QBR Preparation

Generate comprehensive Quarterly Business Review materials including account history, success metrics, challenges, and strategic recommendations.

When to Use This Skill

• Preparing quarterly customer reviews
• Executive business reviews (EBRs)
• Annual planning sessions with customers
• Renewal discussions
• Strategic account planning

Methodology Foundation

Based on Gainsight QBR Best Practices and Strategic Account Management, structuring reviews around:

• Value delivered (backward-looking)
• Current health and engagement
• Future opportunities and risks
• Strategic recommendations

What Claude Does vs What You Decide

Claude Does	You Decide
Compiles account history	Strategic positioning
Calculates success metrics	Recommendations to present
Identifies risks and opportunities	Pricing and terms
Drafts talking points	Relationship dynamics
Creates presentation structure	Meeting facilitation

What This Skill Does

1. Account summary - Key facts and history
2. Value documentation - Metrics and achievements
3. Health assessment - Current status and trends
4. Risk/opportunity analysis - What to watch and pursue
5. Strategic recommendations - Next quarter priorities

How to Use

Prepare QBR materials for:

Account: [Company Name]
Contract: $[ARR], Started: [Date], Renewal: [Date]
Primary Contact: [Name, Title]
CSM: [Your name]

Account History:
- [Major milestones, implementations, expansions]
- [Key wins and challenges]

Usage/Success Metrics:
- [Key metrics with current values and trends]
- [Goals they set vs. achieved]

Recent Activity:
- [Support tickets, calls, meetings last quarter]
- [Any escalations or issues]

Relationship Status:
- Champion: [Name, engagement level]
- Exec Sponsor: [Status]
- Other stakeholders: [List]

Known Opportunities/Risks:
- [Expansion potential, concerns mentioned, competitors]

Instructions

Step 1: Compile Account Overview

Key Facts Section:

Account Snapshot
- Company: [Name]
- Industry: [Sector]
- Size: [Employees/Revenue]
- Product: [What they bought]
- Contract: $X ARR | Since [Date] | Renews [Date]
- Health: [Score] | [Status]

Step 2: Document Value Delivered

The Win Section (Critical):

Category	Format
Quantified ROI	"Saved X hours, $Y dollars, Z%"
Goals achieved	Their stated goals → our impact
Milestones	Major accomplishments
Testimonial-worthy	Quote-able successes

Structure:

"When you started with us, you wanted to [GOAL].
In Q[X], you achieved [RESULT]."

Step 3: Assess Current Health

Health Dashboard:

| Dimension | Score | Trend | Notes |
|-----------|-------|-------|-------|
| Product | X/25 | ↗️↘️→ | Key metric |
| Support | X/25 | ↗️↘️→ | CSAT, tickets |
| Financial | X/25 | ↗️↘️→ | Payment, growth |
| Relationship | X/25 | ↗️↘️→ | Engagement |
| **Overall** | **X/100** | | |

Step 4: Identify Risks and Opportunities

Risk Assessment:

Risk	Likelihood	Impact	Mitigation
[Risk]	H/M/L	H/M/L	[Action]

Opportunity Assessment:

Opportunity	Value	Timeline	Next Step
[Opp]	$X	Q1/Q2	[Action]

Step 5: Develop Recommendations

Strategic Recommendations Framework:

1. Continue - What's working, keep doing
2. Start - New initiatives for next quarter
3. Stop - What should we change or deprioritize

Examples

Example 1: Full QBR Prep

Input:

Prepare QBR for CloudTech Industries:

Account: CloudTech Industries (Manufacturing)
Contract: $180K ARR, Started: Jan 2024, Renewal: Jan 2027
Primary: Sarah Chen, VP Operations
CSM: Alex

History:
- Implemented in 60 days (target was 90)
- Added 50 seats in Q2 ($30K expansion)
- Had a major support escalation in Q3 (resolved)
- Reduced production downtime by 35%

Metrics:
- DAU: 145/200 seats (73%)
- Key feature (alerts): 89% adoption
- CSAT: 4.3 (was 3.8 during escalation)
- NPS: 8

Recent Activity:
- 3 support tickets (minor)
- Monthly check-in calls
- Sarah attended user conference

Relationship:
- Champion: Sarah Chen (strong)
- Exec Sponsor: COO Mike Johnson (met once)
- Also engaged: IT Director, 3 plant managers

Opportunities/Risks:
- They're opening 2 new plants (expansion?)
- Competitor demo'd to IT last month
- Sarah mentioned "budget review" for next year

Output:

## QBR Preparation: CloudTech Industries
### Q4 2025 Business Review

---

## 📋 Executive Summary

**Account Health: 78/100 🟢 Healthy**

CloudTech has achieved significant operational improvements, including **35% reduction in production downtime**. The Q3 support escalation was resolved and CSAT has recovered. Two key opportunities: **new plant expansion** and **deepening executive relationship**. One risk to monitor: competitor activity and budget review timing.

