Find customers ready to expand
A customer that raised money, hired for the team you serve or opened an office since they bought has outgrown the contract they signed. Find them before the renewal does.
The conversation
Sample accounts and numbers, for illustrationYouFor our current customers, find the ones that raised funding, grew headcount, started hiring for the team we serve or opened a new office since they bought, rank them by how much has changed, and give the account manager one reason to open an expansion conversation at each.
Unify3 checks · CRM, funding and hiring data, company news
- Read each customer’s close date, contract, owner and renewal date from Salesforce.
- Looked for funding rounds from Harmonic and Dealroom, open roles from TheirStack and new offices or leaders from PredictLeads, all dated after the close date.
- Ranked customers by how much changed and how recently.
Of 86 customers, 14 have changed materially since they bought. Six raised a round, eight are hiring for the team you serve, and three did both.
- 1Merridian SystemsMost changed
- 2Northwind LabsChanged
- 3Halden RoboticsChanged
- 4Lumen FreightWatch
Only changes dated after the purchase count. A round the customer raised before buying is not a reason to write now.
YouWalk me through Merridian since they bought.
UnifyThey bought in January for a team of nine. Since then the team has doubled on paper and the contract has not moved.
- JanuaryBecame a customerNine seats for the support operations team. Owner: Ana. Renewal in November.
- MaySeries B announcedHarmonic and Dealroom both list the round. The announcement names support and onboarding as where the money goes.
- JulyTwelve support roles openedTheirStack shows twelve open support and support-operations roles, four of them senior.
- AugustNew Head of SupportPredictLeads lists a new hire into the role your buyer reported to.
- What the evidence says
- The team you serve is growing from nine towards twenty, and it has a new leader who did not buy the product.
- What it does not say
- Whether the new head wants more seats, or a different tool. That is the question the note asks.
YouWhich of the 14 renew in the next 90 days, and what changed at each since they bought?
UnifyThree of the 14 renew in the next 90 days. Merridian is the one where the change is much larger than the contract.
| Customer | Renews | Changed since purchase | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brightpath | 30 October | Seed extension in June; five support roles open | Chris |
| Merridian Systems | 14 November | Series B; 12 support roles; new Head of Support | Ana |
| Halden Robotics | 2 December | Six operations roles open; no funding | Sam |
Renewal dates come from Salesforce. With a renewal this close, the account manager can fold the change into that conversation instead of writing twice.
YouWhich customers are hiring for the team that uses us, how many roles, and who owns each account?
UnifyEight customers are hiring for the team that uses you, with 34 open roles between them. The top four are below with their owners.
- 1Merridian Systems · owner Ana12 roles
- 2Halden Robotics · owner Sam6 roles
- 3Brightpath · owner Chris5 roles
- 4Calderon Health · owner Chris3 roles
Roles come from TheirStack and count only when the posting names the team on the contract. A role in another department is a cross-sell question, not a seat question.
YouDraft the note for Ana to send, and set this to check every customer weekly.
UnifyThe note is with Ana for review. Thirteen more are with their owners. The weekly check sends only new changes.
ToNils Berg, Head of Support
SubjectTwelve open roles
Nils, congratulations on the role. I saw the support team is hiring twelve people after the round. The nine people on the current plan set up routing rules in a way that worked for nine; at twenty it usually needs a different shape. Would a short session on that be useful before the new hires start?
Set up
- Fourteen notes routed to account managers Each opens on the change and asks what it means for the team. None opens with the contract.
- Weekly check on every customer Funding, hiring and offices dated after purchase. Only customers with a new change reach their owner.
- Renewal dates shown beside the signal So the account manager can choose to write now or fold it into the renewal.
The round and the roles are facts. That the customer needs more seats is the reading, and the note asks rather than assumes.
