expansion-plan

Plan expansion for $ARGUMENTS.

Process (sequential — do not skip steps)

Step 1: Health Prerequisite Check (MANDATORY)

Expansion only happens with healthy customers. Verify before proceeding:

• Composite health score >= 70 (Healthy or strong Neutral)
• No active churn signals
• Customer has achieved stated goals or is on track
• Relationship is strong — responsive, engaged, sponsor identified

If health is below threshold: STOP. Fix the health first. Run /health-assessment to diagnose. Proposing expansion to an unhealthy customer accelerates churn.

Step 2: Identify Expansion Signals

Look for organic signals that the customer is ready for more:

Signal	What it means	Expansion type
Hitting usage limits	They need more capacity	Upgrade — more volume, higher tier
Requesting higher-tier features	They see value in advanced capabilities	Upsell — demonstrate the specific feature
Team size growing	More users need access	Seat expansion — frame as team enablement
New use cases emerging	Product stickiness increasing	Cross-sell — adjacent products or modules
Executive engagement increasing	Strategic importance growing	Contract expansion — multi-year, broader scope
Referrals or advocacy	Customer is a promoter	Referral program + case study opportunity

Rules:

• At least 2 signals should be present before initiating expansion conversation
• Signals should be organic (customer-driven), not sales-driven
• Document specific evidence for each signal (dates, usage data, quotes)

Step 3: Quantify the Opportunity

Metric	Value
Current ARR	[$]
Expansion type	[Upgrade / Upsell / Cross-sell / Seat expansion]
Estimated expansion ARR	[$]
Confidence	[High / Medium / Low — based on signal strength]
Timeline	[When to propose — aligned with customer's planning cycle]

Step 4: Frame as Enablement

Expansion is framed as enabling the customer's success, not as a sales transaction.

Framing	BAD (sales)	GOOD (enablement)
Upgrade	"Would you like to upgrade to Pro?"	"You're generating 3x more reports than last quarter — let's make sure the platform keeps up with your growth"
Seats	"Can we add 10 more seats?"	"Your team has grown to 25 — right now only 15 have access. Let's get everyone onboarded"
Upsell	"Our analytics tier has great features"	"You mentioned wanting to track conversion rates — that's exactly what the Analytics module does"
Cross-sell	"We also have Product X"	"Several customers with your workflow have found Product X removes the manual step you mentioned"

Step 5: Timing Strategy

Timing trigger	Why it works
After a success milestone	Customer has just experienced value — receptive to more
During annual planning	Budget allocation is happening — get included
New team member joining	Natural moment to discuss access and onboarding
Feature request conversation	Customer has expressed a need — connect it to the solution
QBR / business review	Structured setting to review value and discuss growth

Avoid: proposing during a support escalation, mid-incident, when renewal is contentious, or when the champion is distracted by internal priorities.

Step 6: Design the Approach

Step	Action	Owner	Date
1	Prepare value summary — what the customer has achieved with current tier	CSM	[date]
2	Connect expansion to customer's stated goals	CSM	[date]
3	Propose in context (meeting, QBR, or response to signal)	CSM	[date]
4	Demo or trial of expanded capability	CSM + Product	[date]
5	Commercial proposal	CSM + Sales	[date]

Step 7: Post-Expansion Success Criteria

Define what a successful expansion looks like beyond the transaction:

Criteria	Measurement	Target
Adoption	New features/seats/capacity in use within 30 days	>50% utilisation
Health stability	Health score stable or improved post-expansion	Score >= pre-expansion
Value delivery	Customer confirms expansion solved their need	Positive feedback
Relationship	Expansion felt like enablement, not a sales push	NPS maintained or improved

Anti-Patterns (NEVER do these)

• Expanding unhealthy accounts — expansion to an at-risk customer is pouring fuel on fire. Fix health first. Run /health-assessment before any expansion conversation
• Sales framing — "Would you like to upgrade?" is a sales pitch. "Your growth is outpacing your current plan — let's fix that" is enablement
• Forcing timing — expansion should align with the customer's planning cycle, not your quarterly targets
• Expanding without adoption — if the customer isn't using current features, adding more features increases complexity without value
• Ignoring post-expansion onboarding — new features without onboarding = shelfware. Plan adoption support
• Single signal expansion — one usage spike isn't a trend. Wait for sustained signals or multiple corroborating signals

Output Format

# Expansion Plan: [customer name]

## Health Check
- **Health score:** [0–100]
- **Status:** [Healthy / Neutral]
- **Clear to expand:** [Yes / No — if No, stop here]

## Expansion Signals
| Signal | Evidence | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| [signal] | [specific data/quote] | [Strong / Moderate] |

## Opportunity
- **Current ARR:** [$]
- **Expansion type:** [Upgrade / Upsell / Cross-sell / Seats]
- **Estimated expansion ARR:** [$]
- **Confidence:** [High / Medium / Low]
- **NRR impact:** [projected NRR after expansion]

## Approach
- **Framing:** [how to position as enablement]
- **Timing:** [when and why]
- **Trigger:** [event or conversation to use as entry point]

## Execution Plan
| Step | Action | Owner | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [action] | [person] | [date] |

## Success Criteria
| Criteria | Measurement | Target date |
|---|---|---|
| Adoption | [metric] | [date] |
| Health stable | [score >= current] | [date] |
| Value confirmed | [customer feedback] | [date] |