If you’re in sales, then you know that a Quarterly Business Review (QBR) is a key part of your schedule. But what is a QBR in sales? This article explains what these are and how to have effective reviews with your team.
A Quick Overview of Sales (QBR) helps sales managers and salespeople understand how their team or individual performance compares to others in the market. By tracking this number, businesses can identify areas where they need to improve their selling strategies.
The sales QBR (or
Although it is a fairly routine procedure, it still requires a lot of thinking and planning. What does this look like? What makes a QBR a success? What strategies and steps should you take to nail your quarterly presentation?
Let’s take a closer view at what a QBR in sales is and the best practices to use to get the most from it.
What is a QBR in sales?
So, what is a QBR in sales? A sales QBR, or ‘
It is important to distinguish between QBRs for sales and QBRs for customer success. The latter is done with customers and not with internal management. This type of QBR involves meeting with clients to discuss how you have supported their business and the solutions that you have tailored to meet their needs moving forward.
The sales QBR is an important part of sales department in your company. It allows you to identify the best aspects
There are many types of sales reps that can conduct QBRs. It varies from one company to the next. Although any sales representative can present a QBR to a team, most often they are assigned to field sales reps and other people who can assess the performance of the entire team.
How to conduct your sales QBR
1. Collect the sales reports that are relevant.
Preparation is key to a great QBR. Your presentation should be clear and trustworthy. You will need to know your facts and figures in order to get there. having the right materials is an important part of that process.
Sales reports can provide valuable insights into a company’s strengths and weaknesses. By identifying areas of improvement, businesses can work to improve their overall performance. By using your CRM you can access these reports.
You might consider incorporating reports on quarter-over-quarter growth by sales revenue, close rates, or the number of deals your team closed in comparison to your company goals.
Source: HubSpot
A good QBR is data-driven. This means that you need hard facts and figures to back up your claims, explain any weaknesses in your review, and frame the solutions you propose. Without looking through your sales reports, you won’t be able to find this information.
2. Include forecasts
A good QBR is more than a summary of the events over the past few months. You must address the highs, lows, and trends of the last quarter. But you don’t have to stop there. your audience must be able to see the future.
It is important to identify the key goals you will prioritize moving forward together with your sales team. Showing your desire to improve in these areas and projecting on what you can expect to see will help keep everyone on track and achieve these company goals.
Once you have your ideal forecasts, explain why they are important and how you plan to achieve them. This is where you will show that you are able to identify areas for improvement and that you can find proactive solutions to any problems or shortcomings that you have encountered.
3. Make it visually appealing
The QBR process is important and can be supported by creating an engaging presentation. This will help to grab attention and guide your audience through the review. Supportive visual materials, such as charts and graphs, make this process much easier.
Anyone who has ever worked in sales knows that it is difficult to remain 100% engaged during a presentation, especially when the presenter is talking about numbers and KPIs. It is important to have your supporting materials organized in a visually appealing way and seamlessly integrated into your presentation.
The purpose of a QBR is to ensure that everyone involved understands the current status of a project and identify any areas where clarification or improvement is needed. Using visual aids during your QBR can help make your points more clear and prevent important information from being lost.
4. While you should be focusing on the big picture, it is important to be open to questions about the day-to-day operations
As many of the points above have indicated, a successful QBR requires you to think about the bigger picture. Management will appreciate your ability to propose solutions and strategies that show you have a growth mindset, a critical thinking skill set, and the ability to turn past mistakes into meaningful solutions.
While completing the review is your primary priority, there is a good chance that your audience will be interested in the details of your efforts. They might be curious about how your team operates and your efficacy as a team manager or rep.
This information should not be included in your QBR. If possible, schedule separate calls or meetings to discuss this aspect of your performance. you might still be asked to explain your day-today operations, so be ready to answer any questions.
5. Keep it simple
QBR should be concise and not include unnecessary details or fluff. It’s a good idea to keep your presentation under 45 minutes, especially if it’s done virtually.
