Commercial Audit Template

Write down who really owns renewal, upsell, cross-sell and expansion at your company, how each one runs today and what you would build if you started from scratch.

"I've worked in organizations where I have owned zero commercial responsibility... I've owned everything." And in between, I've owned renewals without growth, and expansion without upsell or cross-sell. So when someone asks me whether CS should own renewals, I'm going to tell you it depends, and I mean it. What doesn't depend is whether you know how it works today. Ask five people who owns cross-sell and you'll get four answers and a shrug. The CRM says one thing, the comp plan pays for another, and the board deck calls all of it expansion.

This audit makes you write it down. Agree on what renewal, upsell, cross-sell and expansion mean at your company, then capture how each motion honestly runs today: who spots it, who runs it to close, who owns the number, what everyone is paid on and how your renewals actually work, auto-renew notices and contract terms included. From there you score each motion on the variables that decide ownership, name an owner and who settles the exceptions, decide whether expansion can carry a target, and design the perfect version before you back into what you can do in the next 90 days. It ends with two questions to ask before every renewal, your top actions and a sign-off from the CS and Sales leaders. When you design inside today's constraints, you never get to good.

What's included

• Commercial Audit template in Word, plus a make-a-copy link for Google Docs

• 13 sections: audit snapshot, get the language right, who owns each motion today, how everyone is paid for it, how your renewals run today, your resources, what's working and what isn't, who should own it, can you put a target on expansion, your future state, two questions to ask before every renewal, reflection and next steps, and review and sign-off

• Plain definitions of the four motions, seven ownership variables to score and an example renewal notice you can adapt

• A step-by-step PDF guide with made-up examples, a two-week plan to run it and the mistakes to avoid

• A Steal This commercial clarity check

Who it's for

CS leaders who share renewals or growth with Sales, especially before comp plans are set or when nobody can say who owns the growth number.

How it works

Digital download. Your files are ready right after checkout. Open the Word file, or use the link included with your download to make your own copy in Google Docs. No physical item will be shipped.

Bundle and save

This template is part of the Renewal and Retention Bundle: 10 templates for $99, about half the price of buying them one at a time. Want everything? The Complete Architect Collection has every template in the collection for $299.