── SKILL
renewal-negotiation✓ APPROVED

Walk into the renewal with a plan, not a flinch.

The value recap, price and term options, the concession ladder, and the answer to 'we want a discount,' protecting net retention.

Inside: The value recap, the options, the concession ladder, and the floor.

01 / HOW TO USE

Install it in one line, or paste it in.

1
In Claude Code (one command)
Copy the install line, paste it into your terminal, and restart Claude Code. The skill installs itself to ~/.claude/skills/ and runs automatically when it is relevant.
2
In Claude, ChatGPT, or a Project (no terminal)
Open the file, then upload it to your chat or paste its contents in. A skill is just a markdown file of instructions, so any capable AI can follow it.
New to skills? A skill is a plain-text file that teaches your AI a workflow. Point any capable assistant at it and it follows the steps, on your data.
02 / MAKE IT YOURS

Connect your context. Set it to your motion.

CONNECT YOUR CONTEXT · AND WHY IT HELPS
a CRM

pulls the contract value, the renewal date, the history, and any expansion in play.

a product-analytics tool

turns "they get value" into the adoption numbers that make holding price defensible.

a meeting or email tool

surfaces what the customer has already said about price, so the ladder starts from reality.

SET IT TO YOUR MOTION

This was built for a B2B SaaS org protecting net revenue retention. Set these to your stack:

Run any pricing model you like. The skill trades value for concessions in a set order, so point it at your own floor and levers, not anyone else's.

Set thisWhat it isDefault / Example
CRMyour CRM connectoryour CRM of choice
ANALYTICSyour product-analytics connectora product-usage tool of your choice
PRICE fieldthe current contract valueARRlist pricecurrent term
TERM_OPTIONSthe shapes you can offer1-yearmulti-yearmonthly to annual
CONCESSION_LADDERwhat you trade, in orderterm for pricevolume for rateroadmap for logo
FLOORthe price you will not go belowyour NRR-protecting minimum
NRR_TARGETthe retention you are defendingnet revenue retention goal
03 / THE FULL SKILL

Everything the skill does, in full.

── WHAT THIS DOES

Prepares you for the renewal conversation before the customer sets the terms. It recaps the value they actually got, lays out the price and term options you can offer, builds a concession ladder so you give ground in order instead of in panic, and scripts the answer to the discount ask. The goal is not to win a fight. It is to protect net retention while keeping the customer glad they stayed.

── THE METHOD
  1. 1
    Value recap first

    Never open a renewal on price. Open on what they got. Lead with the adoption and the outcomes, so the number that follows sits on a foundation of value already delivered. A customer reminded of the value argues less about the price. Keep the exact figures ready and round to human scale when you say them out loud.

  2. 2
    Price and term options

    Offer a shape, not a single number. A flat renewal, a multi-year at a better rate, a monthly-to-annual switch. Options give the customer a decision to make instead of a price to fight. The one you want them to pick sits in the middle, framed as the sensible choice.

  3. 3
    The concession ladder

    Decide, before the call, what you will trade and in what order. Trade term for price. Trade volume commitment for a better rate. Trade a case study or a reference for a small credit. Every concession buys you something back. You never give a discount for nothing. Walk down the ladder one rung at a time, slowly.

  4. 4
    The discount answer

    When "we want a discount" lands, do not flinch and do not fold. Acknowledge, re-anchor on value, then convert the ask into a trade from the ladder: "We can get closer to that number on a two-year term." A discount given freely trains the customer to ask again next year. A discount earned through a trade protects the relationship and the number.

  5. 5
    The floor and the walk line

    Know the price you will not cross, tied to your net retention target. Below the floor, the renewal stops being worth the terms. Name it in prep so you do not discover it live. Most renewals never reach the floor. Knowing where it is keeps you calm above it.

── QUALITY GATES
  • The value recap comes before any price discussion. Always.
  • No concession without something traded back. No free discounts.
  • The floor is named in prep, before the conversation, tied to the retention target.
  • Concessions come off the ladder in order, one rung at a time, never in a jump.
  • Value claims are sourced from real adoption, never asserted to win the point.
── OUTPUT (EXAMPLE)
EXAMPLE OUTPUT
RENEWAL NEGOTIATION, prep
Current: 1-year, list price. Renewal in 45 days. Customer signaled a discount ask.

Value recap (lead here)
  Deeply adopted across the team, key workflow now runs on the product.
  Outcome they wanted is measurably closer (illustrative).

Options to present
  A) Flat 1-year renewal at list.
  B) 2-year at a modest rate improvement.   <- steer here
  C) Expanded seats at a volume rate.

Concession ladder (in order)
  1. Better rate ONLY in exchange for a 2-year term.
  2. Small credit ONLY in exchange for a case study.
  3. Volume rate ONLY in exchange for more seats.
  Floor: the NRR-protecting minimum. Do not cross it.

"We want a discount" answer
  "Understood. Given the value your team is getting, I can improve the rate
   on a two-year commitment. Want me to put that shape together?"
── WHERE THE NUMBERS COME FROM

The floor, the term options, and the ladder order are yours to set, tied to your net retention target. The example figures are illustrative, not benchmarks. Real levers come from your pricing and your margin. The structure does not change. The numbers are yours.

── EXAMPLE CHAT
EXAMPLE CHAT
You
They're asking for a discount on the renewal. Current is 1-year at list, 45 days out. Help me prep.
CLAUDE
Built the prep. Lead with value, not the number. RENEWAL NEGOTIATION, prep Value recap (lead here) Deeply adopted across the team, key workflow now runs on the product. Options to present A) Flat 1-year renewal at list. B) 2-year at a modest rate improvement. <- steer here C) Expanded seats at a volume rate. Concession ladder (in order) 1. Better rate ONLY in exchange for a 2-year term. Floor: the NRR-protecting minimum. Do not cross it. "We want a discount" answer "Understood. Given the value your team is getting, I can improve the rate on a two-year commitment. Want me to put that shape together?" The rule this enforces: no concession without something traded back. If you'd asked me to just build "the discount," I'd have pushed back and built the ladder instead, because a free discount trains them to ask again next year.
You
What if they push past option B and still want a flat discount, no term trade?
CLAUDE
Then you move to rung two, a small credit only in exchange for a case study or reference, still a trade, never free. If they push past that, you're near the floor, and the floor is where you stop, not where you improvise. Sharpener: connect your product-analytics tool and I'll swap the "deeply adopted" claim for the real adoption numbers, so the value recap is exact instead of a description.
04 / GO FURTHER

Where an operator takes this next.

The prep gets you into the room calm. Here is the version that keeps you calm every renewal, not just this one.

You walk in with the ladder already built instead of improvising it live.

01
Trigger prep automatically at 45 days out

Schedule a Claude task off your CRM's renewal-date field so the negotiation plan is built before the customer brings up price.

02
Ground the value recap in real usage

Connect Amplitude so the adoption story pulls actual numbers instead of a CSM's memory of how the account is doing.

03
Log every concession given

Write each trade back to Salesforce so next year's negotiation starts knowing exactly what was already given away.

05 / PART OF A BIGGER PLAY

One skill is the on-ramp.

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