Vendor Breakup Email Skill

Ending a vendor relationship is a transaction wearing a relationship's clothes — and both halves need handling. The transaction: notice per the contract, data returned in usable formats, access revoked, final invoices bounded. The relationship: no grievance dump (you may need them again; the industry is small), a reason that's true but spare, and a close that leaves the door ajar. The email is short; the offboarding checklist behind it is where switching actually succeeds or fails.

What This Skill Produces

• The contract check — notice period, termination clause, auto-renewal deadline: the email's timing is set by these, not by mood
• The breakup email — clean notice, effective date, the transition asks, the door-open close
• The retention-response plan — the counter-offer is coming; decide now whether any price changes the answer
• The offboarding checklist — data export (formats named), access revocation, final-invoice bounds, the internal switch plan

Required Inputs

Ask for these if not provided:

• The contract's exit terms — notice period, renewal date, termination-for-convenience clause; an email sent after the auto-renew deadline is a year-long postscript (route the document through tos-decoder-style reading if unclear)
• The real reason and the stated reason — price, fit, quality, politics; the email states a true-but-spare version, and the skill helps pick it
• What you need back — data, files, configurations, domain/account ownerships — named per item, with formats
• The retention answer — if they counter at 40% off, does the answer change? Decided before the email, not during the call

Framework: The Clean-Exit Rules

1. The calendar outranks the prose: find the auto-renewal date and notice window first — a perfect email sent one day late costs a full term. The send date is the notice deadline minus buffer, and the email cites the clause ("per section 8, this is our notice of non-renewal effective date]").
2. True but spare: "We're consolidating tools" / "our needs have shifted" — one honest sentence, no itemized grievances. A feedback list invites rebuttal and negotiation; if they ask for detail, a short call after the notice is filed is the generous version.
3. Transition asks go in the first email: data export (format named — "CSV export of all records, not a PDF report"), handover of any credentials/ownerships, the final-invoice expectation ("services through date], no charges after"). Asks made while notice is fresh get serviced; asks made post-offboarding get queued behind current customers.
4. Pre-decide the retention counter: vendors counter — often meaningfully. If a number would change the answer, name it internally before sending (and consider just asking for it instead of leaving). If nothing changes the answer, the response is drafted now: "appreciated, but the decision is final."
5. The door stays ajar for free: "We'd gladly consider vendor] again as needs evolve" costs nothing and is often true. Vendors remember exits; the graceful ones get priority when you're back — and reference calls about you happen in this industry too.

Output Format

Vendor Exit: vendor] — notice deadline: date]

The Contract Check

Clause cited · notice period · renewal date · send-by date]

The Email

Notice with clause + effective date · the spare reason · transition asks itemized (data format, credentials, invoice bound) · the door-open close]

Retention Response (pre-decided)

The number that changes the answer, or "none — final"; the reply draft either way]

Offboarding Checklist

Export verified before access ends · credentials rotated · billing/card removed · internal cutover date · the calendar note for contract archive]

Quality Checks

• ] The send date beats the notice deadline with buffer
• ] The clause is cited — notice that doesn't reference the contract invites disputes
• ] Data comes back in named, usable formats, verified before access ends
• ] The retention answer was decided before sending
• ] No grievance list — the reason is one true sentence

Anti-Patterns

• ] Do not miss the auto-renew window while polishing the wording — the calendar is the whole game
• ] Do not itemize grievances — feedback invites negotiation; exit emails state decisions
• ] Do not revoke your own access before the export is verified — sequence is data, then keys
• ] Do not negotiate live on the retention call unprepared — the pre-decided number is the armor
• ] Do not burn the door — spare exits are free options on the future