From ‘Maybe’ to ‘Yes!’: How to Lock in More Customer Renewals

Raise your hand if this sounds familiar. You've been working your tail off all year. You've been delivering value to your key accounts. You've been hustling, you've been making things happen. You've been fixing mistakes. Everything you could possibly be doing, you have thrown at your accounts. And then it comes time to renewal, and it feels like you're starting from scratch, as if all that good work just evaporated. Why is that? And more importantly, how do you turn renewals into opportunities instead of headaches? Well, that's exactly what we're diving into today in this episode of the camclab podcast. So sit tight. I'm going to be right back. Hello, heroes, and welcome back to the Cam Club Podcast. I'm Warwick Brown, your favorite cam coach, and today we're diving into a topic that is absolutely critical to your success. Renewals. Now, let's be honest. Renewals can sometimes feel like a chore, a headache, a mission. You've been working hard all year. You've been delivering for your customers, and now it's time to talk. Money gets. Feels a bit dirty, bit grubby, a bit like, yuck. Why ruin all those good vibes by asking clients to sign on the dotted line again? But what if I told you renewals aren't just about keeping the account, they're also an opportunity to transform the relationship. So let's break down how to navigate through your conversation like a pro. From the opening dialogue to starting the conversation, to addressing objections and also setting yourself up for success. And don't worry, I'm going to share some practical steps, real world examples, and even some reflection questions to help you think differently about renewals. So grab a coffee, settle in, let's get into it. So let's start at the very beginning, which is a very good place to start. As they say, the foundation of any great renewal conversation is opening the dialogue. Timing is everything here. If you wait till the last minute, or worse, let the client bring it up, you're already behind the eight ball. So instead, I want you to initiate the conversation well in advance. Aim for at least three to six months, maybe longer, you know, depending how complex and big the customer is, before the renewal date. Now, why do I say this? Because this is going to give you time to understand their evolving needs, address any concerns, mobilize any internal stakeholders you might need to support you and position yourself as a strategic partner, not just a vendor. So here's an example of how to start. Hey, client name. As we approach the midpoint or the endpoint, of our current agreement, I'd love to take a step back and discuss how our services are aligning with your evolving business goals. Are there any new challenges or opportunities on the horizon that we should be thinking about now? Notice how that's not a pitch, it's a question. It shifts the focus from the contract to the client's goals, but we have constrained it within the context of that renewal conversation that the agreement is coming to a close. So it still connects the two. It's not just a broad based goal setting, you know, conversation, it's linked to the overall agreement closure and what are we going to do next? In a in a subtle way. And this is where you start to bring in your open ended questions that uncover those hidden needs. Things like what's changed in your business since we started working together? What are your top priorities for the next 12 months? That sort of thing. I have an article called 45 Best Questions to ask your client to get to know them. That might give you a jumping off point for some topics to discuss or some ways to frame your questions. So I shall put a link to that in the show notes which you can find@tkcpodcast.com 048 so think about it. When was the last time you initiated a renewal conversation? How did you approach that conversation? Did you focus on the contract, hey, our contract's ending, what are we going to do? Or did you begin the conversation talking about your client's goals? Now, if you're not sure where to start and talking about the agreement, you know, out of the blue feels a bit awkward. You know, schedule a check in session, right? Schedule a meeting with your client. Frame it as an opportunity to review progress and plan for the future. Trust me, they'll appreciate the proactive approach and then you can start to sound them out about the agreement in subtle ways. Once you've opened the dialogue, it's time to get clear on your objectives for the renewal. Are you aiming for a multi year deal? Are you trying to elevate your status from supplier to preferred partner? Or maybe introduce a price adjustment? There's lots of things you could be looking to achieve with this renewal beyond just getting the client to stick around. So let's break down the main things you might be looking to achieve. Multi year deals if you've been delivering consistent value, a multi year deal can be a win win. It provides a stability for the client and predictable revenue for you and gets you off that cycle of the annual merry go round of contract conversations. So here's a way you could frame that conversation something like We've seen a significant reduction in costs for clients that commit to three year contracts. I'd like to explore this as we progress our renewal conversation. Are you open to that? You might also be looking to move from a supplier to a preferred or even an exclusive partner. This is all about deepening the relationship. So for