Manager field guide · Deal IQ · CSM

Expand/Renew Under Pressure

Inherited packs, gap audits, and defensible expand or renew decisions for Customer Success

Post-sale practice on the same NovaTech deal: CSM inherits a thin AE pack, audits documentation gaps, maps whitespace, and defends expand versus renew. Use this guide when your cohort runs CSIQ or HIRECS, not net-new AE discovery.

Explore Deal IQ MEDDPICC manager guide SPICED manager guide Game rulebook

Journey contract

CSM journey contract

Join CSIQ for training or HIRECS for recruitment. Both resolve to the public NovaTech room with forced track cs. Terminus is expand_renew. Deliverable is an expand_renew_call. Active spine: Account Research, Initiative Mapping, Qualification. Preview labels managers see: Inherited deal pack, Gap audit, Expansion map, Expand/renew call.

01Inherited deal packClosed-won Phase 1 pilot logged. AE documentation is thin: economic buyer path incomplete, decision criteria not transferred, champion test evidence missing.
02Gap auditFlag true documentation gaps mixed with distractors. At least one gap (selected or authored) before locking the call.
03Expansion mapMap inventory whitespace adjacent to the closed checkout pilot. Cite adoption stub evidence before pitching expand.
04Expand/renew callLock Expand, Renew, or Hold. Scoring grades call correctness plus gap coverage against the authored answer key.

Manager tip: A strong renew beats a weak expand when the economic buyer intro is still missing. Do not coach reps to chase whitespace before gaps are named.

Who this is for

Customer Success managers coaching expand and renew callsEnablement leads running CSIQ cohorts on NovaTech post-saleHiring managers assessing CSM through Strategic CSM with HIRECS

· Not a CSM certification programme
· Not AE MEDDPICC live play (terminus is expand/renew, not closed-won)
· Not the game rulebook (see link for Alex, Klara, and turn mechanics)

Inherited pack

Documentation gaps vs distractors

CSIQ seeds a sloppy AE entry snapshot. True gaps are mixed with distractors so the desk does not reveal the answer key. Reps must flag at least one gap before locking the call.

True gaps (authored)

Economic buyer path
Economic buyer (Samira Patel) not introduced; no TCO pack attached.
Decision criteria transfer
Decision criteria weights from Kenji Park not documented for CSM.
Champion test
Champion test (Weber co-own pilot / intro path) not sealed.

Distractors (not true gaps)

Executive sponsor already introduced CFO on a recorded TCO walkthrough
Champion test sealed with co-owned pilot success criteria
Renewal commercial terms locked with legal redlines complete
Adoption dashboard proves inventory promise engine fully live
Paper process and MSA renewal path fully transferred to CSM
Competitive displacement plan documented against batch inventory vendor

Depth contract

CSM L1 · L2 · L3

Coach: Inherited-pack audit, name AE documentation gaps, defend renew or cautious hold.

Session WIG: Audit the inherited SwiftLane pack, flag documentation gaps, defend renew or hold until gaps are named.

Research standard · business case light · coaching focus: metrics, economic buyer, decision criteria, champion

Coach: Adoption evidence plus renewal business case against thin AE handoff.

Session WIG: Validate adoption stub evidence, repair economic buyer intro gap, defend expand or renew with TCO story.

Research standard · business case standard · same coaching focus as L1

Coach: Multi-stakeholder expand/save with Park architecture bar and Patel TCO gate.

Session WIG: Map inventory whitespace with Park and Patel context, defend expand or save call under renew pressure.

Research deep · business case standard · adds decision process to coaching focus

Scoring

Defensibility tiers

right_strong95Correct call and all expected documentation gaps detected.
right_lucky70Correct call, but documentation gaps remain.
wrong_call35Call does not match the authored answer key.
no_call20No expand/renew/hold call recorded.

Rubric version expand_renew_v1. Overall score blends expand/renew defensibility (50%), MEDDPICC element average (30%), and gap coverage (20%). Mastery gate expand_renew_safe passes on right_strong or right_lucky.

Manager tip: Inspect gapsDetected and gapsMissed before celebrating a green call. right_lucky means the call was correct but the handoff still has holes.

Coaching vs recruit

Klara on the CSM desk

No gaps flagged: read the AE handoff stub first; flag gaps independently before locking expand or renew.
No call selected: select expand, renew, or hold. A strong renew beats a weak expand when EB intro is still missing.
L2 + expand: cite the adoption stub before expand. Low tickets alone do not prove inventory health.
L3: seal champion test gap and map Park criteria before Patel TCO. Hold if intro path is still thin.

HIRECS: Under HIRECS (sessionPurpose=recruit), Klara is a silent evaluator. No desk tips, no training scaffolds, no learning-path proposals. Assessment starts after the unscored briefing beat.

Recruitment

HIRECS seniority bands

Band	Time box	Must-pass gates
csm	30 min	critical risk identified
senior_csm	45 min	critical risk identified · defensible renewal or expansion call
strategic_csm	60 min	critical risk identified · defensible renewal or expansion call · executive alignment

Manager review

What managers see after a run

Sample CSIQ debrief (sample-swiftlane-win) surfaces fellowship step scores (account research, initiative mapping, qualification), expandRenewDefensibility (playerCall, correctCall, gapsDetected, gapsMissed, tier, rationale), MEDDPICC element scores, deal outcome factors, key decisions, tips, and behavior profile. RCC queues the same schema.

Expand/renew hero block: call, tier, score, rationale
Gap audit accuracy and whitespace mapped factors
MEDDPICC board scores with assessments per element
Stakeholder beats tied to inherited pack and expand defense

Facilitator

70-minute pilot

0-5

Frame

Confirm CSIQ track. State win condition: defensible expand or renew, not a new logo.

5-20

Inherited pack

Reps open closed-won CRM, AE handoff stub, adoption stub, inventory whitespace note.

20-40

Gap audit + map

Flag true gaps vs distractors. Map whitespace only after gaps are named.

40-55

Call + debrief

Lock expand/renew/hold. Review tier, gapsMissed, and element scores.

55-70

Manager plan

Assign one gap type per CSM for next live renew review. Queue HIRECS if hiring.

FAQ

Is CSM a different Deal IQ product?+

No. Same NovaTech world and engine. CSIQ and HIRECS are join aliases that force track=cs on the public room. Board, coaching, and reports follow the expand/renew journey contract.

Does CSM see the AE live buyer board?+

No. The journey contract ends at expand/renew. Live MEDDPICC play remains AE-only (SDEALQ).

How is expand versus renew scored?+

expand_renew_v1 grades call correctness and gap coverage into right_strong, right_lucky, wrong_call, or no_call. Overall score blends defensibility 50%, element average 30%, gap coverage 20%.

What is the authored correct call on CSIQ?+

Expand into the inventory promise engine whitespace, with the three documentation gaps named. Renew-only leaves the golden inventory node on the table while SwiftLane is live.

How is HIRECS different from CSIQ?+

Same track and level, sessionPurpose=recruit. Klara stays silent. Bands are csm, senior_csm, and strategic_csm with time boxes and mustPassGates. A human reviewer interprets evidence; the assessment does not make an autonomous hire decision.

How does this relate to the SPICED and MEDDPICC guides?+

SPICED covers SDR / BDR SQL handoff readiness (what a clean upstream pack looks like). MEDDPICC covers AE fellowship through live play. This guide covers the post-sale seat that inherits the pack and defends expand or renew.

Run a CSM cohort

Join CSIQ for training, HIRECS for hiring. Debrief on expand/renew defensibility the same week.

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