<aside> 📋 Frequency: Trigger-Based | Time: 45 min | Trigger: 60 days before retainer expiration

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Retainer renewals that start 30 days before expiration are already behind. The client has been quietly evaluating whether to continue for weeks — and you've given them no structured reason to say yes. Running this SOP at 60 days gives you time to assess the engagement's profitability, build the renewal case from outcomes rather than habit, and have the conversation before the client has mentally moved on.

Prerequisites

• Active retainer agreement with expiration date confirmed in your pipeline tracker
• Session notes and deliverable log current through the most recent billing period
• Time and billing log for this engagement (hours, fees collected, any scope changes absorbed)
• Your capacity forecast (from the Weekly Pipeline Review) confirming you have runway to renew

Procedure

1. Run the Client Profitability Analyzer skill with the engagement's fee, hours logged, and any scope changes as input. Review the output for realization rate. If the current terms are below your target margin, this renewal is the correction point — not the next one.
2. Pull your deliverable log and session notes. Identify the three highest-impact outcomes delivered during the current retainer period. These become the foundation of the renewal pitch — not the hours you logged, but what changed for the client.
3. Decide on renewal terms before building the pitch: same scope and fee, adjusted scope, or fee increase. If the profitability analysis flagged a realization problem, correct it now. Deferring a fee adjustment to the following renewal locks you in for another cycle.
4. Run the Retainer Renewal Pitch skill with the top outcomes delivered, proposed renewal terms, and any scope adjustments as input. Review the output for a renewal framing, outcomes summary, and conversation guide. Adjust the tone to match this client's communication style.
5. Schedule a dedicated renewal conversation with the client — not a note at the end of a working session. Calendar it at least 45 days before expiration to leave room for negotiation. Present outcomes first, then terms. If a fee increase is on the table, name it directly.
6. Issue the renewal agreement or updated SOW following the conversation. Update your pipeline tracker with the confirmed renewal status and new expiration date. If the client declines, trigger the Offboarding Process SOP.

Expected Outcome

You'll have a profitability assessment for the current engagement, a renewal pitch built on delivered outcomes, a scheduled client conversation, and a renewal agreement issued — all completed 45+ days before expiration. No renewal arrives as a surprise to either party.

<aside> ⚠️ Common mistakes:

— Waiting until 30 days out to start the conversation. At 30 days the client is already deciding. At 60 days you're setting the frame. Timing determines who controls the terms.

— Renewing at the same fee without reviewing profitability. Scope creeps silently. A retainer that was profitable at inception can be underwater by month six. Run the profitability check every cycle, not just at the start.

— Making the renewal conversation about the work rather than the outcomes. Clients renew because of what changed for them, not because of the hours you logged. Lead with outcomes every time.

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