Who Should Own the Renewal Negotiation? 5 Questions to Help You Decide

A question that I get frequently asked:  "Where should the ownership of the renewal negotiation sit?"

It’s one of those deceptively simple questions that opens up a whole can of worms and rightly so. Because honestly, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer, and yet it’s a decision that impacts not only your renewal rates but also your team structure, compensation plans, and ultimately your customer experience.

So here’s my 10 cents.

First, Let's talk incentives

Before we dive into ownership, one thing we feel strongly about: Customer Success should be comp-ed (or at the very least, targeted) on GRR/NRR.

Even if they’re not the ones “closing” the renewal, they need skin in the game. It’s the clearest way to align CS to the broader business objectives. (I’ll save the full comp philosophy for another time)

So… Who Should Own the Renewal?

• Should it sit with Account Managers?

• With a dedicated Renewals Manager?

• With Customer Success?

• And if you do have Renewals Managers, do they report into CS or Sales?

• Are they true negotiators, or more like renewal administrators?

You see where I’m going with this. It’s messy because it depends on your business model, your product complexity, team skills, customer base, even your GRR baseline.

So, if there's no universal answer, how do you make the right decision for your business?

Here Are 5 Things I Always Consider

1. Volume of Renewals

How many renewals are we talking about per quarter or year?If it’s a high-volume game, you’ll need a repeatable process and likely a dedicated team. A CSM who’s juggling QBRs, adoption plans, and strategic guidance shouldn’t also be expected to process 100+ renewals a quarter.

2. Are They Negotiations or Admin Tasks?

Not all renewals are created equal. If your renewals are mostly auto-renewing, non-negotiated, flat YOY then you might be better off with a Renewals Coordinator who ensures the paperwork gets done.

But if each renewal involves custom terms, upsell potential, or risk mitigation? Then it’s a negotiation and that requires a different skill set entirely.

3. Skill: Who Has the Commercial Acumen?

Be honest: does your current CS team have the training and confidence to negotiate? If not, don’t force it. That’s how you lose deals and demotivate great CSMs. Better to bring in someone with the right commercial background than hope your existing team will just “figure it out.”

4. Product Complexity

This one’s big. If your product requires deep technical or industry knowledge to demonstrate value and justify renewal—then maybe your CSMs are the best-positioned people to lead that conversation.

But it’s rare to find someone who’s both a domain expert and a seasoned negotiator. If you’re lucky enough to find one of those unicorns, hang on tight. Otherwise, this may be a case for a dual-threaded approach: CS owns value; sales/renewals own the commercial closure.

5. Will (a.k.a. Incentive)

Even if the skill is there, do they want to do it? If your CS team is targeted on product usage, not revenue, asking them to negotiate renewals creates friction. Make sure incentives and ownership are aligned. If they’re not, something’s going to break.

And lastly… Ownership of renewals isn’t just a job title decision, it’s a strategic one. It reflects how you want to balance customer experience, revenue protection, and operational efficiency.

Whatever model you choose, make sure you’re setting your team (and your customers) up for success by aligning:

• Skills

• Incentives

• Volume

• Complexity

• And team will

Get any of those out of sync, and you’ll start to feel the strain, whether in missed renewals, frustrated teams, or misaligned KPIs. The key is to make ownership intentional, not accidental.