Get the Right Support for Your Renewals Team: Who Do You Need to Drive Your Renewals Platform Implementation?

Jim Stockwell

While the right technology can certainly make a huge impact on a company's bottom line, a simple install is never enough to set the stage for effective use and optimal end results. For a team that is planning to implement a renewals management platform, there are several key initial upfront considerations regarding who should drive the implementation at an executive level and who are the right players to shepherd the implementation along and maximize the installed platform's success.

The Executive Sponsor

While buy-in from at least one senior-level leader is critical for the adoption of any new technology, it is important to have the right executive sponsor on board for the platform being implemented. For renewals, thus may be the CIO, CTO, or VP of Sales. While the title will differ for each company, the role of the executive sponsor is to understand and buy into the big-picture need and potential for the new platform. To get commitment from an executive sponsor, the proposal should address:

Driving Need: What problems currently exist within the company? Why do they need to be resolved?
Functionality: How will this platform resolve those problems?
Financial Impact: How much will the platform cost (upfront and over its lifetime), and what is the direct ROI?
Operations and Staffing Impact: How will this solution change the way the company works, and who is doing that work?
Resource Requirements: What resources are needed to optimize results? (Staff, technology, costs, time, etc.)
Competitive Analysis: Is this the best solution to meet our needs?

Once the executive sponsor gives the go-ahead to move forward, their role is to lead the implementation team and to be held accountable for its success.

Implementation Team

In addition to the executive sponsor, who provides senior leadership and the big picture vision for the implementation, an implementation team is also typically led by a project manager who drives day-to-day implementation activities, such as:

Planning, tracking and adjusting the schedule
Developing and managing the project schedule
Coordinating team members
Determining staff access levels for the renewals platform
Leading a team to develop effective workflows
Introducing the platform to channel partners
Developing a training schedule and curriculum for staff

The project manager often oversees a team that may range from 2 to 15 people but may be even higher. The implementation team often also includes an IT project manager, project support staff, a marketing representative, sales or operations staff to represent the user perspective, and someone to provide insight into systems integration and workflow.

The project manager role for a renewals platform implementations is often someone with a high level of experience and investment in sales and/or customer success. They are highly organized and understand the intricacies of renewals data and channel partnerships.

The success of a renewals platform implementation often rests on the shoulders of the executive sponsor, the project manager, and the platform provider. Together they match the platform to the company's needs and existing processes and foster acceptance and adoption of the new platform across the company.

Get more information about the steps to successful implementation for a renewals platform such as iasset.com by downloading our free ebook, "Implementing a Renewals Platform: What You Need to Know."