example, you might want to position this like Given our successful collaboration, we'd like to discuss becoming your preferred supplier in exchange for which we can offer tailored benefits and enhance support. Another thing that might be wrapped up in this is a price adjustment. Particularly if the contract's a little old, it might be time to increase prices and this can be challenging because clients usually expect to renew and to be loyal, they should be getting reduced prices. So if you are inducing a price increase, frame it around the value you've delivered. For example, reflecting on our enhanced service offerings in the current market landscape, we're introducing a price adjustment to ensure continued high quality delivery. The assumption here is that you're reinvesting in your solutions. You're still competitive in the market and in the context of the value you've created, it's a drop in the ocean. So think about which of these objectives or some others that you may have in mind align with your current renewal goals and how will you approach the convers? Always tie your objectives back to your client's needs. So if you are proposing a price adjustment, explain how that additional investment will drive even greater value. Now there is a terrific book on this topic called the Expansion Sale four Must Win Conversations to keep and grow your customers. It's by Eric Peterson and Tim Risterer. It's one of the very few books actually written about existing customer growth versus Acquisition New Business I love this book. I recommend it to everybody. It has incredibly detailed frameworks and examples of how to approach four conversations, the ones you'll have all the time with your customers. So the first is why stay? Why stick around? Why continue to be a partner of ours? The second is price increases. Why pay more? How to justify your price increases? The other is upsell. Why evolve? Because buying different solutions means buy, making changes and then apologies. Why forgive? So it gives you four very clear messaging frameworks around those those key topics that you'll be discussing with your clients over and over and over again. Buy this book Run, Don't Walk Now. To achieve your objectives you will need a solid pre renewal strategy. So here are three things you need to incorporate Value demonstrations so don't assume your client remembers everything you've done for them, you need to remind them. Be explicit about the value you've delivered. Business reviews are a great opportunity to do that, but don't wait. Make sure you use every opportunity to highlight the value you have delivered as a partner. For example, last year we helped you reduce operational costs by 15%. Imagine what we could achieve together over the next three years. Make sure you bring client insights, so leverage feedback to tailor your approach. If the client mentioned a challenge during a previous meeting, make sure to bring it up. Show how you can help solve it. Cast your mind back to those previous meeting notes, to those previous phone calls you've had to the notes in your CRM. Is there anything you've missed, anything you could bring back up or pick up and start to focus on and start to solve? Great way to reaffirm your value. As you're starting to initiate conversations around renewal and internal alignment, make sure everybody on your team is on the same page. You know, let's make sure that sales, customer service, operations, marketing, leadership all know you're trying to renew this customer. What the challenges will be, what the goal is so that there's no confusion, so that they don't undermine your efforts, and so that you're all completely aligned. And also this is a good opportunity to start to plaster over any cracks. Now you should be able to have a renewal conversation even if there are challenges, because one is strategic, one is operational, the two can. You can have two conversations in parallel. It's not about we won't renew until you solve this. It should be, yeah, we renew overall, we see the value. Sure, there might be some problems, but I've got confidence you'll work those out. But if there are any big issues, any major gaps that are pain points for the customer, make sure you tackle those because that can really derail your efforts to renew. And you don't want these casting a long shadow over the conversations you want to have about the strategy and the value and all that kind of stuff. So ask yourself, are you really clearly demonstrating the value to your clients? Are there any gaps and incorporate those into your pre renewal strategy so that you're fully focused. So here are some challenges that you might encounter as you are thinking about renewals. This sort of pre renewal phase, really wait until the last minute. Over and over again I see this. Nobody wants to talk about it. I know that you know that I know that you know that you're renewing at the end of the year and let's just hope it all just kind of slides by and whatever don't wait, don't delay, don't let the client bring up the renewal first because that by the time they bring it up to you, they've already thought about it, they've already got the wheels in motion. You're not the first to know when they want to renew. You're the last to know when they want to renew. So don't be the last to know. Proactively schedule a meeting well in advance to set the agenda, the pace and get a leg up on the negotiations. Resistance to change now, the client might be hesitant, especially if you're trying to change things in the