As a Sales Leader, from 2007 - 2015 - first week of every new quarter - 9am to 5pm (sometime till mid-night) - for 2 continuous days, I would engage in QBR with my sales team. This would involve understanding the efforts they put in the past quarter, their current pipeline and hard commit numbers.
Almost every QBR, I struggled.
I struggled to understand what my sales team did past quarter
- Reps would not update the CRM
- Commit numbers had limited relevance to the pipeline
- Sandbagging was rampant
As I struggled to understand the numbers my team posted, I always yearned for a system which would give me the TRUE PICTURE of the Pipeline that I could use to Forecast. As I speak with multiple Sales Leaders, they have the same struggles.
How to run a successful QBR
(90 seconds video)
Sales QBR is not your regular meeting. A high quality QBR is where you can use them as a tool to measure, run, and fine tune the business. This process helps you grow your business predictably Quarter over Quarter.
1. Start with the birds eye view
This is an ice-breaker stage to get a birds-eye view of the data. This is not a deep dive session. Keep it short and cool.
- Introduce new team members
- Give an overall business performance overview
Questions to ask:
- What trends are we noticing?
- What did the team struggle the most with, last quarter?
How Relatas adds value - Get all trends at a single location - closed deals, average sales cycle, sales velocity, competition analysis.
2. Deep dive into past Qtr and compare QoQ and YoY growth
Drill into last quarter’s performance: what your sales reps committed, what they closed week over week and if they met their targets. Get a complete graphical view to analyse details.
Advance from excel spreadsheets and Powerpoint presentations. Do your QBR's within the system of truth to drive efficiency. Get real-time data and easily drill down into details.
Questions to ask:
- What happened and why?
- What new logo were won?
- How many deals got recommended/ created vs target vs hard commit?
- What are the key learnings?
- What were the customers motivation to buy?
How Relatas adds value - Understand AI based Deal Recommendations for each Rep, compare QoQ Hard Commit vs Achievement, understand why customers bought - with Win-Loss Analysis.
3. Assess current Qtr with Commit Gap and Deals at Risk
It’s time to get tactical about current pipeline opportunities.
Again, advance from excel spreadsheets and powerpoint presentations. Get real-time system data and do your QBRs within the system of truth. This has multiple benefits
- Your system is always updated
- Real-time and authentic data for reviews
- Easily drill down and see relevant data
- Gives accurate view of the forecast
Here are 5 different lenses to look through as you engage in a sales pipeline review:
- Commit Gap - Do we have enough pipeline to meet the target.
- Pipeline Health - Diagnose deals at risk. Get complete visibility into where the deal activities are falling, all with No-Data-Entry from Reps.
- Timing - How are the deals ageing? Are they are in the "right" age based on our closure pattern or are they too early/ too late in the sales cycle?
- Pipeline Movement - Are deals getting stuck in any pipeline stages?
- Sandbagged Deals - Are there any deals that is not in the pipeline?
Questions to ask:
- Is there enough pipeline to meet the target?
- Is the pipeline health ripe?
- How are we set for the quarter?
How Relatas adds value - Highlights sandbagged deals, shows QoQ & YoY commit and achievement trends, highlights pipeline gap, highlights deals-at-risk.
4. Strategise to execute
For the upcoming quarter, review with your team the likely commits in the pipeline and devise a plan for turning commits into executed deals. In the final stage of the QBR, set a process and track them through Sales OKRs.
Questions to ask:
- How will we win?
- How can we optimize results for next quarter?
- What training do certain reps need?
- Track through Sales OKRs (Sales Objectives and Key Results)
How Relatas adds value - Assign Objectives with Key Results (OKRs) for each key team member for this quarter and review it regularly.
QBR Checklist - Sales metrics to include in your QBR
To run your QBR most efficiently, focus on the metrics that are most critical to your business.
1. KNOW
Past Historical Trends
- Achievement
- Closed deals / win rate
- Lost deals analysis
- Average sales cycle
- AI based recommended deals
- Commit vs Target vs Achievement
Future
- Commit Gap
- Hard Commit
- Hard Upside
2. DO
- No-Data-Entry activity tracking - Removes reliance on team members
- Understand Commit vs Upside vs Deals Created vs Targets vs Won
- Easy to compare deals pursued by the sales team
- Check status on the tasks set in past quarter
- Set Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) for the next Quarter
3. EASY VISIBILITY
- Data should be readily available at your finger tips
- Ability to compare any past data with current data
- Clear visibility on why some team members are doing better than others
- One should not rely on others to compile the data you want to see
- Understand the interaction pattern for the HOT deals being pursued
- Macro to Micro view - Drill down to the details.
How Relatas transforms Sales QBRs to Weekly Sales Reviews
“Relatas not only provided a no-data-entry platform but also brings new level of transparency to the sales process. We saw a 90% improvement in forecast accuracy. Relatas deeply simplifies the sales process, helping us concentrate on business.” Venkat Murthy, CEO 22by7
Interested in running your weekly sales reviews to QBR in Relatas? Click here to set time for your customized demo with us: https://relatas.com/demo
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