QBRs are a waste of time!

What do you think of it so far?

This was the question posed by the much-loved British comedian Eric Morecambe, who would use a prop such as a statue or stuffed toy to answer "Rubbish!". The story goes that when he was watching his local football team and they were losing, fans would shout this out to him.

But this is is not about showbiz or sport, it is about selling and what we effectively have is the same question as outlined above for the same reasons.

How are we doing?

In terms of the relationship, the way we work together, the issues we are addressing, the opportunities we are exploring the benefits being derived, the outcomes being delivered.

SLA versus ROI

You may notice that the questions I am proposing and the kind of thinking these are designed to stimulate are at quite a high level. You would be right.

Is this because I don’t think detail and delivering on SLAs (Service Level Agreements) is important? Absolutely not. They are important and provide a great guide in how to work together.

But I struggle to find the value in using valueable time to proudly show ‘we did what we said we would’. I serioulsy struggle that the customer is supposed to get excited about this. How is it going to help the relationship and the business evolve?

As the value and complexity of the sale increases so does the necessary investment required from the customer. Not only in monetary terms, but also in terms of time, personnel and other resources. Clearly they will want to get something back for this – a return. Hence the focus should be on ROI (Return on Investment).

Are we delivering or on track to deliver this? Its about the feedback whether we are we making progress, not making progress or even going backwards.

QBRs are a waste of time!

There I’ve said it. I will say it again. Quarterly Business Reviews are a waste of time. How can I say this? Well let’s look at what can happen in a poor QBR.

• The talk is about metrics. It is about the things that have happened and associated responses. Backward looking and boring.
• They don’t happen ‘quarterly’. Only top customers might benefit and even for them the schedule slips.
• Little or no structure. The meetings become random and inconsistent
• Lack of consistency. As a result of poor structure longer term goals are not considered or reviewed.
• Tactical focus. Too much time spent on too much detail.
• Wrong people involved. Those who already have regular contact get together and discuss the things they already know
• Poor preparation and poor follow up.

So, a massive waste of time for all concerned and more worryingly something that could actually damage the relationship and potential to evolve business.

Welcome to the QVR

The Quarterly Value Review.

One letter/word change, a world of difference. It is all about value. This is where the focus must be to make it worthwhile.

A QVR is a chance to gain a deep understanding of the customer’s business, needs, and future plans. If time is spent talking about day to day issues the real opportunity to evolve and work more like partners is lost. So, what do we need to do to maximise the value of these meetings?

• Understand what value is in the context of the relationship actually means - to all parties.
• Keep the thinking strategic – day to day issues should be dealt with as the name implies. Tactical information that can be supplied on report should be.
• Get the appropriate stakeholders involved – some businesses call these EBRs (Executive Business Reviews) to reflect the level of seniority that should be in attendance to bring strategic thinking to the table as well as the power to act on ideas.
• Use an agreed structure, consistently – if all meetings run to this format it will become habit. Some suggested elements:
  
  
  • Vision of success
  • Current performance related to goals
  • Senior project sponsorship – who and how
  • Processes to address
  • Challenges and barriers / solutions to overcome challenges and barriers
  • Next steps
    
    
• Prepare – especially in terms of thinking about questions to pose during the meeting
• Follow up - recap the main outputs, action plan and next steps to participants.

What will you next review meeting look like?

(Extract from Selling Though Partnering Skills by Fred Copestake, 2020)