agreement. Change the service configuration, change the pricing, you know, go from annual to multi year deals. Clients might be like why? Why do that? You know, let's just keep things sticking along like they always have. I understand you're happy with the client current arrangement. This is kind of how I would be approaching it, right? I understand you're happy with the current arrangement. But here's why it makes sense for us to make these changes now. And here's how is going to enable us to take things to the next level. You really want to highlight mutual benefits when the client is hesitant. Obviously price sensitivity is going to be an issue. So you need to be flexible to negotiation. Now if you're going to offer a certain level of pricing, think about can you factor in some volume triggers or some tiered pricing or a phased implementation to ease the financial burden or offer an alternative. When I was looking to shift people from one key account like a basically all of our clients were on full service account management and it wasn't sustainable. So I had to go back to some of the smaller accounts and say, listen, either you pay for the more expensive model and you're going to get the white glove key account management service. And we're going to be a strategic partner, we're going to help build out full account plans and help you achieve your goals. Or you can pay the same or less for, but you're going to move into a telephone based model, more reactive, like you call us, we won't call you and a little less proactive, hands on and clients can make a choice. And those options were viable based on the particular client profile. So that's what I mean. I was able to offer an alternative. So pay more and get more, pay less and get less, simple. But what you're on right now is not sustainable. And the other issue that you may come across or the challenge is that you don't know the decision making process or who's involved. Now this is a big one because if you just assume your key contact is the only person, or you don't have the right relationships in place and you don't really know who will be signing off, or they've never heard of you, or they don't know anything about your business, then you're going to be asking for trouble. So if you're not sure who's involved in the renewal decision, ask directly. Just say, hey, can you help me understand who will be involved in this decision? I want to make sure that I'm addressing everybody's concerns, so map out that decision making process early. If you're going to be dealing with multiple stakeholders, start to think about how can you tell your messaging to appeal to everybody's priorities. You know, the CFO might have a different objective or priority versus say the CTO or the procurement person, or the facilities manager or whoever you're dealing with day to day. All right, Cam fam, quick pause here. Free message from our sponsor. And trust me, this one's worth your time. Now listen, if you are a regular listener to the Cam Club podcast, you'll know I almost never have sponsored posts because I only share what I genuinely find valuable. And Intercom's Customer Service Transformation Report 2025 is an absolute must read for key account managers. Staying ahead of customer experience trends is not optional anymore. It's essential. Even if we're not in charge of customer experience or customer support or customer service, we're affected by it in our roles because our customers are affected by it. One of the biggest takeaways from this report is that AI is completely reshaping customer service economics and experiences. A massive 76% of support teams invested in AI last year and surprisingly, customers are embracing it. And what stood out to me from this report is how it dives deep into how we can blend AI with human connection, which I think is a crucial skill for keycap managers as AI takes on more support roles. Knowing how and when to leverage that automation without losing their personal touch is going to be key to maintaining strong client relationships. Now this report isn't just theory. It's packed with practical, actionable insights to help you future proof your key account strategies and understand what customers want and what they're experiencing in the customer service space. I highly recommend you bookmark and read this report and see how AI is transforming customer service and what it means for your key accounts. Now you can check out the link to this report in the show notes@tkcpodcast.com 048 all right, let's get back to the show. Here is the big takeaway from this episode. Renewals are not just about keeping the account. They are an opportunity to transform the relationship. They are an opportunity to reflect on the value you've delivered, understand where the client is headed, and position yourself as a strategic partner. As you prepare for your next renewal conversation, ask yourself, am I just going through the motions? Am I just renewing the contract? Or am I renewing the trust, the value, and the partnership? If you're looking for more help with renewals or anything else related to key account management, then check out the Camp Club. It's the world's most amazing community for key account managers where you'll find courses, guides, templates, community and even one to one coaching with yours truly. Visit the Camp Club to learn more. Thanks for tuning in. Share the episode with somebody that you think will find it valuable and I'm going to see you in another one real soon. Until then, keep crushing it.