How to Deal with the Client Renewal Conversation
Question: I had my last session with a client under our current contract. I planned to use the last fifteen minutes to discuss the renewal of our contract, but we ran out of time so the discussion was rushed and not effective. What do I do now?
I made similar mistakes early in my business.
The solution is to make it policy in your business to completely separate delivery from renewal.
Complete your service delivery entirely before you discuss the renewal. And always schedule a separate conversation for this purpose.
If you are on your last session, focus fully on delivering maximum value and completing what was promised under your agreement. Make sure the client is complete with the work.
If you are going into the last session thinking about renewal, you bring in the subconscious energy of neediness. You are worried about the renewal. I get it that you may want the renewal and the money. But if you are thinking about that, you are not present.
If the client knows you are thinking about renewal, then they are guarded and wondering when you are going to hit them up for money.
The best approach is to have a policy in advance.
If it is the last session, you set a clear agenda for the work and request a follow up meeting to evaluate the work and consider future possibilities.
Even if the client brings it up by saying “what’s next?”, I strongly suggest that you schedule a separate meeting.
You say — “Let’s focus this session on the work. And we’ll set up a separate session in a week to assess the results of this work and evaluate the possibilities for what’s next.”
I know what you are thinking. “But doesn’t that draw out the process? Wouldn’t it save a bunch of time to just renew it now?”
On the surface, yes. But underneath, no.
When you approach it as a completely new sale, you can really re-diagnose what’s going on, what’s possible, and propose the best solution. If you want to raise your fees, you need to re-establish value.
And, if the lifetime value is really high, as it is in a business client relationship, then one extra week or meeting in the grand scheme of things doesn’t matter.
If you really are a trusted advisor, this approach builds more trust.
