Consistently track renewals to on-time completion, and ensure wins and learnings are shared across the organizations.
Summary
Once the program is set up, this is the high-level workflow for your teams:
✨Forecast upcoming renewals
There are several ways to track renewals; this program considers the following:-
Renewal Forecast: CSM or RM pulse check on likelihood for renewal.-
Requirements to Renew: CSM or RM detail on renewal requirements.✨Send proactive outreach to prepare for renewal
Send an email from the CSM to the customer (program owner) to schedule a renewal meeting or simply notify of auto-renewal (as applicable).✨Provide visibility for renewal planning
Create an account layout to capture your renewal planning details.✨Document renewal outcomes
Provide note templates to capture renewal details, celebrate when a renewal is won, and gather more information when a renewal is lost.Setup Summary
Ready to get started? You can customize this program as you see fit. Here is the setup process for an "Renewal" program:
-
Define fields
Identify the renewal details you want to track. -
Create note templates
Facilitate your team's input of renewal details. -
Create an account-level layout
Create an account layout to forecast your renewals and expansions. -
Build playbooks
Build a playbook to notify customers of upcoming renewals. -
Roll out your new program!
Schedule supporting meetings and train your team on expectations.
1. Define fields
Fields within Catalyst allow you to define the renewal details you want to track.
Add the following fields on the Opportunities object.
| Field | Description | Type |
|---|---|---|
|
Renewal Forecast Non-synced |
The RM or CSM will update this when they receive material news from their customer about a specific renewal. Expectation: Update ad hoc as conversations unfold. | Picklist: 0 - Known Churn 1 - Likely to Churn 2 - Likely to Renew 3 - Will Renew |
|
Requirements to Renew Non-synced |
CSM includes context around what needs to be true in order for the customer to renew. Expectation: Update as needed and include a date at the beginning to provide context. | Rich Text Area |
Note fields
Add the following picklist values to the notes category:
| Label / Unique ID | Description |
|---|---|
|
Renewal Renewal |
A note category for renewal activities. |
|
Celebration Celebration |
A note category for renewal celebration for purposes of publishing to Slack. |
2. Create note templates
Note templates help facilitate your team's input during renewal phases.
Create a new note template. This template helps your team start a renewal process. It includes the necessary opportunity fields to update without going back to Salesforce and ensures the renewal motion moves forward.
| Note Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Title | Renewal - Kickoff & Proposal |
| Category | Renewal |
| Body |
Purpose: This note is to capture information gathered during any commercial discussion. Deck Template: The Renewal kick-off template can be found here. 1. Make a copy 2. Save that copy to your customer folder 3. Complete the template and share it with the customer 4. Continue to update this deck as you have follow-up conversations Current Contract Considerations: *Include new field lines by using the /field shortcut Renewal Date Contract Value Upsell Opportunity Contract Signed Date Current Health: *Include new field lines by using the /field shortcut CSM Sentiment Numeric Health Score Churn Risk Fields to Update: *Include new field lines by using the /field shortcut Amount Next Steps Close Date Stage Name Milestones: *Create tasks linked to the account using the /task shortcut Renewal Milestone: Proposal Alignment Due Renewal Milestone: Contract Signing Date |
Create a new note template. This template provides visibility to the rest of the organization when a renewal is closed - won (based on the Celebration category).
| Note Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Title | 🎉 Closed Renewal/Expansion |
| Category | Renewal, Celebration |
| Body |
Remove before publishing Purpose: This note is to capture the key reasons for renewal and/or expansion so that they can be communicated to the business. ✨ This customer has committing their dollars to our business because they're seeing value! ✨ *Include new field lines by using the /field shortcut Additional context for this win:
|
Create a new note template. This template helps you document learnings from the customer around what could have been improved, if anything, and additional insights to create a feedback loop for your team, and your organization
| Note Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Title | 🥺 Exit Interview |
| Category | Renewal |
| Body |
Purpose: To capture insight around the customer decision to not renew Catalyst. Remember to include the Product Marketing Manager in this interview! This customer has decided to leave Catalyst. We've asked a few key questions below to understand more: 1. What were the key factors that played a role in your decision to leave? |
4. Create an account layout
Create an account layout to capture your success planning and EBR preparation details.
Create this layout to help your team update renewals and expansions.
5. Build playbooks
Create the following playbook to send an email to the account stakeholder(s) prior to the renewal. This example provides options for branching the emails / delays based on customer segment.
| Item | Details | Other |
|---|---|---|
| Playbook Properties | Name: Renewal Reminder Type: Accounts |
- |
|
Entry Conditions Customers enter playbook for these reasons. |
AND: -Type: Customer -Renewal Date: Within the next 120 days |
Allow Manual Entry: Yes |
|
Branch: Enterprise + MM | SMB Customer filters |
||
| Enterprise + MM | Segment: Is any of Enterprise, Mid-Market | |
| SMB | Segment: Is SMB | |
|
Branch: Enterprise + MM > Health | Unhealthy Customer filters to send different email contents based on health. |
||
| Healthy -Health: Healthy |
Renewal reminder (Manual) See example |
|
| Unhealthy -Health: Is any of Neutral, At Risk |
Renewal reminder (Manual) See example |
|
|
Delay: SMB Assuming our SMB segment is on auto-renewal, they may not need as much advanced notice and don't require a meeting. |
||
| Wait for a fixed amount of time: 30 days | Renewal reminder (Automated) | |
6. Roll out your new program!
When you're ready, you can enable your playbook and roll out the program to the team. Here are some recommendations for initial training to ensure the program is successful.
Set aside training time for CSMs to learn the new process. Be sure to include:
- Goal of the new program and expected benefits
- What actions are required and expectation for completion
- Support resources for the new program
Try this starter template to build your training deck.
- CSM/Customer meetings: Keep renewal requirements updated if any come up during day-to- day meetings
-
Renewal kickoffs and follow-up meetings: Preparation should involve both the CSM and whomever is owning the renewal to ensure all of the context is included in the kickoff meeting.
Recommended agenda (45 minutes):- Intros and thank yous
- What success looks like
- Current contract
- Proposal
- Next steps
Try this starter template to build your renewal deck.
Consider pushing published "Celebration" notes to a dedicated Slack channel for cross-functional visibility. If you haven't already connected your Slack account with Catalyst, you'll need to be logged on as a Slack admin to authorize the connection. Once connected, you can add a new workflow based on the "Celebration" note category.