Quarterly Planning Builder
Structures the CSM's quarter with clear priorities, measurable targets, and a plan for how to allocate time across a portfolio. The difference between CSMs who grow and CSMs who plateau is often the presence or absence of this kind of intentional planning.
How to Use
Provide:
- Your portfolio (account count, total ARR, health distribution)
- Renewals this quarter (which accounts, ARR, risk level)
- Expansion opportunities (which accounts, estimated value, stage)
- At-risk accounts (which accounts, ARR, what is happening)
- Strategic priorities from your manager or leadership (if any)
- Your own development goals (if any)
- Capacity constraints (PTO, internal projects, ramp -- anything that reduces your available weeks)
Plan Structure
1. Portfolio Snapshot
| Metric |
Value |
Trend |
| Accounts |
[count] |
[+/- from last quarter] |
| ARR |
[total] |
[+/- from last quarter] |
| Health distribution |
Strong: [n], Healthy: [n], At Risk: [n], Critical: [n] |
[changes from last quarter] |
| Renewals this quarter |
[count], EUR [ARR] |
[risk breakdown] |
| Expansion pipeline |
[count], EUR [estimated value] |
[stage breakdown] |
2. Quarterly Objectives (Maximum 4)
For each objective:
| Element |
Content |
| Objective |
What you will achieve, stated specifically |
| Why it matters |
How it connects to retention, growth, or your development |
| Success metric |
How you will know you achieved it (must be measurable at quarter-end) |
| Target |
The specific number or outcome |
| Key actions |
The 3-5 things you will do to achieve this |
Example objectives:
- "Retain 95%+ of renewing ARR this quarter (EUR 1.2M renewing, target EUR 1.14M retained)"
- "Close EUR 45k in expansion across 3 accounts"
- "Move 3 accounts from At Risk to Healthy"
- "Establish executive sponsor relationships at top 5 accounts by ARR"
3. Account Priorities
Classify your accounts into four management tiers for the quarter:
| Tier |
Accounts |
Time Allocation |
Management Approach |
| Strategic |
Top 5-8 by ARR + risk |
40% of time |
Full strategic plans (account-strategy-builder). Proactive. Multi-threaded |
| Managed |
Next 10-15 by ARR |
30% of time |
Regular cadence. Reactive + proactive. Standard engagement |
| Scaled |
Next 10-15 |
20% of time |
Lighter cadence. Reactive primarily. Digital touchpoints |
| Monitoring |
Remaining |
10% of time |
Automated checks. Engage only on signals |
4. Key Dates and Milestones
| Date |
Event |
Account(s) |
Preparation Needed |
| [date] |
[renewal, QBR, executive meeting, etc.] |
[account] |
[what to prepare before this date] |
5. Risk Register
| Risk |
Probability |
ARR Impact |
Mitigation |
Status |
| [risk] |
[H/M/L] |
[EUR] |
[what you are doing] |
[active/monitoring] |
6. Development Focus
One professional development goal for the quarter. Not "get better at everything" -- one specific skill or capability:
| Goal |
Why |
How |
Measure |
| [specific development goal] |
[how it improves your effectiveness] |
[specific actions -- course, practice, mentoring] |
[how you know you improved] |
7. Quarter-End Review Criteria
Define now what success looks like at the end of the quarter:
| Criteria |
Target |
Measurement |
| ARR retained |
[EUR] of [EUR] renewing (%) |
CRM renewal data |
| Expansion closed |
[EUR] |
CRM opportunity data |
| Health improvement |
[n] accounts moved to higher band |
Health score comparison start vs. end |
| Engagement compliance |
[%] touchpoints completed vs. planned |
Activity log |
| Objective achievement |
[n] of [n] objectives met |
Self-assessment + manager review |
Output Format
## Quarterly Plan: [CSM Name] -- [Quarter Year]
**Portfolio:** [n] accounts | EUR [ARR] | [health summary]
### Objectives
[2-4 objectives with metrics and targets]
### Account Tiers
[Tier classification table]
### Key Dates
[Timeline of critical events]
### Risk Register
[Top risks with mitigation]
### Development Goal
[One specific development focus]
### Review Criteria
[Quarter-end success definition]
Quality Gates
- Are the objectives measurable? "Improve retention" fails. "Retain 95%+ of EUR 1.2M renewing ARR" succeeds
