The Playmaker’s Blueprint: How to Set Up the Renewals Pipeline

Are You Still Leaving Your Recurring Revenue to Chance?

As a HighLevel CRM Certified Administrator, I see a common, catastrophic mistake that separates the Playmakers from the perpetually struggling: they master the art of the initial sale but fail to systematize the renewal and upsell. They treat recurring income—the foundation of all sustainable wealth—as an afterthought, managed in disorganized spreadsheets or, worse, left to fate.

Stop doing nothing about your most profitable asset.

If you believe that your role is merely to close new business, you are operating on a flawed, unsustainable model. The ultimate challenge of scaling a profitable company lies not in acquiring clients, but in maximizing their Lifetime Value (LTV). This requires treating renewals and upsells with the same rigorous, automated precision you apply to new lead generation.

The solution is clear, simple, and non-negotiable: You must establish a dedicated, automated Pipeline within HighLevel CRM for tracking Client Renewals and Upsells. This is the blueprint for predictable, exponential income growth.

What is the HighLevel Renewals & Upsells Pipeline?

The HighLevel CRM Pipeline is a visual, stage-based management system designed to move contacts from prospect to customer. While most users focus this feature exclusively on their initial sales cycle (Lead > Appointment > Negotiation > Closed), the Playmaker understands its power extends across the entire client lifecycle.

A Dedicated Renewals & Upsells Pipeline is a secondary (or tertiary) pipeline specifically designed to track clients who are already in contract and approaching a decision point: either renewal, or an expansion of services (upsell/cross-sell). It acts as your proactive warning system and your strategic growth map, ensuring no revenue opportunity is ever missed due to neglect. This isn't just a list; it's a dynamic, automated staging area for future LTV.

Why You Must Implement This Feature Immediately

The reason is simple: profitability and predictability.

1. Retention is Cheaper than Acquisition: It is universally recognized that selling to an existing customer is significantly cheaper and easier than acquiring a new one. By dedicating resources and visibility (via a pipeline) to renewals, you directly decrease your Cost of Acquisition (CAC) and drastically increase margins.

2. Predictable Cash Flow: When you track every renewal with a defined stage and date, your monthly and quarterly revenue becomes crystal clear. This certainty allows you to make aggressive, well-informed business decisions—hiring, expanding, and investing—instead of being paralyzed by quarterly uncertainty.

3. The Upsell Multiplier: Renewals often coincide with strategic reviews (Quarterly Business Reviews or QBRs). These reviews are the single best moment to introduce higher-tier services, add-ons, or complementary products. The pipeline forces the conversation, turning a routine administrative task into a growth-focused sales event.

4. Zero-Tolerance for Churn: By institutionalizing a "Churn Risk" stage in your pipeline, you create a fire alarm. As soon as a client expresses hesitation or misses a vital check-in, they are flagged. This allows your team to intervene with retention strategies before the contract ends, not after.

In short: This pipeline transforms recurring revenue from a passive expectation into an aggressive, managed sales opportunity. Don't wait for the money to flow; demand it by putting a structured process in place.

The Playmaker’s Blueprint: How to Set Up the Renewals Pipeline

Setting up this crucial pipeline is an act of decisive management. Follow these steps precisely to embed LTV mastery into your HighLevel CRM structure.

Step 1: Access and Initiate the Pipeline Creation

1. Navigate to Settings within your HighLevel account.

2. Click on Pipelines (often found under the "Company" or "Business Settings" section).

3. Click + New Pipeline. Title this pipeline something clear and aggressive, like: "LTV Mastery: Renewal & Growth Engine."

Step 2: Define the Game-Changing Stages

The stages of a renewal pipeline are fundamentally different from a new sales pipeline. They must be focused on client engagement, value reaffirmation, and proactive risk mitigation. Implement the following mandatory stages:

Stage Name: Purpose & Action

Stage 1: 90-Day Warning The Trigger: Clients automatically land here 90 days before their contract renewal date. This is a non-negotiable heads-up. Action: A Workflow should internally notify the Account Manager.

Stage 2: QBR Scheduled The Value Reinforcement: The Account Manager must schedule and execute a Quarterly Business Review (QBR) to review past performance and demonstrate realized ROI. Action: Contact the client to book the meeting immediately.

Stage 3: Upsell Identification The Growth Opportunity: During the QBR, potential growth opportunities (upsells/cross-sells) are identified. This stage is for drafting the new, expanded proposal. Action: Create the expanded proposal document.

Stage 4: Proposal Sent (W/ or W/O Upsell) The Commitment Phase: The renewal or renewed contract (including upsell components) has been sent to the client for signature. Action: Monitor document signing status (via HighLevel's document tools).

