Expansion narrative

When someone asks you to "make the case to grow this account" or "write up the upsell," the base model reaches for a persuasive pitch: it opens with the product or the ask, gushes that the account "loves us" and there's "huge upside," invents an ROI number to make it land, and blurs what the customer has already gotten together with what they might get. The result reads well and proves nothing. This skill pins the case to a fixed, ordered five-part shape and one discipline — every claim traces to a given account fact — so the case earns the ask instead of asserting it.

When to use / when NOT

• Use when writing the business case to expand one existing customer — an upsell (more of what

they have) or a cross-sell (a product they don't have) — from a set of account facts.

• Do NOT use for scanning a book of accounts to find which ones have expansion signals, scoring

an account's churn risk into a tier, writing a quarterly business review recap, or planning how to approach an upcoming renewal.

The fixed five-part case

Emit exactly these five parts, each labeled, in this order:

1. Value Proven — the outcomes this account has already achieved, drawn only from the given

facts. Past tense, concrete, tied to what they bought us for. This is the earned right to ask — lead with it, never with the product.

1. The Gap — the specific unmet need, uncovered team, or whitespace the current footprint leaves

open. A named gap from the facts, not "they could always use more."

1. Proposed Expansion — the one upsell or cross-sell that closes that gap. A single clear

recommendation, not a menu of everything we sell.

1. Quantified ROI — the projected return, with every figure traced to a number in the given

facts. Where the input needed to size the return isn't in the facts, name the missing input instead of inventing a figure. This is a projection — keep it separate from Value Proven.

1. The Ask — one concrete next step (a scoping call, a pilot, a sized proposal) and what you

need from the customer to take it.

Rules

1. All five parts, labeled, in the fixed order. Lead with Value Proven; never open with the

product, the pitch, or the ask.

1. Ground every claim in a given fact. No invented metrics, no fabricated benefits, no made-up

account context. If the facts don't support a claim, it doesn't go in.

1. Separate proven from projected. Value Proven is what already happened (past tense). Quantified

ROI is what could happen (future). Never present a projection as an achieved result.

1. ROI traces to given numbers. Compute only from figures in the facts. If the numbers to size

the return aren't present, state exactly what input is needed — do not fabricate one.

1. The gap must be a real, named unmet need, and the proposed expansion must close that gap.

Do not propose an expansion untethered from a stated gap.

1. One expansion, one ask. Pick the expansion tied most directly to the named gap and close on a

single concrete next step, not a diffuse "let's find ways to grow together."

Worked example

Account facts (input): > Bought our support desk 14 months ago to cut first-response time; it fell from 9h to 2h and their > CSAT rose from 78 to 91. Live on 2 of their 5 teams. Their sales org (~30 reps) still logs customer > issues in a spreadsheet. We also sell a knowledge-base module they don't have. Contract is $40k/yr > for 40 support seats.

BEFORE (base default — leads with the pitch, invented ROI, proven and projected merged): > This account is ripe for expansion — they love us and the upside is huge. We should pitch them the > knowledge-base module and more seats; it'll save their whole org tons of time and drive the same > great results everywhere. Easily six figures of value on the table.

AFTER (this shape): > Value Proven — Since deploying 14 months ago, first-response time dropped 9h→2h and CSAT rose > 78→91 — the outcome they bought us for, already delivered on 2 of their 5 teams. > > The Gap — Three of five teams have no coverage, and the ~30-rep sales org still tracks customer > issues in a spreadsheet — no shared history, no metrics. The current teams also lack a knowledge base. > > Proposed Expansion — Extend the support desk to the sales org (~30 seats) and add the > knowledge-base module the live teams don't have. > > Quantified ROI — At the current $1k/seat/yr rate, ~30 sales seats is a ~$30k/yr expansion. The > response-time and CSAT gains proven on support are the case for a similar lift in sales — but the > sales team's current baseline (response time, ticket volume) isn't in these facts and is needed to > size the projected return. These are projections, not results already achieved. > > The Ask — A 30-minute scoping call with the sales-ops lead to pull their current baseline and > confirm seat count, so we can put a sized proposal in front of them.

Edge cases

• No numbers to size ROI. State the exact input needed ("need their current ticket volume to

project the return") rather than inventing a figure. The named gap in the input is the point.

• Value not yet proven. If the facts show no delivered outcome, say the expansion case isn't

ready and name the proof needed first — do not manufacture a "proven" result to justify the ask.

• Multiple whitespace options. Pick the one expansion tied most directly to the named gap; do

not list every product we sell.

• Facts say only "they seem happy." Value Proven flags the lack of a hard outcome ("no

goal-linked result in the facts") rather than dressing sentiment up as proven value.

• Customer already asked about a product. Their interest belongs in The Gap / The Ask; Value

Proven still leads with delivered outcomes, not "they asked about X."

Do / Don't

• Always emit all five parts, labeled, in the fixed order, Value Proven first.
• Always ground each claim in a given fact and keep proven results separate from projections.
• Always trace every ROI figure to a given number, or name the missing input.
• Always tie the proposed expansion to a named gap and close on one concrete ask.
• Never open with the product, the pitch, or the ask.
• Never invent a metric, a benefit, or an ROI number the facts don't support.
• Never present a projected return as an outcome already achieved.
• Never propose an expansion untethered from a stated gap, or close on a vague "let's grow together."

Common mistakes (the base's wrong defaults)

• A flowing persuasive pitch that opens with the product and the upside instead of the five parts.
• "Huge upside," "tons of time saved" — a fabricated benefit with no fact behind it.
• An ROI figure conjured from nothing when the facts contain no numbers to compute it.
• Proven results and projected returns blended into one glowing claim.
• A menu of every product we could sell instead of the one expansion that closes the named gap.
• Ending on "let's find ways to grow together" instead of one concrete next step.