This blog is authored by Jenn Harvey of Jennifer Harvey Consulting, and Jeff Saenger, VP of Customer Success at BoostUp.

Picture this: Your SaaS company's revenue forecast shows a healthy upward trend, but beneath the surface lurks an unsettling reality - unpredictable renewal patterns threatening your growth. You're not alone. While many companies obsess over new customer acquisition, the true predictor of sustainable growth often lies in your renewal forecasting accuracy.

For years, new customer acquisition has been seen as the primary driver of revenue growth.  The visibility and measurable metrics—like sign-ups or market expansion—make them easy to highlight and prioritize. Consequently, organizations have invested heavily in the people, processes, and technologies that support Sales and Marketing teams.

However, in today’s evolving SaaS landscape, retaining existing customers is just as critical—if not more so—for driving sustainable revenue growth. Industry data shows that a mere 5% increase in customer retention can boost profits by 25-95%. Loyal customers also offer significant opportunities for upselling and cross-selling, amplifying long-term revenue growth. Yet surprisingly, less than 30% of SaaS companies have a structured renewals forecasting process. 

Despite its importance, many organizations still lack a structured sales process for renewals. Without one, they risk increased churn, missed opportunities, and revenue volatility. This article outlines actionable strategies to help SaaS companies build an effective renewals process that provides structure, mitigates risk, and drives predictable revenue growth.

The True Cost of Poor Renewals Forecasting

Every missed renewal forecast isn't just a number - it's a domino effect that impacts your entire business:

  • Unpredictable cash flow affecting strategic investments
  • Increased scrutiny from investors and board members
  • Reduced ability to plan product investments
  • Increased pressure on new sales to fill the gap

Poor renewal forecasting isn't just about missing numbers – it's a systemic issue that can cost SaaS companies in both direct revenue loss and missed growth opportunities.

Benefits of a Well-Defined Renewals Sales Process

A structured renewal process goes beyond ensuring contracts are renewed—it becomes a growth engine for the business. Here’s how:

  • Boost Closed Won Deals and Shorten Sales Cycles: Streamlining the renewals process enables teams to focus on building deeper customer relationships and uncovering expansion opportunities, resulting in more closed deals in less time.
  • Ensure Team Alignment: A clear renewal process promotes alignment between Customer Success, Account Management, and Sales teams. This alignment fosters collaboration, consistent messaging, and enables more effective coaching.
  • Mitigate Risk: A proactive renewal process helps teams identify potential issues—such as declining usage or negative feedback—before they escalate. Addressing these challenges early ensures fewer missed opportunities and higher customer satisfaction.
  • Increase Forecast Predictability: With a structured process, teams can deliver more reliable revenue projections. Consistent pipeline reviews and CRM hygiene enhance this predictability even further.

Preparing to Create Your Renewals Process

Before building out your renewals sales process, establish a solid foundation by focusing on these three steps:

  • Understand the Customer Lifecycle: Map out the customer journey and identify key touchpoints where you can deliver value. Each stage of the relationship—from onboarding to renewal—should reinforce your value proposition.
  • Monitor Key Customer Metrics: Track customer health indicators, such as usage patterns, engagement, and support ticket volume. These metrics reveal risks and opportunities to address before the renewal discussion.
  • Leverage Technology: CRM/Customer Success Platform + a Renewals-focused forecasting solution like BoostUp.ai are vital for tracking renewal timelines, identifying at-risk accounts, and uncovering upsell opportunities. A well-managed platform provides visibility and helps teams stay organized. 

5 Steps to Build an Effective Renewals Sales Process

  1. Account Research and Preparation: Thorough preparation ensures your reps have a comprehensive understanding of the state of each account. This step reduces blind spots, identifies risks, and enables your team to craft a compelling renewal narrative that highlights your unique value proposition.

    Key areas to focus on:

    • Identify key stakeholders: Understand who influences the renewal decision.
    • Assess use case and value delivered: Reflect on the customer’s initial expectations and whether they feel those have been met. Be honest about gaps and how they’ll be addressed moving forward.
    • Spot potential risks: Watch for declining usage, negative feedback, or the departure of a key champion. For high-risk accounts, prepare mitigation strategies.
    • Prepare discovery questions: Develop questions to explore client needs, confirm value delivery, and uncover expansion opportunities that align with their goals.

  2. Establish a Timeline for Renewal Actions: Define a clear timeline based on contract expiration dates. A good rule of thumb is to initiate the renewal process 90 days before the contract ends, with earlier outreach for at-risk or complex accounts. Regularly monitor this timeline to ensure all actions stay on track.


    For each renewal, outline specific milestones, such as initial outreach, discovery conversations, proposal delivery, and final negotiations. Assign ownership of tasks to ensure accountability and avoid bottlenecks.

  3. Implement Consistent Communication Methods: Equip your team with tools to prepare effectively and maintain consistent communication.  This ensures your messaging is clear and resonates with the customer’s needs.  Plus, this also creates efficiency so your team can effectively manage their workload.

    Provide your team with:
    • Meeting preparation guides
    • Email templates and call scripts tailored to different customer scenarios
    • Presentation templates that align with your messaging framework and emphasize ROI

  4. Maintain and Programmatic Customer Cadence: Consistent communication throughout the renewal process builds trust, ensures alignment, and mitigates last-minute pressure. This rhythm strengthens relationships and provides regular opportunities to demonstrate your product’s value.

    Tips for consistent communication:
      • Schedule follow-ups during active conversations to maintain momentum.
      • Send recap emails to close the loop on action items and reinforce value delivered.
      • Share updates that support renewal discussions, such as insights into new features, ROI metrics, or best practices.

  5. Create a Cadence for Renewal Pipeline Reviews: Regular pipeline reviews help ensure deal progression, manage risks, and maintain renewal forecast accuracy for reliable forecasting.

    Focus On:

    • Ensuring activities are executed to drive deal progression
    • Tracking whether initial outreach aligns with renewal timelines
    • Strategically managing objections or escalations, involving executives when necessary

Conclusion

Building an effective renewal sales process doesn’t have to be overly complex. Even small, incremental steps can yield significant results, such as greater structure, improved team alignment, and increased revenue predictability. 

As your process matures, refine it based on results and feedback to ensure sustained impact.  Start by auditing your current renewals process to identify gaps, then prioritize foundational steps like team alignment, timeline creation, and customer health tracking.

By prioritizing renewals and adopting a structured approach, SaaS companies can increase customer retention, deepen relationships, and drive long-term success

Start building your renewal process today—and watch your recurring revenue thrive.