Stage 5: Churn Risk/Hold The Fire Alarm: If the client expresses hesitation, delays signing, or gives notice of intent to leave, they are manually moved here. Action: Executive intervention, customized retention offer, and immediate escalation.

Stage 6: Closed/Won - Renewed The Victory: The contract is successfully renewed and signed. Action: Update the contact’s Custom Field for "Next Renewal Date" (mandatory).

Step 3: Implement Automated Entry (The Core Automation)

A pipeline is useless if it requires manual population. Your goal is to eliminate human error and ensure every contract is tracked.

1. Navigate to Automation (Workflows).

2. Create a new Workflow named "Auto-Entry: Renewal Pipeline."

3. The Trigger: Set the trigger to: "Contact Date Field" is the primary trigger.

   • Field: Select the Custom Field you must create called "Contract Renewal Date."

   • Condition: "X Days Before" the date. Set X to 90 days.

4. The Action: The first action in the workflow must be: "Add/Update Opportunity."

   • Pipeline: Select your "LTV Mastery: Renewal & Growth Engine."

   • Stage: Set the stage to "90-Day Warning."

   • Status: Set to "Open."

This automation is the non-negotiable engine of your recurring revenue system. It ensures that 90 days out, every client automatically jumps onto the Playmaker's radar, demanding action.

Step 4: Define the Opportunity Value

Crucially, when the opportunity is created in Step 3, the Opportunity Value should be set to the value of the renewed contract. If you are projecting an upsell, the initial value should be the existing contract, and the value should be updated in Stage 3 to reflect the projected new contract value. This ensures your renewal pipeline dashboard accurately reflects your immediate, high-probability future revenue.

Pitfalls and Warnings: Avoid the Amateur Mistakes

Even with the best intentions, I see HighLevel users undermine this powerful system through basic failures in discipline and structure.

1. The Blended Pipeline Disaster: * Warning: Never mix new sales leads and renewal opportunities in the same pipeline. They are different sales processes with different timelines, sales personalities, and success metrics. Blending them dilutes your focus, obfuscates your data, and guarantees missed renewal dates. Keep your new client acquisition pipeline separate and distinct from your LTV Mastery pipeline.

2. The Inaccurate Renewal Date: * Warning: This entire system depends on a single, clean Custom Field: "Contract Renewal Date." If your new client onboarding process does not include a mandatory step to populate this field with the exact date, the automation will fail. Treat this field like the master key to your recurring revenue—keep it accurate, updated, and mandatory for every "Closed/Won" deal.

3. The Passive Follow-Up Failure: * Warning: The stages are action demands, not passive holding cells. If a client sits in the "QBR Scheduled" stage for more than seven days, your workflow should trigger an internal alert and an automated, escalating sequence of communication. The purpose of this pipeline is to force proactivity.

What Other HighLevel Features Must Work With This System?

The power of this dedicated pipeline is unlocked when it integrates seamlessly with other HighLevel tools, creating an unstoppable LTV machine.

1. Custom Fields & Values: As noted, the Contract Renewal Date custom field is mandatory. Additionally, create a Current Contract Value custom field and a Renewal Success Rate custom field (updated manually or via reporting) to monitor performance directly on the contact record.

2. Reporting Dashboards: Dedicate a specific section of your HighLevel dashboard to this pipeline. You need immediate, top-level visibility on two metrics:

   • Total Opportunity Value in Renewal Pipeline: Your projected income for the next 90 days.

   • Pipeline Velocity: How quickly opportunities move from 90-Day Warning to Closed/Won - Renewed. Slow velocity is a symptom of poor client health.

3. AI Conversation & Churn Prediction: Leverage HighLevel's integrated AI. Set up triggers that analyze sentiment in client communications. If the AI detects "frustration," "slow response," or "dissatisfaction" in email or SMS replies, set an internal notification to the Account Manager and move the contact automatically into the Churn Risk stage, demanding immediate human intervention.

Final Paragraph: What's Next?

You now hold the definitive blueprint for transforming your recurring revenue from a hopeful expectation into a systematic, predictable engine of growth. By dedicating a pipeline to LTV, you are operating at the highest level of CRM mastery, positioning yourself as a Playmaker who prioritizes asset optimization over perpetual acquisition struggle. This is the decisive action that scales companies past the plateau. However, a pipeline is only as powerful as the data flowing into it. Your next urgent task is to dive deep into HighLevel's Custom Fields and ensure every contract is tagged with the precise data—especially the "Next Renewal Date"—that makes this automated machine roar. Don't delay implementation—your future profits depend on the actions you take this hour.

Visit our website stopdoingnothing.media for training, implementation, consulting and more useful Highlevel CRM Training.