Salesforce Renewal Advisory

Salesforce Renewal War Room Checklist

Battle-tested checklist for Salesforce renewal negotiation. Covers licence optimisation, pricing tactics, competitive leverage, and contract terms. 40+ items.

📘 This guide is part of our Salesforce Licensing Knowledge Hub — your comprehensive resource for Salesforce licensing, compliance, and cost optimization.
40+
Action Items
6
Phases
20-35%
Typical Savings
Your Progress
0/37 (0%)
📅
90-60 Days: Discovery & Baseline
6 items
0/6
▾
Confirm your Salesforce renewal date and auto-renewal terms
Salesforce auto-renews with 30-60 day opt-out windows. Missing the window locks you in.
Critical
Inventory ALL Salesforce products and subscriptions
Map every product: Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Platform, Data Cloud, Einstein, Tableau, MuleSoft, Slack.
Document total annual Salesforce spend by product
Know exactly what you pay for each product. This is your negotiation baseline.
Important
Identify your Salesforce Account Executive and their renewal timeline
Understanding your AE quota pressure and fiscal timing creates leverage.
Engage independent Salesforce renewal advisory
Salesforce AEs are expert negotiators. Independent advisors with market data level the playing field.
Critical
Review your current contract terms: uplift, reduction rights, and co-termination
Know what you agreed to last time so you can improve it this time.
Important
📊
60-45 Days: Licence Optimisation
7 items
0/7
▾
Run Salesforce login reports to identify inactive users
Users who have not logged in for 90+ days should be deactivated or downgraded.
Critical
Assess edition right-sizing: Enterprise vs Unlimited vs Professional
Many users on Unlimited ($330/user/year) only need Enterprise ($165) features.
Critical
Identify shelfware — products purchased but not actively used
Common shelfware: CPQ, Einstein Analytics, Marketing Cloud, Field Service. If adoption is low, reduce or remove.
Important
Audit API-only and integration users on full licences
Integration users do not need full Sales Cloud licences. Reclassify to Platform or API-only licences.
Review sandbox and developer licence needs
Excess sandbox licences are common waste. Right-size to actual development team needs.
Assess Einstein/AI feature adoption
Salesforce is pushing AI aggressively. Do not pay for Einstein features your users have not adopted.
Important
Calculate your optimised licence position
Build a right-sized proposal: correct editions, correct quantities, remove shelfware. This is your negotiation target.
🛡️
45-30 Days: Competitive Leverage
5 items
0/5
▾
Evaluate Microsoft Dynamics 365 as an alternative
Even if switching is unlikely, a formal evaluation creates significant leverage.
Important
Assess HubSpot, Zoho, or other CRM alternatives for appropriate segments
Not all users need enterprise CRM. Alternatives for simpler use cases reduce your Salesforce footprint.
Request competitive pricing proposals from alternatives
Written quotes from competitors make your leverage tangible.
Inform your Salesforce AE that you are evaluating alternatives
Salesforce responds differently when they know you have credible options.
Tip
Evaluate whether any Salesforce workloads could move to in-house solutions
Custom-built solutions using Salesforce Platform may be cheaper than full Sales/Service Cloud for some use cases.
📜
30-20 Days: Contract Terms
7 items
0/7
▾
Challenge any proposed price uplift above 3-5%
Salesforce standard uplifts are 7-10%. Market-competitive uplifts are 3-5%.
Critical
Negotiate annual reduction rights of 10-20%
Without reduction rights, you pay for unused licences until renewal.
Important
Require co-termination of all Salesforce products
Align all products to a single renewal date to maximise leverage and simplify management.
Push for multi-year price protection
Lock pricing for the full term. Resist mid-term price increases for new products or editions.
Negotiate free trial periods for new products
Before committing to new products (Data Cloud, Einstein), negotiate 6-12 month trials.
Tip
Limit Salesforce audit and usage review rights
Negotiate restrictions on Salesforce conducting usage reviews mid-term.
Review data export and portability terms
Ensure you can export all data in standard formats at no additional cost.
Important
🤝
20-5 Days: Active Negotiation
6 items
0/6
▾
Present YOUR renewal proposal first
Do not negotiate from the Salesforce renewal quote. Lead with your optimised position.
Critical
Use your optimisation data to justify reductions
Show Salesforce the utilisation data. Inactive users, shelfware, and over-provisioned editions are undeniable.
Leverage Salesforce fiscal calendar for maximum pressure
Salesforce FY ends January 31. Q4 (Nov-Jan) and especially the final 2 weeks create maximum quota pressure.
Important
Escalate to Salesforce leadership if your AE cannot meet targets
Regional VP and AVP-level have more pricing authority than AEs. Request escalation if needed.
Negotiate committed vs uncommitted usage for variable products
For consumption-based products (Data Cloud, API calls), negotiate committed pricing at lower rates.
Get every commitment in writing — not just verbal or email
Salesforce contracts are the only binding documents. Verbal commitments are unenforceable.
Critical
⏰
Final 5 Days: Close & Protect
6 items
0/6
▾
Verify every SKU, edition, quantity, and price in the final order form
Errors in Salesforce order forms are common and costly to correct after signing.
Critical
Confirm all negotiated terms are in the Master Subscription Agreement
Review the MSA, not just the order form. Terms in the MSA override order form language.
Ensure renewal terms include all protective clauses
Verify: uplift caps, reduction rights, data export rights, co-termination, and termination provisions.
Important
Execute and distribute to all stakeholders
Share the signed agreement with IT, procurement, finance, and business owners.
Implement quarterly licence review process
Set up ongoing monitoring to prevent shelfware accumulation before the next renewal.
Recommended
Calendar the next renewal — start preparation 12 months out
The renewal after this one starts now.

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