Establish a solid structure and plan for your QBR and adhere to it as much as you can. You should determine what must be included and what you would like addressed. As I said in the previous point: Try to keep your daily operations as simple and intimate as possible.
Your QBR is not the only presentation your audience will watch. Your presentation should grab and hold their attention. You can do this by reducing the amount of information in your report and presenting only the most important information, plans, or goals.
6. Your audience is your audience
For any presentation, it is important to read the room. QBR is no exception. Keep an eye on the engagement of your audience. If attention is dropping and it seems like people are losing interest, you can speed up your presentation or get more enthusiasm.
Perhaps you can call on your audience or ask questions. To grab more attention, you might want to change your tone or improve your body language. To shake things up, You could share a story or make a new play.
If you want to keep your audience engaged, be flexible and improvise when necessary. This can be difficult to do, especially in a formal business setting. However, it is important to be willing to try new things.
Preparing for your QBR is essential. You should also be prepared to let your audience know that you are not following the rules.
It’s important not to ignore QBRs. Though they may seem like a routine, these reviews are crucial for ensuring the success of your business.
These are important and should be taken seriously.
How to determine if your QBR was a success
It can be nerve-wracking to present a QBR. The scenario can feel like a make-or-break situation, especially when there are multiple executives present. Here are some ways to determine if your QBR was productive or not.
How does the QBR huddle work?
Using QBR to create a strategic account plan
QBRs can be used to build long-lasting and mutually beneficial relationships between clients/providers. However, QBRs can also be used to create strategic sales accounts plans.
Your goal when creating a sales account plan is to create a value-driven relationship that will be beneficial to your most important and influential clients. Sales account plans are a way to build long-term customer relationships that will lead to profitability and account retention.
Simply put, an account plan is a tool that helps a company transform from one that sells products to one that solves problems.
A sales account plan should include all the necessary details about an account, including but certainly not limited to:
- Business Overview
- Key Business Initiatives
- Customer Relationship Landscape
- Revenues and Products for Customers
- Analyse of Competitors
- Selling Points and the Buying Process
- Relationship Strategy and Goals
- Sales Opportunities, Targets, and Risks
- Action Plan
- Plan Review
You can get a lot of this information directly from the QBR. The goal of the account plan is to identify high-value, high-profit accounts that your team will work together to grow and nurture. The account plan should contain all information necessary to enable your sales and customer success teams partner with the client rather than just selling to them.
How do you determine if your QBRs are successful?
You should define metrics that will show whether QBRs are successful in your organization. To answer this question, you need to ask yourself: “What is your main purpose in running QBRs?”
Luke explains that QBRs can be used to expand product offerings. A “land and extend” goal might be used if your company wants to increase the number of enterprise customers who are interested in a particular aspect. A land and expand goal is a strategy to increase product upsells following an initial purchase. Expansion revenue could be a potential metric to monitor.
Your organization might also be trying to increase activation. This is to get your customers to use more of your solution (that’s already paid for) to realize its full potential. It would be wise to establish a goal for activation percentage.
Another example is attempting to reduce the churn rate in a segment. If after six months, QBRs were used, you might be able attribute lower churn to them.
You may have many goals for QBRs. However, it is important to track whether they are actually making an impact.
Conclusion
So, what is a QBR in sales ? A sales is a presentation in which sales representatives and sales managers can discuss the results of their previous quarter with higher-ups. A Customer Success program should include
When done correctly, they can provide many benefits such as:
- Engaged customers
- get the most recent customer insights
- Communicated value
- Smoother renewals
QBRs must be approached strategically just like the implementation and maintenance of your product. It must be planned and prepared well to ensure that the customer gets value from the meeting.
Your QBR is just as important as your marketing. Your customer will see the value you bring to the table and how willing you are to work with them in the face of challenges. This is important in a time when the QBR will be their primary contact point with your company, other than using the product.
