“I am the greatest! I shook up the world. I’m the prettiest thing that ever lived.”
“Everyone’s got a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
Which of the quotes above resonates with you as you reflect on the past quarter? We’ve all experienced quarters that make us feel on top of the world, similar to Muhammad Ali after his victory over Sonny Liston. However, we often learn more from the challenging quarters—those where, to borrow Tyson’s boxing metaphor, we’ve been punched in the face. Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) are crucial for learning from these setbacks and sharing the winning punch combos with your peers.
As previously discussed, Continuous Revenue Planning and Execution comprises five key elements, with Quarterly Business Reviews falling under the third category: Quarterly Performance Analysis.
Core elements to Continuous Revenue Planning and Execution:
- Weekly sales forecasting & pipeline management
- Monthly performance monitoring
- Quarterly performance analysis: Stress testing your sales capacity model
- Quarterly performance analysis: How to run effective QBR’s
- Bi-annual market assessment
- Annual strategic planning
Your first quarter QBR update
I’ve read articles to the effect of “The QBR is Dead”. I’ve heard opinions, at times, that QBRs offer little value because they lack data and substance. On the opposite end of this spectrum, I’ve seen QBRs overproduced so much that they create a huge strain on the go-to-market teams. My experience has been that QBRs are indispensable. Great selling teams are built on a consistent, repeatable process. The QBR process is no exception.
To clarify, the following is guidance on conducting effective QBRs at management-level, specifically between the leadership team and the CRO. It’s also important to conduct Rep-level effective QBRs the week prior to the management QBR. These meetings are crucial and should use a similar format to what’s outlined below. Rep-level QBRs go beyond mere account or pipeline reviews; they involve discussing a territory plan where reps provide honest feedback on their execution capabilities and identify areas where they need support.
For insights on structuring effective Rep-level QBRs, consider the guidelines provided here: Salesforce Blog on QBRs.
What are some easy ways to create effective QBRs?
Here are suggestions on how to orchestrate a great leadership QBR experience:
- Keep things focused and consistent. Save leaders time by providing a consistent, concise template with clear expectations and hold them to it.
- Foster a culture of pre-reading. If all of the QBR participants, up to your CEO, have read the material in advance, it makes for richer discussions about the things that matter.
- Look ahead more than you look back. Make sure that presenters spend no more than a third of their time on the quarter you just finished and at least two thirds on the quarter ahead.
- Keep things on time. Tell the team that you will cut them off if they go over. Keep it light-hearted but the C-level leaders need to know this too. Tip: play an obnoxious song once the speaker goes 2 mins over. “What’s New, Pussycat” by Tom Jones is a solid choice.
Instructions to Presenters:
- RevOps should set clear expectations, logistics, and provide a QBR deck template three weeks in advance.
- Tip: Send a calendar invite to QBR participants to block time for pre-reading to prevent scheduling conflicts.
Agenda Overview:
- Adhering to a standard agenda ensures ease of pre-reading and promotes uniform accountability among Go-to-Market (GTM) leaders.
All presenters should cover:
- Highlights and Lowlights: Authored by RevOps, enhanced with Sales Leaders’ insights for accountability.
- Forecast vs. Actual
- Upcoming FY Forecast
- Pipeline Analysis: Pipeline volume and net pipeline creation
- Team Dynamics: Attrition, retention, hiring, ramp time
- Sales Productivity and Forecast Accuracy Metrics
- Current Quarter Overview: Headwinds/tailwinds, quarterly focus, top 5 deals, business goals by segment, detailed forecast
The CRO / Head of Sales should also cover:
- Outline the journey of the business from the past, present, to future, linking team contributions to overall success.
- Year-To-Date (YTD) Performance,
- Fiscal Year (FY) Goals
- FY GTM Scorecard
- Next FY GTM Strategy Notes: Future growth drivers, key initiatives, and imperative
Sales Leader Slides:
- Leaders should provide their team’s success plan and key requests from product, operations, marketing, and executives, with 1-2 additional slides for individual insights, keeping it succinct.
Head of RevOps Section:
- Highlight Revenue Operations areas: Business systems, reporting and analysis, strategy and planning, field processes, and training and enablement.
- Focus on FY operational plans, including hiring, onboarding, sales and product readiness, and operations.
- Include training calendar and important dates.
Head of Customer Success Section:
- Cover renewals, churn and downsell, and customer health scores.
Head of Professional Services Section:
- Address bookings, billings, backlog, pipeline, margin, utilization rate, and renewals.
Annual QBR Planning and Themes
Here are some suggestions on how QBRs should vary, quarter-to-quarter:
Q1: Since most companies hold a Sales or Company kick-off in January, a Q1 QBR is redundant. Instead, adapt the normal QBR content for Company kick-off presentations and organize a half-day breakout session with the GTM teams that would usually participate in the QBR.
Q2: In your Q2 QBR, focus on holding the team accountable to the initial plan, with the theme “Have a plan, stick to it.” This is your opportunity to address any significant challenges impacting team capacity.
Q3: The Q3 QBR, typically in July, should delve deeper into market assessment. Encourage RevOps and sales leaders to gather candid feedback on market dynamics, using the theme “Feedback from the market.”
Q4: Your Q4 QBR should prioritize go-to-market strategies for the following year, featuring insights from your CRO or Sales leader and strategic advice from first and second line managers, including resource needs.
Conclusion
The Revenue Operations leader’s key accountability is to orchestrate effective business reviews focussed on clarity, quality, and adherence to the framework.
As Revenue Operations leaders, one of our key accountabilities is to orchestrate effective business reviews focussed on clarity, quality, and adherence to the framework. Success is about steering impactful conversations that drive strategic decisions. Equip your team with the tools, data and insights. Give them a clear template and set of expectations and this will save managers a ton of time as they prepare for the reviews. Commit to excellence in your upcoming reviews by fostering a culture of preparedness, pre-reading, and accountability.
Good luck and let us know how we can help! Download the QBR Template Now
For additional insights into maximizing Sales Performance, Efficiency and Planning, explore our previous blog series. This resource offers in-depth strategies and tips that complement the practices outlined here, guiding you towards operational excellence.
