700-805 Cisco Renewals Manager (700-805 CRM) Questions and Answers

According to the Cisco website1, one of the critical tasks during the Qualification phase is to validate customer inventory, which includes:

• Reviewing the Available to Renew (ATR) report and identifying any discrepancies or missing items
• Confirming the accuracy of the contract end dates, product IDs, serial numbers, and quantities
• Updating the ATR report with any changes or corrections

• Communicate value and the impact of Cisco solutions to the customer
• Help the customer achieve their desired outcomes and realize the full potential of their investment
• Provide feedback and insights on customer health, satisfaction, and adoption

According to the Cisco website1, advisory services from Cisco and their partners provide expert guidance and data-driven insights to help customers architect and optimize their IT environment. Advisory services can help customers with:

• IT strategy and planning
• Business and technology alignment
• IT governance and operating models
• IT transformation and innovation
• IT performance and optimization

References: 1: Services - Cisco

On-time renewals on Cisco products and services can provide various business benefits to customers, such as ensuring continuous support, access to the latest software updates, and improved security and performance. One of the benefits that is valid according to the Cisco Renewals Manager exam is rebates and discounts from Cisco. This means that customers who renew their contracts on time can enjoy lower prices and incentives from Cisco, which can help them reduce their total cost of ownership and increase their return on investment.

Smart License is the future state goal of licensing at Cisco, which aims to:

• Simplify and streamline license management across Cisco products and solutions
• Provide customers with a flexible and transparent way to consume Cisco software
• Enable customers to view and manage their licenses through a single portal (Cisco Smart Software Manager)
• Reduce operational costs and complexity for customers and partners

References: 3: Cisco Smart Licensing - Cisco

The area of the Success Plan that the Renewal Manager is responsible for is Solution Renewal. The Success Plan is a document that captures the account team’s strategy and actions to achieve customer success. It defines the customer’s desired outcomes, identifies the potential barriers and risks, outlines the key milestones and deliverables, and assigns roles and responsibilities to the account team members. The Solution Renewal area of the Success Plan covers the activities related to renewing the customer’s contract, such as reviewing the current solution, assessing the customer’s satisfaction and value realization, proposing any improvements or enhancements, negotiating the terms and conditions, and executing the renewal agreement. The Renewal Manager is in charge of leading and managing the Solution Renewal area of the Success Plan, as well as collaborating with other account team members, such as Customer Success Managers, Account Executives, or Sales Engineers.

A solutions led approach should be applied when renewing a quote. A solutions led approach focuses on understanding the customer’s pain points, challenges, goals, and desired outcomes, and then proposing a solution that can address them effectively. A solutions led approach is different from a product led approach, which focuses on highlighting the features and benefits of a product or service without considering the customer’s specific needs or situation. A solutions led approach can help create more value for the customer, as well as differentiate your offering from competitors. A solutions led approach can also help build trust and rapport with the customer, as well as increase their satisfaction and loyalty. By applying a solutions led approach when renewing a quote, you can demonstrate your commitment to helping the customer achieve their objectives, as well as showcase your expertise and credibility in providing the best solution for them

Two factors that drive subscription value for customers are up to date security protection and continuous access to innovation. These factors reflect the benefits that customers can gain from subscribing to Cisco products and services, such as:

• Up to date security protection: Customers can enjoy the peace of mind that their networks, devices, and data are always protected from the latest threats and vulnerabilities. Cisco provides regular security updates, patches, and enhancements to its products and services, as well as proactive threat intelligence and prevention. Customers can also leverage Cisco’s security portfolio, which covers the entire network from edge to cloud, and provides integrated solutions for identity, endpoint, cloud, email, web, and network security.
• Continuous access to innovation: Customers can access the latest features and functionalities that Cisco delivers through its products and services, without having to purchase new hardware or software licenses. Cisco provides frequent software updates, upgrades, and releases that introduce new capabilities, improve performance, and optimize user experience. Customers can also take advantage of Cisco’s innovation ecosystem, which includes partners, developers, researchers, and customers who collaborate to create cutting-edge solutions for various industries and use cases.

The Cisco offer that represents the best value for the customer is to ask the Cisco team to engage into a Smart Account or Enterprise Agreement and propose a creation of a Customer Success Plan. A Smart Account is a centralized account management platform that gives customers full visibility and access to their Cisco software licenses, subscriptions, and services across their organization. A Smart Account simplifies license activation, usage tracking, and renewal management, as well as enables customers to move licenses across devices and locations as needed. An Enterprise Agreement is a simplified buying program that covers the entire organization’s software and services needs under one agreement, one renewal date, and one set of terms. An Enterprise Agreement offers customers preferred pricing, financial predictability, investment protection, and flexible expansion options. A Customer Success Plan is a document that captures the account team’s strategy and actions to achieve customer success. It defines the customer’s desired outcomes, identifies the potential barriers and risks, outlines the key milestones and deliverables, and assigns roles and responsibilities to the account team members.

By engaging into a Smart Account or Enterprise Agreement and proposing a Customer Success Plan, the customer can benefit from:

• A comprehensive cloud calling plan with ease, in a single unified offer.
• A world-class collaboration suite built for hybrid work that provides Webex Calling, Messaging, Meetings, Polling, and Webinars in one unified offering.
• A best-in-class collaboration suite that leverages AI-driven intelligence to create engaging and inclusive collaboration experiences.
• A lower total cost of ownership by providing multiple best-in-class products from a single vendor.
• A simplified contract management by converging software licenses, support for software, and support for hardware into one agreement, one renewal date, and one set of terms.
• A trusted support from Cisco Solution Support that centralizes support across software and hardware and any third-party provider technologies in the deployment.
• A guidance at every step to accelerate technology transitions through expert resources, best practices, and proven methodologies focused on industry-wide solutions.
• A proactive and predictive insights powered by AI/ML-driven analytics and automation that help recognize potential problems, optimize operations, and de-risk transformation.
• A blueprint for account teams to achieve customer success by defining the customer’s vision, goals, metrics, milestones, deliverables, roles, responsibilities, progress, results, feedback, and recommendations.

the Health Index is:

• An ongoing measurement of several key customer health indicators, such as adoption, satisfaction, retention, and expansion
• A tool that helps Cisco and partners monitor and improve customer outcomes and experiences
• A score that ranges from 0 to 100, where higher scores indicate better health

References: 1: Customer Health Index - Cisco

This case represents a risk of renewal where a mitigation analysis will help obtain a more desired outcome. A low adoption rate indicates that the customer is not fully utilizing the solution or deriving the expected value from it. This can lead to dissatisfaction, reduced engagement, and increased likelihood of churn. A mitigation analysis can help identify the root causes of the low adoption rate, such as lack of training, technical issues, poor fit, or misalignment of expectations. Based on the analysis, a mitigation plan can be developed and implemented to address the issues and increase the adoption rate. For example, the plan could include providing more support, education, or guidance to the customer, resolving any bugs or glitches, customizing or adjusting the solution to better suit their needs, or redefining the success criteria and metrics. A mitigation analysis and plan can help improve the customer’s satisfaction, retention, and loyalty, as well as increase the chances of a successful renewal.