Are Your QBRs Actually Moving Anything?

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Hey CS Pro,

Quick question…have you ever finished a QBR and thought, Did that move the needle? If your review did not create new insight, new alignment, or new opportunities, it was a status update, not a business conversation.

Let’s call it out. Too many reviews are built around our agenda, not the customer’s outcomes. Today’s episode dives into all the mistakes CS Pros make, but also all the ways you can make your next business review a strategic update rather than a status update.

Let’s get into it.

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Why most QBRs miss the mark

Let’s call it out. Too many reviews are built around our agenda, not the customer’s outcomes. Here are the three biggest mistakes I see on repeat.

1. Treating the QBR like a usage report

Logins, charts, and feature lists are not what executives buy or renew. Execs care about three things: revenue, risk, and efficiency. If your story does not connect product activity to one of those buckets, it is noise.

2. Talking at the customer instead of with them

Slide after slide turns a review into a lecture. Real executive reviews are co-owned; they invite challenge, dialogue, and decision. If a senior leader sits through an hour and says nothing, they likely tuned out.

3. Ending without a strategic call to action

You spend 45 to 90 minutes building momentum, then close with thanks for your time. No next step, no commercial door opened. That stalls progress. Every QBR should end with an aligned goal, an agreed action, or an expansion path to explore.

The 5-step framework for value-led EBRs

This is the structure I coach and use. It turns reporting sessions into growth conversations.

1. Do strategic discovery before you build anything

A few weeks ahead, sync with your champion. Ask, What do your execs care about right now. What is on their roadmap? What keeps them up at night? What win should we spotlight to make you look great to your boss? Build the review around their business, not your product.

2. Frame the story in outcomes, not features

Use a simple model: Before, Action, After.

Before, the pain or goal that triggered the purchase.

Action: the feature or workflow adopted.

After the business outcome is delivered. More pipeline, faster cycle times, fewer incidents, lower cost. The feature is the middle of the story; the outcome is the reason the story matters.

3. Map product impact to executive priorities

Translate every outcome into one of the three lenses.

Revenue, did we increase or protect revenue, how, with what proof?

Efficiency, did we save hours, reduce steps, remove rework? What is the value of that time?

Risk, did we reduce compliance, operational, or business risk? What exposure was avoided? Speak this language, and executives will lean in.

4. Spotlight customer wins, not just metrics

Stats show activity, stories show impact. Add a customer highlight section. Give your champion visible credit for an adoption win or process change, then tie it to the executive lens. Leaders love seeing their team recognised, and your champion gains internal capital.

5. Reserve ten minutes for a commercial conversation

Plan a 50-minute deck for a 60-minute meeting. Use the final ten minutes to open the next door. Examples, let’s revisit goals for the next six months and agree the outcomes that matter now. Would it make sense to bring in your regional lead to explore a wider rollout? If the budget expands next quarter, which team would benefit most from adding seats? Make the next step explicit and mutual.

Pro tip: if you need help handling the classic pushbacks that appear in this part of the conversation, my Objection Handling Guide pairs perfectly with this framework, scripts, prompts, and real examples for budget, value, and timing concerns.

The step-by-step guide to handling customer objections with confidence and empathy

Do renewal or pricing conversations make you nervous? The Objection Handling Guide for Customer Success Managers is your playbook for turning hesitation into alignment and pushback into partnership.

Inside this practical, high-impact guide, you’ll:

• Master the 5-step Objection Ladder Framework to move from resistance to resolution

• Understand the psychology behind objections so you can respond calmly and effectively

• Learn how to use storytelling and data to rebuild trust and protect revenue

• Access ready-to-use email and call scripts for renewal, pricing, and value conversations

Start leading confident, value-driven customer conversations today.

Weekly Challenge: Try the Comeback Strategy

Pick one upcoming QBR or even a standard check-in and reframe it using this structure.

1. Executive priorities, confirm what matters now: revenue, risk, and efficiency.

2. Before, Action, After value stories, prepare two to three that map directly to those priorities.

3. Ten-minute commercial CTA, end with a concrete next step, goal refresh, wider rollout conversation, or a pilot of new scope.

You do not need perfect dashboards to do this. You need alignment, language that your executives care about

If you try this strategy, I’d love to hear how it goes. Share your win using #CSProChallenge on LinkedIn and tag me.

That’s it for this week! New episodes drop every Wednesday with practical playbooks you can use the same day. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube and leave a quick review so more CS pros can find the show.Have a listen to the latest podcast:

I hope you enjoyed this week’s newsletter.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact us.

Cheers to your CS success,

Anika

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