Customers Buy Based on Hope, they Renew Based on Experience.

Customers buy based on hope, they renew based on experience.

Both Sales and CS are ALWAYS SELLING.

Most of the talk around Sales and CS is about how different they are.

We need to flip that script.

They’re both in the business of closing deals.

–> Sales closes deals based on promises MADE.

–> C closes deals based on promised KEPT.

So why do Sales deals start at 0%, and CS deals start at 100%?

You’re always starting over.

A basic Sales pipeline might look like this…

1️⃣ Discovery (25%).
2️⃣ Needs Analysis (50%).
3️⃣ Proposal (75%).
4️⃣ Verbal (90%).
5️⃣ Closed/Won (100%).

Sales’ job is to actively shepherd prospects through the stages.

Until a new deal is done.

And yet when that deal is signed, a renewal opportunity is created at 100%.

WTF?

Your renewal pipeline should work just like Sales.

It might look something like this…

1️⃣ Outcomes Defined (25%).
2️⃣ Time-to-Value in First 30 Days (50%).
3️⃣ Outcomes Verified with Stakeholders (75%).
4️⃣ Verbal (90%).
5️⃣ Closed/Won (100%).

You don’t start assuming the customer will renew.

You take customers through a process that proves what you promised.

The fastest way for CS to prove it can handle its new commercial responsibilities is to borrow from Sales.

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.