Some renewal challenges can be addressed with better execution and tighter discipline.
Others signal deeper issues that won’t resolve through incremental fixes alone.
This page is designed to help leaders make that distinction - before investing time, money, or political capital in the wrong next step.
Qualification & Self-Selection
Is This a Tuning Problem - or Something More Fundamental?
What This Is - and What It Isn’t
What this is
A short set of framing questions to help you assess whether renewal challenges can be solved with small adjustments — or require a more deliberate reset.
What this isn’t
A maturity score
A diagnostic
A commitment to engage
A replacement for deeper analysis
The goal is orientation, not answers.
Qualification Questions
Answer these questions instinctively. The pattern of responses matters more than any individual answer.
1. Timing of Risk
Do renewal risks typically surface early enough to change the outcome - or only after results are already at risk?
☐ Early enough to act
2. Predictability at Scale
As the business has grown, have renewal outcomes become more predictable - or less?
☐ More predictable
3. Confidence in Signals
How confident are you that your current renewal indicators reflect real risk - not just activity?
☐ Very confident
☐ Sometimes, but inconsistently
4. Alignment on “Why”
When renewals miss, do leaders generally agree on why - or debate what went wrong?
☐ We mostly agree
☐ Focused deliberately
☐ Mostly preventative
☐ Rarely
☐ Acceptable - we would stay the course
☐ About the same
☐ Somewhat confident
☐ It depends on the situation
☐ Usually too late
☐ Mostly reactive
☐ Frequently
☐ Not acceptable - we would need to change direction
☐ Less predictable
☐ We often disagree
5. Use of Effort
Is renewal effort deliberately focused based on risk and value - or applied uniformly?
☐ Partially focused
☐ Largely uniform
6. Nature of Fixes
When renewal performance slips, are fixes typically preventative - or reactive?
☐ A mix of both
7. Reliance on Escalation
How often do renewals depend on late escalation or heroics to close?
☐ Occasionally
☐ Not confident
8. Tolerance for Uncertainty
If renewal predictability did not materially improve over the next two quarters, how acceptable would that be?
☐ Concerning, but manageable
How to interpret your responses
If most of your answers fall in the first option, your renewals motion is likely sound - but may benefit from targeted tuning.
A mix of first and second responses often signals hidden risk accumulating beneath the surface.
Several third responses typically indicate structural issues that won’t resolve through incremental fixes alone.
What Happens Next
These questions help clarify whether action is warranted - not where to start.
If this exercise surfaced uncertainty, misalignment, or structural risk, the next step is simply to talk it through.