# Expansion Playbook

> Expansion and upsell playbook: identify expansion signals, craft upsell narrative, handle pricing and upgrade conversations for CS-led revenue growth

- Skill: `uitbreidenos/expansion-playbook` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add uitbreidenos/expansion-playbook`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/uitbreidenos/expansion-playbook/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Marketing & Growth
- Author: UitbreidenOS (https://skillmd.com/u/uitbreidenos)
- Updated: 2026-09-22
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/uitbreidenos/expansion-playbook

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# Expansion Playbook Skill

## When to activate
- You've spotted signals that a customer is ready to expand (usage growth, new use cases, team growth)
- Preparing for an expansion conversation in a QBR or renewal call
- Building a playbook for your CS team to consistently identify and capture upsell opportunities
- Handling a customer who asks "can we do more?" without knowing how to structure the response
- Designing an expansion motion for your CS team — who identifies, who sells, how to hand off

## When NOT to use
- Cold prospects — this is a retention-to-revenue skill, not a prospecting skill
- Accounts that are RED health — fix health before expanding
- Customers with less than 3 months tenure — too early; let them get value first
- Expansion conversations where the customer has explicitly said they have no budget

## Instructions

### Expansion signal identification

```
Identify expansion signals in this customer account.

Customer: [Company]
Current ARR: $[X]
Expansion potential: [additional seats / add-ons / tier upgrade / new teams / new geographies]
Tenure: [X months]
Health: [GREEN / YELLOW]

Usage signals that indicate readiness to expand:
(Check which apply to this customer)

SEAT EXPANSION SIGNALS:
□ Seat utilisation > 85% (approaching license limit)
□ Multiple users sharing one login (visible in audit logs)
□ Customer has asked "can we add more users?"
□ New hires joining team that uses your product
□ Customer's headcount is growing (check LinkedIn, job posts)

USE CASE EXPANSION SIGNALS:
□ Customer is using product for a use case you didn't sell them on
□ They've asked about features in a different product tier
□ Support tickets reveal a workflow you don't yet support — they're working around it
□ They've asked if product can integrate with a new tool (signals new workflow)
□ Customer is asking about permissions, roles, or teams — signals org expansion

ORGANISATIONAL EXPANSION SIGNALS:
□ Champion's team has grown or reorganised
□ New department mentioned as a future user: "our [finance / marketing / ops] team might use this"
□ Acquisition or merger — new teams and entities to onboard
□ New geographic market — international expansion

COMMERCIAL SIGNALS:
□ Customer has increased their own revenue or headcount significantly
□ They've invested in adjacent tools (signals budget is available)
□ End-of-quarter or end-of-year budget to spend
□ They said "we wish we had [feature] in our package"

Identify which signals are present for [customer] and rank them by strength.
Produce: expansion opportunity summary with estimated ARR potential and timing.
```

### Expansion narrative builder

```
Build the upsell narrative for this customer.

Customer: [Company]
Current contract: [describe — plan, seats, features they have]
Expansion opportunity: [what you want to sell them — seats / tier / add-on]
Additional ARR target: $[X]
Health: GREEN (required before this conversation)

Customer context:
- Their stated priorities this quarter: [from last QBR or check-in]
- What business outcome are they trying to achieve? [X]
- What is the expansion product or tier? [describe features they don't have]
- Why now? [what signal or moment makes this the right time?]

Build the expansion narrative using this framework:

1. ANCHOR TO THEIR SUCCESS (do not open with your product)
"Based on what you've accomplished with [current use case] — [specific result] — I want to show you what the next step looks like for teams at your stage."

2. IDENTIFY THE GAP (make them feel the problem)
"The teams I work with who are where you're heading [next stage] typically run into [specific problem] — which is something your current setup doesn't cover. Does that resonate?"

3. BRIDGE TO THE SOLUTION (your expansion offering)
"That's exactly what [expansion product / tier / seats] is designed for — [specific capability that solves the gap]."

4. QUANTIFY THE VALUE (ROI, not features)
"For a team your size, this typically [saves X hours / generates $Y / reduces Z errors]. Given your volume of [specific metric], the payback is usually inside [X months]."

5. MAKE THE ASK (clear, not vague)
"I'd like to propose adding [X seats / upgrade to X tier / add X capability] before [renewal / end of quarter / before you launch Y]. Can we walk through the details in our next call?"

Craft the specific narrative for [customer] based on their context.
Include: 3 objection responses for [price / timing / internal approval].
```

