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Preparing for Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs)

Sales quarterly business reviews (QBRs) allow organizations to address issues that can hurt revenue generation. QBRs offer sales teams the opportunity to come together to assess progress and performance every 90 days.

These meetings serve as an open forum for sales reps to garner ideas, get motivated, and demonstrate critical thinking and strategic planning skills. As for managers, they get to reconnect with their sales reps, share observations, study the nuances (hows, whys, dos, etc.) and learn from each.

When conducted correctly, QBRs help sales teams make breakthroughs that can accelerate business growth and strengthen company culture. However, QBRs are sadly underutilized in most organizations.

Elevating Your Sales QBR

A sales QBR primarily helps revenue leaders better understand what worked and what didn’t work the previous quarter, including developing an action plan for next quarter’s success. But in most companies, QBRs are treated like chores, not a data-driven performance-elevating tool.

The typical QBR format is as follows. Every sales rep walks through their results, explaining what happened and why. Participants also discuss their forecasts, objectives, and strategies for the next quarter. So QBRs are pretty much a verbal report card in most organizations.

It’s no wonder too many employees and managers treat QBRs like a useless chore they must go through, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

A QBR can be a game-changer that skyrockets revenues, not just an obligation.

With 4Cast, sales managers and employees can get excited about QBRs again. Managers won’t have to waste precious meeting time sorting through reports to fact-check data. And employees can focus on developing plans instead of worrying about gathering data.

Further, 4Cast ensures your critical deal and pipeline data are always present and reliable, practically eliminating the likelihood of inaccuracies.

Maximizing your sales QBRs with 4Cast

4Cast will support your planning, helping you easily identify the most critical questions for an effective QBR meeting. Here are some essential areas of support.

Focusing on the big picture

You can take a bird’s eye view of your data – review the past results, KPIs, assess current quarters, and predict future trajectories.

Accurate numbers help sales managers, reps, and other stakeholders agree on everyday struggles, crucial trends, and revenue operations health. A united front on these matters is essential for team collaboration and success.

Essential questions that 4Cast helps you address include:

  • What are the common trends?
  • Where in the cycle are your representatives struggling the most?

Evaluating your last quarter results

Every sales leader knows how crucial it is to drill into the last quarter’s performance during QBRs, and 4Cast simplifies that process. You can quickly figure out what your sales reps committed and what was closed week-over-week.

Discussing successes and failures can help leaders spot serious issues they’d have otherwise missed and provide invaluable insights for growth.

Some key questions you can efficiently address with 4Cast include:

  • What happened?
  • What went right?
  • What went wrong?
  • Do we have any key lessons to take away?
  • What can we do differently next quarter?

Evaluating the current quarter pipeline

Like previous quarters, inspecting the current quarter is a breeze with 4Cast. You can get tactical about your current opportunities by digging into pipeline volume, mix, health, timeliness, and priorities.

Critical questions you can address include:

  • Can we hit our objectives?
  • Do we have enough coverage to hit the targets?
  • Do we have the right mix of deals?
  • Are we ready for the next quarter?

Planning the action steps

The path to revenue victory is much clearer when you have the right data and tools. As everything is visible in 4Cast, you can plan your action steps without breaking a sweat. Plus, ensure all sales reps plan to hit targets and are holding themselves accountable for commitments.

Some important questions you can address include:

  • How can we win?
  • Is the team ready for the next quarter?
  • How can we optimize results?
  • What coaching opportunities are present?