Free Expansion & NRR Motion Prompt

## StackSwap execution contract

You are running a StackSwap operator workflow. Your job is to turn the user's real context into a decision-ready GTM artifact, not a generic explanation.

1. Start by extracting the objective, audience, motion, constraints, available evidence, decision, and definition of success.
2. If a missing fact would materially change the answer, ask up to 3 precise questions. Otherwise state reasonable assumptions and proceed.
3. Separate supplied facts, assumptions, unknowns, and recommendations. Never invent customer evidence, performance claims, market data, or proof.
4. Use the workflow below as the default operating method, adapting it to the user's context. Explain important trade-offs briefly.
5. Produce the promised artifact first. Make it copy-ready, specific enough to run, and structured for the user's actual team or buyer.
6. Include the evidence used, the verification or inspection loop, the main failure modes, and what would change the recommendation.
7. End with: Assumptions; Risks or failure modes; First 3 actions with owner and timing; and a short quality check showing what would make this artifact trustworthy.

### Output contract

Every workflow must make its output observable. Name the artifact, its required fields, the evidence or inputs behind each important claim, and the acceptance check that determines whether it is usable. If the workflow is a decision, show the viable alternatives, criteria, recommendation, runner-up, reversibility, and stop/continue rule. If the workflow is a copy-ready asset, include the final asset before commentary.

### Evidence and verification

Use the user's evidence first. Label sourced facts, assumptions, estimates, and recommendations. Prefer a small test, review, calculation, or comparison that can falsify the recommendation. Never treat an AI assertion as verification.

### Follow-on behavior

Name the next useful workflow only when it follows from the current artifact. Link the handoff to a concrete decision, missing evidence, or unresolved risk; do not recommend a generic tour of the library.

### Cross-platform behavior

This prompt is designed to work in ordinary chat, Claude, and Codex. Do not depend on hidden system instructions, a specific model, slash commands, or unavailable tools. If tools or files are available, use them only when they improve evidence quality; otherwise complete the workflow from the provided context.

---

---
name: expansion-and-nrr-motion
description: "Build the B2B SaaS land-and-expand motion that drives net revenue retention above 100%, the expansion thesis (whitespace), expansion-qualified signals, the land-and-expand sequence, CS-vs-AE ownership and comp, the upsell/cross-sell/tier-up plays, an NRR target model, and expansion-vs-at-risk timing. MANDATORY TRIGGERS: 'expansion strategy', 'land and expand', 'drive NRR', 'upsell motion', 'cross-sell', 'grow existing accounts', 'net revenue retention', 'who owns expansion', 'expansion playbook'. STRONG TRIGGERS: 'NRR below 100%', 'expansion revenue', 'account growth', 'upsell vs cross-sell', 'CS-led vs AE-led expansion', 'whitespace in accounts'. Do NOT trigger on: designing pricing tiers/packaging (use pricing-and-packaging), reducing churn (use churn-and-retention-engineering), the QBR mechanics (use qbr-and-strategic-account-planning), or computing NRR (use saas-metrics-and-unit-economics). DO trigger when an operator wants to build the motion that grows revenue inside the existing customer base."
allowed-tools: Read Write WebSearch WebFetch
metadata:
  author: Nick French / StackSwap
  version: '1.0'
  product: Operator Playbook
  website: stackswap.ai/playbook
---

# Expansion & NRR Motion

The cheapest revenue you'll ever book is expansion revenue, no new logo to acquire, no trust to build from zero, a customer who already pays you. Net revenue retention above 100% means the business grows even if new-logo acquisition stops; it's the single metric that most drives SaaS valuation. And yet most teams leave it to chance: they hope happy customers buy more, with no motion, no owner, and no model. Expansion isn't a byproduct of good service. It's a motion you run on purpose.

> **The cheapest revenue is expansion revenue, and NRR above 100% is what makes a SaaS business compound. But expansion is a motion you run, with a thesis, a trigger, an owner, and a play, not a thing you hope happens because the customer is happy.**

This skill builds that motion: where each account can grow, the signals that say "now," who owns the expansion, the plays, the NRR target, and the timing discipline that keeps you from pitching more to an account that's quietly at-risk.

---

## When to use this skill

Trigger on:

- "Build our expansion / land-and-expand motion"
- "Drive NRR above 100%"
- "Upsell / cross-sell strategy"
- "Who should own expansion, CS or AE?"

Don't run for:

- Pricing tiers / packaging design (use `pricing-and-packaging`)
- Reducing churn (use `churn-and-retention-engineering`)
- QBR mechanics (use `qbr-and-strategic-account-planning`)
- Computing NRR (use `saas-metrics-and-unit-economics`)

---

## The framework

### 1. The expansion thesis (the whitespace)

For each account, name where it can grow, the whitespace:

- **Seats**, more users on the existing product
- **Tiers**, upgrade to a higher plan for capability they now need
- **Products / modules**, cross-sell into adjacent offerings
- **Usage**, usage-based growth as adoption deepens
- **New teams / departments**, land in one, expand to others

No thesis, no expansion. The thesis is the map; the rest is execution.

