because dispatchers can't yet see which carriers and lanes drive the remaining empties. Maya has asked twice for lane-level reporting. This module closes that exact gap and is the credible path from 16% toward their original 12% goal — another ~$15–20k/yr in recoverable empty miles. The outcome justifies the spend.
- Deliberately not now: the Driver Mobile add-on ($9k). Drivers aren't a current pain and pushing it would dilute the credibility of the analytics ask. Flagging it as a year-2 idea increases trust in the one ask I am making.
NRR impact (the number executives watch)
- Starting ARR: $48,000. Churn/contraction risk this cycle: $0 (renewing flat). Expansion: +$14,000 (Carrier Analytics).
- Renewed ARR: $62,000. Net Revenue Retention on Brightline = $62,000 / $48,000 = ~129%.
- This single account lands well above 100% NRR — Brightline now grows our revenue without us adding a new logo, which is exactly the CSM-driven growth story from Topic 7.
The ask & next step
- Recommendation: Renew 15 seats at flat $48k and add Carrier Analytics at $14k → $62k ARR, ~129% NRR, signed 20 days early.
- Next step: Day 305 — email Maya to book a 30-minute renewal-and-roadmap call; bring the ROI table and a one-slide analytics-module case. Owner: me. By: tomorrow.
Rubric
The app's AI scores the learner's submission against these criteria and gives feedback. Levels: Needs work (1) / Solid (2) / Excellent (3). Passing = every criterion at Solid or above.
- Value recap grounded in real numbers — 1: adjectives only ("great results"), no baselines · 2: outcomes tied to the success criteria with before/after figures · 3: outcomes quantified and converted into dollars/ROI against the $48k spend, making renewal feel automatic.
- Concerns surfaced and resolved before the deadline — 1: ignores risk or only the price · 2: names the price concern and at least one adoption/relationship risk with a fix · 3: surfaces price, an adoption risk, and a relationship/champion risk, each with a specific, owned resolution.
- Renewal made frictionless and started early — 1: waits for the deadline / no mechanics · 2: states terms and a path · 3: terms, paperwork path, and a timeline that signs ahead of the deadline.
- Value-led expansion recommendation — 1: pushy or unjustified upsell (or none) · 2: one upsell tied to a customer goal with a price · 3: one upsell justified by a visible usage/goal gap, quantified to an outcome, plus a deliberate "not now" that proves restraint.
- NRR impact quantified — 1: NRR not mentioned · 2: names NRR and gives a directional read · 3: shows the ARR math (churn/contraction + expansion) and states the resulting NRR vs. 100%.
- Trusted-advisor framing throughout — 1: vendor/sales tone, sells features · 2: customer-outcome language in places · 3: every recommendation is framed around Brightline's outcomes, positioning the CSM as a strategic partner, not a seller.