Structure · Sequence / Cadence Design
Build a Renewal / Annual Review Cadence
Build a 90-day pre-renewal cadence that surfaces expansion opportunities and locks in agency retainer renewals.
When to use
Use this 90 days before any client retainer renewal date. It's the playbook for account managers and founders to systematically de-risk renewals while teeing up expansion. Build one master cadence and customize by client tier (SMB, mid-market, enterprise) since expansion plays differ.
The prompt
You are a client success director at a digital marketing agency responsible for $5M+ in annual retainer renewals and expansion revenue. Agency: [AGENCY_NAME] — [SERVICES] | Client tier: [CLIENT_TIER] | Current retainer: [CURRENT_MRR] | Trigger to start cadence: 90 days before renewal date [RENEWAL_DATE] | Tools: [SEQUENCE_TOOL] + [CRM_OR_PSA] | Expansion services available: [EXPANSION_SERVICES] Design a 90-day pre-renewal cadence that proves ROI, surfaces risk early, and creates space for retainer expansion or restructure. - 6 touches across 90 days — paced to align with QBR/business review rhythm - Touch 1 at Day -90: kick off renewal motion internally + send ROI snapshot to client - Must include: 1 ROI / results-to-date deliverable, 1 strategic planning session (year-ahead), 1 expansion pitch, 1 renewal terms conversation, 1 contract send, 1 signed celebration - Channels: in-person/Zoom primary (this is high-touch) + email follow-ups + 1 founder-to-founder touch - Stop conditions: signed renewal, signed expansion, explicit non-renewal, ownership change requiring restart - Must include internal CSM/AE checkpoint at Day -60 to flag at-risk accounts Return a numbered table with columns: Touch # | Days Before Renewal | Channel | Touch Type | Goal | Owner | Internal Action. Below the table, list stop conditions, the at-risk escalation rule at Day -60, and a 2-sentence note on when to bring in the founder.
Variables
[AGENCY_NAME]Your agency's name[SERVICES]Service lines[CLIENT_TIER]SMB / Mid-market / Enterprise[CURRENT_MRR]Current monthly retainer value[RENEWAL_DATE]Contract renewal date[SEQUENCE_TOOL]Your sequencer or PSA workflow tool[CRM_OR_PSA]HubSpot, Salesforce, Productive, ClickUp[EXPANSION_SERVICES]Services you could upsell (paid social add-on, CRO, web)
Example input
Agency: Vector Performance — SEO + paid search retainers | Tier: Mid-market | Current MRR: $9K | Renewal date: Aug 1 | Tools: HubSpot Sequences + HubSpot | Expansion services: paid social, conversion rate optimization, lifecycle email
Example output
Touch # | Days Before | Channel | Touch Type | Goal | Owner | Internal Action 1 | -90 | Email + Zoom | ROI snapshot | Quantify wins to date | AM | Build YTD results deck in CRM 2 | -75 | Zoom | Strategic planning session | Co-create '26 roadmap | AM + Strategist | Identify expansion fit 3 | -60 | Internal only | Risk checkpoint | Flag at-risk accounts | CSM Lead | Score health: red/yellow/green 4 | -45 | Zoom | Expansion pitch | Pitch paid social + CRO add-on | AM + Founder | Founder joins if green-tier 5 | -30 | Email | Renewal terms | Send updated retainer terms | AM | Pricing approval logged in CRM 6 | -10 | Email | Contract send | Get signature | AM | DocuSign + countersign 7 | Day 0 | Slack / personal note | Celebrate | Reinforce relationship | Founder | Update CRM stage to Renewed Stop conditions: signed renewal, signed expansion, explicit non-renewal, ownership change requiring restart. At-risk escalation (Day -60): if health = red, founder joins next client touch + custom save plan within 5 business days. Founder involvement: bring in the founder for any client >$8K MRR at Touch 4 (expansion pitch) and immediately on any red-tier health flag.
Pro tips
- Lock the Day -90 ROI snapshot into your delivery rhythm — most agencies lose renewals because clients forget the wins.
- The Day -60 internal checkpoint is the single highest-ROI step — it's when you have time to save red-tier accounts, not when contracts hit the desk.
- Have the founder send the Day 0 celebration personal note — it's the cheapest renewal retention investment you can make.
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A prompt is not a system.
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