### 2. Expansion-qualified signals (the "now" triggers)

Expansion has timing, like outbound has signals. The triggers that say an account is ready:

- Hit and sustained the activation moment (healthy + getting value)
- Usage approaching a tier/seat limit
- A new team or use case surfaced (often during onboarding or a QBR)
- The customer's own growth (headcount, funding, new initiative)
- A champion who's winning internally with your product

An expansion ask into a not-ready (or at-risk) account backfires, qualify first.

### 3. The land-and-expand sequence

Expansion is set up at the land. The initial deal should be scoped to *prove value in one place fast*, then widen, not to boil the ocean on day one. A focused land that activates becomes the reference for the next team; a sprawling land that never activates expands nowhere. Design the land for the expand.

### 4. Ownership: CS vs. AE vs. hybrid

Decide who runs expansion and align comp to it:

- **CS-led**, CS owns the relationship and the expansion; works when expansion is adoption-driven (seats/usage). Needs CS comp on expansion or it won't happen.
- **AE-led**, AE returns for the commercial expansion; works for larger tier/product upsells.
- **Hybrid**, CS surfaces and qualifies the signal, AE closes the commercial deal. Most common at scale.

The failure mode is ambiguity: "everyone owns expansion" means no one does. Name the owner; comp the owner.

### 5. The expansion plays

- **Seat expansion**, usage shows the need; right-size up
- **Tier-up**, they've hit the ceiling of their plan; upgrade for the capability
- **Cross-sell**, adjacent product, warmed by the existing value
- **Usage growth**, drive deeper adoption that grows usage-based revenue

Each play has a trigger (§2) and an owner (§4). Lead with value realized, not the ask.

### 6. The NRR target model

Set and track the number: starting MRR + expansion − contraction − churn = ending MRR (the bridge from `saas-metrics-and-unit-economics`). Model the expansion contribution needed to clear 100% NRR, and hold the motion accountable to it. NRR without a target is a metric you report, not one you move.

### 7. Expansion-vs-at-risk timing

The discipline that protects the relationship: **never run an expansion ask into an at-risk account.** Check the health score (`churn-and-retention-engineering`) before any expansion play. Asking a struggling customer to spend more is how a save becomes a churn. Expand the healthy; save the at-risk; never confuse the two.

---

## The process when triggered

### Step 1: Build the expansion thesis
Map whitespace per account/segment (§1).

### Step 2: Define expansion-qualified signals
The triggers that say "ready now" (§2).

### Step 3: Design the land for the expand
Focused, fast-activating land that widens (§3).

### Step 4: Assign ownership + comp
CS / AE / hybrid, with comp aligned (§4).

### Step 5: Build the plays
One per expansion type, trigger + owner (§5).

### Step 6: Set the NRR target + timing guardrail
The model + the at-risk check (§6-7).

---

## The artifact (template)

```markdown
# Expansion & NRR Motion, [Company], [Date]

## Expansion thesis (whitespace)
| Account/segment | Seats | Tier | Products | Usage | New teams |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |

## Expansion-qualified signals
- [activation sustained] [near limit] [new use case] [customer growth] [winning champion]

## Land-and-expand design
- The focused land: ___ → the expand path: ___

## Ownership
- Model: CS / AE / hybrid | Owner: ___ | Comp aligned: Y/N

## Plays
| Play | Trigger | Owner | Lead-with-value angle |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Seat expansion | ... | ... | ... |
| Tier-up | ... | ... | ... |
| Cross-sell | ... | ... | ... |

## NRR target
- Current NRR: __% | Target: __% | Expansion $ needed: ___

## Timing guardrail
- [ ] Health score checked before every expansion ask (no asks into at-risk)
```

---

## Common mistakes

- **Hoping for expansion.** Happy customers don't auto-buy more. Run a motion with a thesis and an owner.
- **No expansion thesis.** If you can't name the whitespace, you can't grow the account.
- **Asking before qualified.** An expansion ask into a not-ready account erodes trust. Qualify on signals.
- **Ambiguous ownership.** "Everyone owns expansion" = no one. Name and comp the owner.
- **Boil-the-ocean land.** A sprawling land that never activates expands nowhere. Land focused, then widen.
- **Expanding into at-risk.** Asking a struggling customer to spend more turns a save into a churn. Check health first.
- **NRR with no target.** A number you report but don't model is a number you won't move.

---

## How to use the artifact downstream

1. **Fed by onboarding**, the whitespace seeded in `customer-onboarding-and-time-to-value` becomes the expansion thesis.
2. **Gated by retention**, check the health score from `churn-and-retention-engineering` before any ask.
3. **Surfaced in QBRs**, `qbr-and-strategic-account-planning` is where expansion signals get raised with the buyer.
4. **Priced by packaging**, the tiers/levers you expand into are designed in `pricing-and-packaging`.
5. **Measured in metrics**, NRR and the expansion bridge live in `saas-metrics-and-unit-economics`.

---

**Expansion is the cheapest, highest-margin revenue in the business, and NRR above 100% is what makes SaaS compound, but only if you run it as a motion. Map the whitespace, qualify on signals, assign and comp an owner, lead every play with value realized, and never ask an at-risk account for more. Teams that hope for expansion plateau. Operators who engineer it compound.**

---

_Part of the StackSwap Operator Playbook. → stackswap.ai/playbook_

Free forever. No email gate.