### Pricing conversation framework

```
Prepare me for the pricing and negotiation portion of an expansion conversation.

Expansion ask: [seats / tier / add-on]
Quoted price: $[X] additional ARR
Customer context: [their ARR, tenure, relationship strength, budget signals]
Likely objection: [too expensive / not in budget / need approval / "what discount can you give me"]

Pricing conversation principles:
- Never lead with a discount — anchor high and give ground strategically
- Frame pricing in terms of ROI, not cost
- Defend list price with value, not stubbornness
- Discount has to be earned by something: commit to annual, pay upfront, increase seats further

Objection scripts:

"It's too expensive."
Response: "I hear you. Let me flip the framing — at [list price], the ROI calculation based on [their use case] is [X:1]. At what price point does this become an obvious yes? That tells me if we're talking about a value gap or a budget gap, and I can address each differently."
Do not: immediately drop the price.

"We don't have budget right now."
Response: "That's completely fair — when does your budget cycle reset? And is this something that would need to go through [finance / procurement] or can you move on it within your existing discretion?"
The goal: understand if it's a timing issue or a no. "Not now" is different from "not ever."

"I need to get approval."
Response: "Of course — who else needs to be part of this decision? I'd love to join you for that conversation or put together a business case document you can use internally."
Then: offer to write the internal justification for them. It removes friction and keeps you in control of the narrative.

"Can you give me a discount?"
Response: "I can look at what's possible — a few things typically create flexibility for us: committing to annual billing, adding more seats than the minimum, or signing before end of quarter. Which of those work for you?"
This turns a discount request into a negotiation that gives you something in return.

"We want to wait until renewal."
Response: "Totally understand. One thing worth knowing: if you add [seats / tier] before renewal, you lock in current pricing and start getting [benefit] immediately. At renewal, pricing may adjust. Not a pressure tactic — just want you to have the full picture."

Prepare the pricing conversation for my specific situation.
```

### CS-to-sales handoff for large expansions

```
Prepare the expansion handoff from CS to the sales team.

Customer: [Company]
Current ARR: $[X]
Expansion ARR target: $[X] (threshold for sales involvement: $[X])
Relationship owner: [CSM name]
AE to hand off to: [AE name]
Expansion opportunity: [describe the use case / expansion]
Timeline: [customer's decision timeframe]
Risk: [is there any churn risk that could complicate the expansion conversation?]

Handoff package for AE:

CUSTOMER CONTEXT
- Health score: [X] — [GREEN/YELLOW]
- Champion: [name, title, tenure at company]
- Economic buyer: [name, title]
- Key stakeholders: [who else is involved]
- History: [tenure with us, original deal context, key moments — positive and negative]

EXPANSION OPPORTUNITY
- What they want: [specific product, seats, tier]
- Why they want it: [business use case and driver]
- What triggered this: [the signal — usage, conversation, request]
- Their timeline: [when they want to move]
- Their budget process: [annual / quarterly / discretionary]

WHAT NOT TO DO
- Do not re-sell what they already have — they're a customer, not a prospect
- Do not ignore the CS relationship — the CSM stays involved through the expansion close
- Do not offer a discount without involving the CSM — it affects renewal context

SUGGESTED APPROACH
- First call: joint call with CSM + AE — warm introduction
- Frame: "I wanted to bring in [AE] because this expansion is larger than the typical CS conversation — [AE] specialises in [use case / enterprise / this tier]"
- AE leads pricing and commercial terms; CSM maintains relationship and product context
- CSM stays on the account post-close — this is not a handoff to sales permanently

INTERNAL NOTES (not shared with customer)
- Bottom line on expansion: $[X] at list; can flex to $[X] with [condition]
- Churn risk if expansion doesn't proceed: [low / medium / high]
- Case study / reference potential: [yes / no]

Produce the handoff brief and joint call agenda.
```

## Example

**User:** My customer Meridian Group ($72K ARR) just told me their marketing team wants to start using our platform. We only sold to their product team originally. How do I turn this into an expansion?

**Claude's expansion plan:**

**Signal identified: Organisational expansion — new department**

This is a strong expansion signal. Marketing asking means the product team's success created internal word of mouth — that's exactly the proof point you need for the expansion conversation.

**Expansion narrative for your next call:**

Open with their success: "I was really glad to hear from [champion] that the marketing team has been asking about the platform. That tells me the work your product team has done is visible internally — that's exactly what we hope happens."

Identify the gap: "Marketing typically has a different workflow — they're running [campaigns / content / analytics] while your product team is doing [X]. The good news is our platform handles both, but the setup and permissions look different. Have you given marketing a preview of what you're doing yet?"

Bridge to solution: "What I'd suggest is a joint session — your product champion, two or three people from the marketing side, and me — where we walk through how the platform looks for marketing use cases specifically. From there we can figure out what the right seat count and configuration looks like for them."

**Before that session:**
- Find out: how many people in the marketing team? What's their primary use case? Who owns the budget — same exec sponsor or different?
- Get the champion to make an internal introduction to the marketing lead — this keeps you out of cold-outreach territory

**Pricing framing:**
If marketing adds 8-12 seats at your standard rate, that's $18-27K additional ARR. Frame it as: "This is essentially a new team starting fresh — same rate your product team is on, which I can hold if you move before [date]."

**Do not:** send a pricing proposal before the joint session. The session is the discovery call for the expansion.

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