Agency Client Retention

1. Read the current business context and the concrete task to solve.
2. Use only the relevant detailed guidance and references for the request at hand.
3. Produce the strategy, writing, or framework output this skill is responsible for.
4. Check the result for clarity, realism, and handoff readiness.

Quality standards

• Outputs must be specific, usable, and grounded in the available evidence.
• Recommendations should support follow-on execution instead of staying abstract.
• The result should remain consistent with the broader repository system.

Anti-patterns

• Do not produce generic framework dumps with no decision made.
• Do not invent facts to complete the output.
• Do not ignore the actual audience, offer, or business constraints.

Outputs

• Strategy notes, writing deliverables, framework outputs, or implementation-facing recommendations.

References

• Start with references/legacy-guidance.md when you need the preserved detailed instructions from the previous skill version (Rule of Five Ones, Land-Deliver-Retain, Seed the Vision).
• Use references/deal-structures.md for the engagement pricing architecture and proposal structure inherited from earlier phases.
• Use references/monthly-report-template.md for the standard monthly client report format.

Phase 8 references (retainer, automation, and revenue expansion):

• Use references/retainer-package-catalog.md when productising or selling retainers — 5 packages (Care, SEO, Content Growth, CRO, Tech Support), fees $750–$3,000/mo, deliverables, SLAs, exclusions, upsell paths, capacity math.

• Use references/post-launch-review-cadence.md when planning the 30-day, 90-day, quarterly, and annual review meetings — agendas, deliverables, conversion goals, churn early-warning signals.

• Use references/expansion-offers-matrix.md when recommending expansion at a review milestone — 9 productised offers (landing pages, multilingual, content engine, lead magnet, CRO sprint, analytics, sector page, authority talk, re-engagement) with fees, durations, decision matrix.

• Use references/subscription-economy-model.md when running the agency itself as a recurring-revenue business — Tzuo's PADRE model, the subscription P&L, MRR/ARR/NRR/GEI metrics, churn types and reduction (Tzuo + Warrillow), the 9 subscription business models mapped to our retainers.

• Use references/okrs-and-client-reporting.md when setting internal quarterly OKRs or designing client KPI reports — Doerr's FACTS framework, committed vs aspirational OKRs, CFRs, the strict separation between internal OKRs and client KPIs.

• Use references/hybrid-agency-operating-model.md when designing internal operations — Roetzer's productised services, 7-variable pricing formula, RER KPI, capacity math (120–140 hrs/mo per consultant), 17 A-player traits, daily/weekly/monthly rhythm, Client-in-Residence role.

• Use references/automation-opportunities-backlog.md when deciding what to automate — 9 prioritised opportunities, 3 automation rules, what not to automate (strategy, case studies, discovery calls, sales follow-ups, authority content), implementation arc by year.

• Read only the specific files under references/ that match the current task instead of loading the whole directory.

• This skill has no bundled scripts by default; keep execution focused on the documented workflow and any existing project files.

Notes

• Treat this SKILL.md as the portable execution layer for both Claude Code and Codex.
• Preserve existing project behavior unless the current task explicitly requires a change.