Expansion signals, with and without Unify
The account manager hears about the funding round from the customer, usually at the renewal.
| Without Unify | With Unify |
|---|---|
| Expansion conversations happen at renewal, when the customer already knows what they need and what it costs elsewhere | Every customer is checked for funding, headcount growth, hiring and new offices since the purchase date |
| Funding, hiring and new offices at customers are noticed one account at a time, if at all | Customers are ranked by how much changed, with the change and the date on each row |
| The account manager opens with the upsell, so it reads as a price increase | The opener is the change, and the question is what it means for the team you serve |
| The signal lives in the news and the contract lives in the CRM, and nobody puts them side by side | The contract, the owner and the renewal date sit next to the signal, so timing is a choice |
Start from this prompt
Make it your own in Unify, then review the results.
For our current customers, find the ones that raised funding, grew headcount, started hiring for the team we serve or opened a new office since they bought, rank them by how much has changed, and give the account manager one reason to open an expansion conversation at each.
What else you can ask for
The walkthrough is one path through this workflow. These are the turns people take most often.
- Renewals in 90 daysWhich customers renewing in the next 90 days have raised money or grown since they bought, and what changed?Try in Unify
- Hiring for our teamWhich customers are hiring for the team that uses our product, how many roles, and who owns the account?Try in Unify
- One accountWhat has changed at Merridian Systems since they became a customer, and what should their account manager open with?Try in Unify
How it changes by who you sell to
- Software
- A software customer that raised a round and is hiring engineers has more seats to fill than the contract covers. Ask for customers with a round or engineering hires since purchase, and open on the team growth rather than the seat count.
- Financial services
- Bank and insurer customers expand by department, not by headcount, and the signal is a new leader or a new office. Ask for customers with a new operations or risk leader since purchase, and route the conversation to the relationship owner.
- Healthcare
- Health-system customers expand when a new facility joins the system. Ask for customers that acquired or opened a facility since purchase, and for the department head at the new site rather than the original buyer.
- Manufacturing
- Manufacturers expand with plants, and a new plant means a new site to serve. Ask for customers that announced a facility or a large contract since purchase, and for the operations lead at the new plant.
- Professional services
- Firms expand by practice and by office. Ask for customer firms that opened an office or added a practice since purchase, and for the partner who runs the new one, since the original buyer may not cover it.
Next in customer expansion and health
+2New stakeholdersCatch new stakeholders at customer accountsA new VP at a customer has never heard of you and owns the budget your product sits in. Find them in their first 90 days, before they find a replacement.
+2ExpansionExpand into a customer's neighboring teamsThe next deal is often one department across from the one you already serve, and sometimes it has already started without you. Find both, and who to ask.
+5Cross-sellFind cross-sell opportunitiesCustomers on one product whose stack, hiring or usage says they fit a second one. Name the product, show the evidence, and find the person who would buy it.
Connect what this workflow uses
Each guide covers the connection, what Unify reads and writes, and what to check before the first run.
- Connect SalesforceAuthorize Salesforce in Unify, configure CRM field mappings, and choose when to enable writing.
- Connect HubSpotConnect HubSpot to Unify, map Company and Person fields, and plan CRM exclusions and supported write-back.
- Connect GmailConnect Gmail to Unify for sequence emails and replies.
Questions about this workflow
What counts as a change since purchase?
A funding round from Harmonic or Dealroom, growth in headcount or open roles for the team you serve from TheirStack, and a new office, facility or leader from PredictLeads, each dated after the close date in your CRM.
How is this different from cross-sell?
This finds customers whose company grew, so the same product now fits a bigger team. Cross-sell finds customers whose stack or usage fits a second product. They start from different evidence and end in different conversations.
Does the note mention the upgrade?
Not first. It opens on the change, asks what it means for the team, and offers a conversation. The account manager decides when the contract comes up, with the renewal date shown beside the signal.
Can it run on its own?
Yes. As a scheduled chat it checks every customer weekly and sends the account manager only the ones with a new change, with the reason attached. Nothing is sent to a customer without approval.