How to Run More Effective Sales QBRs

The Quarterly Business Review–a common ritual for sales teams–serves as a crucial opportunity to evaluate their performance, identify areas for growth, and set a course of action to maximize success moving forward.

Traditional QBRs often suffer from two key problems: they require a significant amount of preparation time and effort, and they tend to lack actionable outcomes.

This can be a frustrating process for sales leaders and reps a like.

However, we're going to give you some ideas on how to transform your QBR process using a turnkey template that streamlines preparation and drives more meaningful discussions and results. Get ready to level up your QBRs and make serious headway towards your revenue goals!

Leveraging a Turnkey QBR Template

To ensure your QBRs deliver maximum value in less time, it's essential to implement a turnkey QBR template with two distinct parts: Lookback and Look Forward. By allocating 20% of the time for lookback activities and 80% for look forward planning, you can strike the right balance between analyzing past performance and setting clear goals and action plans for the upcoming quarter.

Part 1: Lookback

The first part of the turnkey QBR template focuses on looking back at the previous quarter's performance.

1) Last Quarter KPIs

Take a deep dive into the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that matter most to your sales team. Analyze metrics (even better, have AI do it) such as # of net new won deals, net new won amount, total pipeline, new new created pipe, or any other relevant indicators that align with your business objectives. Numbers don't lie. Use them a tool to show both wins and hurdles.

Encourage your reps to reflect on their performance and come ready to answer:

• What went well?
• Where did I struggle?
• What do I need to succeed??
• What are my goals for ongoing professional development?

2) Last Quarter Activities

Here we should be focusing on leading indicators of success and evaluating if reps are spending their time in the right places. Are they doing activities with purpose?

Examine the activities of your sales team during the previous quarter. What were the key activities that contributed to achieving or missing targets last quarter?

Evaluate metrics such as discovery meetings, prospecting efforts, demos, or any other relevant actions directly impacting sales outcomes. Identifying the most effective activities will help you replicate success in future quarters. For instance, if a rep has numerous discovery meetings but only a few qualification meetings, you want to be asking questions about their discovery meeting process and pinpoint areas for improvement or where you can make adjustments.

3) People Engaged Last Quarter

Going beyond simple engagement numbers, you want to dig deeper into understanding who specifically was engaged in the last quarter.

Analyze the overall number of people, but for better insights look at their respective roles and titles within each opportunity. Segment the engagement data based on personas such as executives, operations, and marketing. This enables a comprehensive understanding of the reach of your team and their impact.

Have your reps come prepared with answers to:

• Who were the key individuals you connected with last quarter and how did you connect?
• Considering this data, what adjustments would you make to your strategy?

Part 2: Look Forward

The second part of the turnkey QBR template focuses on setting clear goals and creating actionable plans for the upcoming quarter using data.

4) Focus Prospects Overview: Get Targeted on Key Accounts

Shift your focus to target accounts and take the time to talk through specific details. Have the team offer comprehensive information about high-priority prospects, including their industry, pain points, potential deal size, and any other pertinent insights to inform strategic decision-making.

Answer the questions: What is the level of engagement within target accounts? Are we engaging with key stakeholders at various levels within these accounts?

5) Next Quarter Forecast

Forecasting plays a vital role in sales planning and resource allocation. Start by discussing the projected numbers for the next quarter and their implications for your team's overall performance. Foster open dialogue by posing thought-provoking questions and offering insightful observations. This should be a discussion, encourage critical thinking and analysis.

Having a clear forecast will guide decision-making and resource allocation for the upcoming quarter.

“[In QBRs], the combinations of ‘happy ears,’ rose-colored glasses and sandbagging efforts forces managers to qualify the accuracy of rep forecasts.” – John McMahon , The Qualified Sales Leader

6) Sales Methodology Analysis

To ensure continuous improvement within your team, it is crucial to thoroughly analyze specific deals using a standardized sales methodology analysis framework like MEDDPICC (Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, Champion, Competition). By carefully examining these components, you can identify both strengths and weaknesses in your team's approach.

What is the current status of the qualification scores for those opportunities coming this quarter?

At People.ai, we use MEDDPICC. When we see no pain or no champion assigned, we acknowledge the need to explore further and develop a plan accordingly.

“No pain. no champion, no deal.”

Empower your sales team through better QBRs

Running more effective Sales QBRs is within your grasp. With a well-structured Sales QBR using this turnkey template, you can streamline preparation efforts and derive actionable outcomes from each review session. But remember, to truly scale your reps' ability to efficiently prepare for QBRs and surface actionable insights, consider investing in an AI-powered data analysis and insights tool that automates activity capture and surfaces insights.

With these steps in place, you'll be well on your way to running highly productive QBRs that deliver tangible results.

Ready to supercharge your GTM motions, be sure to explore our Sales Rituals series and watch this 7-minute video on Running Turnkey QBRs.