- Is the time allocation realistic? If 40% goes to Strategic accounts and you also have 12 QBRs, 5 renewals, and 3 escalations, the math may not work. Check capacity before committing
- Does the risk register include at least one risk? If you see zero risks in your portfolio for the next 90 days, you are not looking hard enough
- Would your manager approve this plan? If the plan does not align with what leadership cares about, it will create friction regardless of execution quality
- Can you review this plan in 5 minutes at the end of the quarter and know whether you succeeded? If the review criteria are vague, the plan is vague
Principles
- A plan you review weekly is 10x more valuable than a plan you write once. Schedule 15 minutes every Friday to check progress against the plan. Adjust as reality evolves
- Four objectives maximum. More than four means none get full attention. Pick the four that matter most and execute them well
- The plan should make you slightly uncomfortable. If every objective is easily achievable with your current approach, the plan is not ambitious enough. Growth happens when you stretch
- Share the plan with your manager. It aligns expectations, creates accountability, and gives them the context to support you. A manager who knows your plan can help you when things go sideways. A manager who does not know your plan can only react
1---2name: quarterly-planning-builder3description: Helps a CSM build their quarterly plan with portfolio priorities, measurable targets, focus areas, capacity allocation, and development goals. Produces a structured plan that can be shared with management and reviewed at quarter-end. Use when asked to build a quarterly plan, set Q1-Q4 goals, create a portfolio strategy for the quarter, plan the next 90 days, or when a CSM needs to move from reactive week-to-week management to proactive quarterly strategy. Also triggers for questions about quarterly planning, goal setting for a period, portfolio prioritisation for the quarter, or structuring a 90-day plan.4license: MIT5---67# Quarterly Planning Builder89Structures the CSM's quarter with clear priorities, measurable targets, and a plan for how to allocate time across a portfolio. The difference between CSMs who grow and CSMs who plateau is often the presence or absence of this kind of intentional planning.1011## How to Use1213Provide:14- Your portfolio (account count, total ARR, health distribution)15- Renewals this quarter (which accounts, ARR, risk level)16- Expansion opportunities (which accounts, estimated value, stage)17- At-risk accounts (which accounts, ARR, what is happening)18- Strategic priorities from your manager or leadership (if any)19- Your own development goals (if any)20- Capacity constraints (PTO, internal projects, ramp -- anything that reduces your available weeks)2122## Plan Structure2324### 1. Portfolio Snapshot2526| Metric | Value | Trend |27|--------|-------|-------|28| Accounts | [count] | [+/- from last quarter] |29| ARR | [total] | [+/- from last quarter] |30| Health distribution | Strong: [n], Healthy: [n], At Risk: [n], Critical: [n] | [changes from last quarter] |31| Renewals this quarter | [count], EUR [ARR] | [risk breakdown] |32| Expansion pipeline | [count], EUR [estimated value] | [stage breakdown] |3334### 2. Quarterly Objectives (Maximum 4)3536For each objective:3738| Element | Content |39|---------|---------|40| Objective | What you will achieve, stated specifically |41| Why it matters | How it connects to retention, growth, or your development |42| Success metric | How you will know you achieved it (must be measurable at quarter-end) |43| Target | The specific number or outcome |44| Key actions | The 3-5 things you will do to achieve this |4546**Example objectives:**47- "Retain 95%+ of renewing ARR this quarter (EUR 1.2M renewing, target EUR 1.14M retained)"48- "Close EUR 45k in expansion across 3 accounts"49- "Move 3 accounts from At Risk to Healthy"50- "Establish executive sponsor relationships at top 5 accounts by