ExpandExpansionHuman review required

Expansion Signal Spotting

Scan an account for genuine expansion signals and separate them from wishful thinking before you pitch.

Expansion goes wrong when quota pressure gets read as a customer signal. The honest read separates the pull from the push, respects the customer’s own gate, and is willing to tell you it is not yet time.

The template

Copy it, swap the {{marked}} variables for your account, and run it.

prompt.txt

Review this account and tell me whether there is a real expansion opportunity
right now, or whether I would be pushing. Rate the opportunity (Strong /
Emerging / Not yet), name the specific signals behind the rating, and give me
the ONE thing to do next. Be willing to tell me it is not the time.

Account: {{account_name}}
Current footprint: {{current_footprint}}
Usage signals: {{usage_signals}}
Things the customer has said: {{customer_statements}}
Relationship + timing context: {{context}}
What I'd want to expand into: {{expansion_target}}

Rules:
- Distinguish a buying signal (they pulled) from a selling opportunity (we want to push).
- "Not yet" is a valid and useful answer. Do not manufacture readiness.
- Tie the recommendation to a signal, not to quota pressure.
- If expanding now would risk the base relationship, say so.

Variables

{{account_name}}: Account namee.g. Bellwether Retail
{{current_footprint}}: Current footprinte.g. analytics module, 3 of 9 store locations
{{usage_signals}}: Usage signalse.g. the 3 live stores are power users; managers asked how to add more locations themselves
{{customer_statements}}: Things they've saide.g. "if this works for the pilot stores we'll want it everywhere"; asked about volume pricing
{{context}}: Relationship + timinge.g. champion is happy; but the base rollout is only 3 of 9 done
{{expansion_target}}: What you'd expand intoe.g. the remaining 6 store locations, plus the inventory module

Worked example

A CSM under pressure to find expansion revenue looks at an account where the pilot is going well and the customer has hinted at "everywhere." It is tempting to pitch the full nine-location rollout plus a new module now. She wants an honest read on whether the signals support it or whether she would be getting ahead of the base.

filled-prompt.txt

Account: Bellwether Retail
Current footprint: analytics module, 3 of 9 store locations
Usage signals: the 3 live stores are power users; managers asked how to add more locations themselves
Things the customer has said: "if this works for the pilot stores we'll want it everywhere"; asked about volume pricing
Relationship + timing context: champion is happy; but the base rollout is only 3 of 9 done
What I'd want to expand into: the remaining 6 store locations, plus the inventory module

Good output vs bad output

GOODHonors the customer's own "if the pilot works" condition, separates real pull signals from quota-driven push, and sequences the expansion so it does not destabilize an unfinished base rollout.

RATING: EMERGING (not Strong yet).

Real buying signals: managers asked how to add locations themselves (pull, not
push), the customer said "we'll want it everywhere," and they asked about
volume pricing. Those are genuine.

But the condition they set was explicit: "IF this works for the pilot stores."
Only 3 of 9 are live and those 3 are thriving, so you are close, but the
customer has not yet declared the pilot a success. Pitching all 6 remaining
locations AND a new module now asks them to skip their own gate.

DO NEXT: Convert the pilot into a stated win. Get the champion to confirm, in
writing or on a call, that the 3 stores hit their bar. That confirmation is
the trigger. Expand locations first; hold the inventory module until the
footprint lands, or you risk overloading a rollout that is not finished.

BADLooks fine at a glance. Here is why it fails.

STRONG expansion opportunity!

Bellwether is a great expansion target. The pilot stores are power users, the
champion is happy, and they literally said they want it everywhere and asked
about volume pricing. All the signals are there. I'd recommend pitching the
full 6-location rollout plus the inventory module now to capitalize on the
momentum. Strike while the iron is hot, send them a proposal for the complete
package this week.

Over-promisingIgnores the customer's explicit "IF this works for the pilot" gate, treating a conditional statement as a green light and pushing the full package before they said yes.
Missing contextGlosses over "3 of 9 live", pitching a 6-location expansion plus a new module onto a half-finished rollout risks the base relationship.
Wrong register"Strike while the iron is hot" is quota energy, not customer signal; it reframes a genuine buying signal as a reason to push hard now.
No next step"Send a proposal for the complete package" skips the one move that actually matters: getting the customer to confirm the pilot was a success.

Guardrails

When NOT to use this

Do not use it to justify a pitch you have already decided to make. If you only accept "Strong," you have turned a judgment tool into a rubber stamp.
Not for renewal-at-risk accounts; expansion talk on a shaky base reads as tone-deaf and can accelerate churn.

Responsible use

The model does not feel your quota pressure, which is a feature. Do not argue it up to "Strong" because you need the number.
Expansion is a human, relationship-led motion. Use this to time and frame the conversation, not to automate a proposal.

A human must review the output before it reaches the customer.

Model + settings

Model: Claude Sonnet is fine; the value is disciplined judgment, not generation.
Temperature: 0.3 (low, you want a sober read, not an optimistic pitch)
Settings: Explicitly permit "Not yet" as an answer. A model that can only say yes is useless for timing.
Feed it the customer''s actual words. The difference between "we''ll want it" and "we want it now" is the whole decision.

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