In today's fast-paced business world, success means more than just hitting targets. It's about making sure your efforts line up with what your customers want to achieve. Strategic Business Reviews (QBRs) are crucial for this alignment. They give you a chance to check how you're doing, tackle any problems, and work better together. But to make QBRs really work, you need to take a smart, customer-focused approach. Let's break down why this matters and how you can do it well.
Clarifying Your Customer's Goals
The journey towards crafting an effective QBR begins with gaining insight into your customer's performance objectives for the quarter. Without a clear understanding of what success looks like for them, it's impossible to measure your performance against their goals. Whether it's broad program objectives or specific targets, such as achieving certain conversion rates, your goal is to align with their objectives and determine your role in helping them succeed.
Example questions to ask:
How do you know when things are going well?
What exactly are you aiming to do in terms of sales, leads, or other goals related to what we do?
Which metrics matter most to you?
Are any of the measurements tied to your customer's personal performance review?
Why is it important to take customers through this line of questioning?
Being Relevant:Â Understanding what your customer considers strategic allows you to tailor your review to address their specific objectives; positioning you as a valuable partner rather than just another vendor.
Standing Out:Â By aligning with the objectives that matter most to your customer, you differentiate yourself from competitors and become an indispensable part of their success strategy.
Getting on the Same Page:Â Agreeing on metrics upfront enables you to measure what matters, ensuring that your QBRs are data-driven and impactful. Having alignment assures that the items you review are important to them in meeting their business objectives, (even more so if you know that your performance is tied to their personal goals).
Being an Impact Partner:Â A strategic QBR that directly addresses your customer's objectives creates a lasting impact, demonstrating your understanding, alignment, and commitment to their success. It signals to them that you know their business and you are an important part of their success.
Who Should Attend the QBR?
Having the right people at your QBR is just as important as what you talk about. Bringing in the right folks not only shows that your work is important but also highlights how it fits into the customer's goals. Work closely with your main contact to decide who should come, and send out invites early so everyone can make it. Also, since you'll be making strategic suggestions for improving performance, some of these might involve upselling – for that, you'll need approval from higher-ups. Having them at the review gives them the full picture and makes it more likely they'll say yes.
From the Client Team:
At a Minimum:Â Department heads, day-to-day managers, campaign planners
Ideal:Â Marketing or sales leaders, product heads
From Your Side:
At a Minimum:Â Sales manager, customer success rep
Ideal Participation:Â Experts is relevant areas - SME's, senior executives, (try to match level, titles or roles with customer attendees)
Why it Matters?
Showing Your Value: Having the right people in the room proves you're not just there to talk – you're there to make a real difference.
Getting Buy-In:Â Having higher-ups present means decisions made during the QBR already have top-level support increasing the likelihood they will stick.
Planning Ahead:Â Getting everything organized early means you can make sure everyone important can be there, making the QBR as effective as possible.
In summary, taking a smart, customer-focused approach to planning your next QBR is key for making sure everyone's on the same page, working together, and succeeding together. By understanding what your customer wants, bringing in the right people, and preparing well, you can make your QBRs really count and push your business forward.
Does this make sense? Let me know if you need more help in planning your next QBR.
About the Author:
Terry Arnold is the principle and founder of TA Consulting Service a firm focused on providing Sales Enablement consulting services to mid-market and enterprise level customer-facing teams. He is a seasoned professional with a rich background in cultivating strategic customer relationships. As a collaborative innovator he is known to build and foster cross-functional relationships with enterprise level organizations to engineer complex high value sales by engaging the necessary people, tools and resources to get deals closed.
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