ARR"5152### 3. Account Priorities5354Classify your accounts into four management tiers for the quarter:5556| Tier | Accounts | Time Allocation | Management Approach |57|------|----------|----------------|-------------------|58| Strategic | Top 5-8 by ARR + risk | 40% of time | Full strategic plans (account-strategy-builder). Proactive. Multi-threaded |59| Managed | Next 10-15 by ARR | 30% of time | Regular cadence. Reactive + proactive. Standard engagement |60| Scaled | Next 10-15 | 20% of time | Lighter cadence. Reactive primarily. Digital touchpoints |61| Monitoring | Remaining | 10% of time | Automated checks. Engage only on signals |6263### 4. Key Dates and Milestones6465| Date | Event | Account(s) | Preparation Needed |66|------|-------|-----------|-------------------|67| [date] | [renewal, QBR, executive meeting, etc.] | [account] | [what to prepare before this date] |6869### 5. Risk Register7071| Risk | Probability | ARR Impact | Mitigation | Status |72|------|-----------|-----------|-----------|--------|73| [risk] | [H/M/L] | [EUR] | [what you are doing] | [active/monitoring] |7475### 6. Development Focus7677One professional development goal for the quarter. Not "get better at everything" -- one specific skill or capability:7879| Goal | Why | How | Measure |80|------|-----|-----|---------|81| [specific development goal] | [how it improves your effectiveness] | [specific actions -- course, practice, mentoring] | [how you know you improved] |8283### 7. Quarter-End Review Criteria8485Define now what success looks like at the end of the quarter:8687| Criteria | Target | Measurement |88|----------|--------|-------------|89| ARR retained | [EUR] of [EUR] renewing (%) | CRM renewal data |90| Expansion closed | [EUR] | CRM opportunity data |91| Health improvement | [n] accounts moved to higher band | Health score comparison start vs. end |92| Engagement compliance | [%] touchpoints completed vs. planned | Activity log |93| Objective achievement | [n] of [n] objectives met | Self-assessment + manager review |9495## Output Format9697```98## Quarterly Plan: [CSM Name] -- [Quarter Year]99**Portfolio:** [n] accounts | EUR [ARR] | [health summary]100101### Objectives102[2-4 objectives with metrics and targets]103104### Account Tiers105[Tier classification table]106107### Key Dates108[Timeline of critical events]109110### Risk Register111[Top risks with mitigation]112113### Development Goal114[One specific development focus]115116### Review Criteria117[Quarter-end success definition]118```119120## Quality Gates121122- Are the objectives measurable? "Improve retention" fails. "Retain 95%+ of EUR 1.2M renewing ARR" succeeds123- Is the time allocation realistic? If 40% goes to Strategic accounts and you also have 12 QBRs, 5 renewals, and 3 escalations, the math may not work. Check capacity before committing124- Does the risk register include at least one risk? If you see zero risks in your portfolio for the next 90 days, you are not looking hard enough125- Would your manager approve this plan? If the plan does not align with what leadership cares about, it will create friction regardless of execution quality126- Can you review this plan in 5 minutes at the end of the quarter and know whether you succeeded? If the review criteria are vague, the plan is vague127128## Principles129130- A plan you review weekly is 10x more valuable than a plan you write once. Schedule 15 minutes every Friday to check progress against the plan. Adjust as reality evolves131- Four objectives maximum. More than four means none get full attention. Pick the four that matter most and execute them well132- The plan should make you slightly uncomfortable. If every objective is easily achievable with your current approach, the plan is not ambitious enough. Growth happens when you stretch133- Share the plan with your manager. It aligns expectations, creates accountability, and gives them the context to support you. A manager who knows your plan can help you when things go sideways. A manager who does not know your plan can only react
stephenrogan