**Recommended QBR Focus:**
1. Celebrate the 35% downtime reduction (ROI story)
2. Discuss new plant rollout plan
3. Secure executive sponsor re-engagement

---

## 🏢 Account Snapshot

| Attribute | Value |
|-----------|-------|
| Company | CloudTech Industries |
| Industry | Manufacturing |
| Contract Value | $180,000 ARR |
| Customer Since | January 2024 (11 months) |
| Renewal Date | January 2027 |
| Health Score | 78/100 🟢 |
| CSM | Alex |

**Key Contacts:**
| Name | Title | Role | Engagement |
|------|-------|------|------------|
| Sarah Chen | VP Operations | Champion | High |
| Mike Johnson | COO | Exec Sponsor | Low (1 meeting) |
| [IT Director] | IT Director | Technical | Medium |
| 3 Plant Managers | Operations | Users | High |

---

## 📈 Value Delivered

### Headline Metric
> **35% reduction in production downtime**
> *"Before [Product], we were losing 12 hours/month to unplanned downtime. Now it's under 8 hours."*

### Quarterly Achievements

| Goal | Target | Achieved | Status |
|------|--------|----------|--------|
| Reduce downtime | 25% | 35% | ✅ Exceeded |
| Implementation | 90 days | 60 days | ✅ Exceeded |
| User adoption | 70% | 73% | ✅ Met |
| Alert response time | <15 min | 11 min avg | ✅ Exceeded |

### ROI Calculation (Talking Point)

Downtime cost: ~$5,000/hour Hours saved: 4 hours/month × 11 months = 44 hours Value delivered: 44 × $5,000 = $220,000 Contract value: $180,000 ROI: 122% (already paid for itself)

### Journey Milestones
- ✅ Jan 2024: Implementation (30 days early!)
- ✅ Q2 2024: Added 50 seats ($30K expansion)
- ⚠️ Q3 2024: Support escalation (resolved)
- ✅ Q4 2024: 35% downtime reduction achieved

---

## 🎯 Current Health

### Score Breakdown

| Dimension | Score | Trend | Notes |
|-----------|-------|-------|-------|
| Product | 29/40 | → | 73% DAU, strong adoption |
| Support | 12/15 | ↗️ | Recovered from escalation |
| Financial | 20/25 | → | Current, expanded once |
| Relationship | 17/20 | → | Strong champion, weak exec |
| **Total** | **78/100** | | 🟢 Healthy |

### Engagement Metrics

| Metric | Q3 | Q4 | Trend |
|--------|----|----|-------|
| DAU | 140 | 145 | ↗️ +4% |
| Feature adoption | 85% | 89% | ↗️ |
| CSAT | 3.8 | 4.3 | ↗️ Recovering |
| Support tickets | 8 | 3 | ↗️ Improved |
| NPS | 6 | 8 | ↗️ |

---

## ⚠️ Risks & Opportunities

### Risks to Discuss

| Risk | Level | Details | Mitigation |
|------|-------|---------|------------|
| Competitor | 🟡 Medium | Demo'd to IT last month | Competitive defense, exec engagement |
| Budget review | 🟡 Medium | Sarah mentioned "budget discussions" | Reinforce ROI before budget cycle |
| Exec relationship | 🟡 Medium | COO met only once | Request exec-to-exec call |

### Opportunities to Pursue

| Opportunity | Value | Probability | Next Step |
|-------------|-------|-------------|-----------|
| 2 new plants | $60-90K | 60% | Discuss rollout timeline |
| Additional modules | $40K | 40% | Demo predictive features |
| Case study | N/A | 80% | Request with 35% stat |

---

## 💬 QBR Agenda (Suggested)

**Duration: 60 minutes**

| Time | Topic | Lead |
|------|-------|------|
| 0:00 | Welcome, agenda | CSM |
| 0:05 | Their priorities for 2026 | Sarah |
| 0:15 | Value recap: 35% downtime story | CSM |
| 0:25 | Health dashboard review | CSM |
| 0:35 | New plant expansion discussion | Both |
| 0:45 | Product roadmap preview | CSM |
| 0:55 | Next steps and actions | Both |

---

## 📝 Talking Points

### Opening
"Sarah, before we dive in, I want to acknowledge the incredible progress your team has made. A 35% reduction in downtime is exceptional—most customers see 20-25% in their first year."

### Competitive Defense (if needed)
"I heard [Competitor] came by. Happy to do a side-by-side comparison, but I'd also point out: you've already achieved ROI with us. Switching has real costs—time, retraining, risk. Let's talk about what's driving the evaluation."

### Budget Concern
"You mentioned budget reviews coming up. Would it help if I prepared a one-page ROI summary your team could use internally? The 35% downtime number plus the $220K in savings is a strong story."

### Expansion Ask
"With two new plants opening, I want to make sure we're ahead of the curve. What's the timeline? We could do a phased rollout to minimize disruption."

### Executive Engagement
"I'd love to get Mike more involved. Would it make sense to schedule a brief executive update—maybe 20 minutes—where we share the ROI story and get his input on strategic priorities?"

---

## ✅ Pre-QBR Checklist

- [ ] Confirm attendees (Sarah + who else?)
- [ ] Send agenda 3 days before
- [ ] Prepare one-page health summary
- [ ] Update ROI calculation with latest numbers
- [ ] Review competitor battle card
- [ ] Prepare new plant rollout options
- [ ] Draft follow-up email template

---

## 📊 Supporting Materials

### Attachment 1: Health Score Trend
[Include chart showing Q1-Q4 trend]

### Attachment 2: ROI One-Pager
[One-page summary of 35% stat + dollar value]

### Attachment 3: Product Roadmap Preview
[2-3 upcoming features relevant to their use case]

Skill Boundaries

What This Skill Does Well

• Structuring QBR content
• Calculating ROI and metrics
• Identifying risks and opportunities
• Drafting talking points

What This Skill Cannot Do

• Know internal customer politics
• Access your CRM/analytics directly
• Facilitate the actual meeting
• Make pricing decisions

When to Escalate to Human

• Pricing/contract negotiations
• Escalation-level issues
• Executive relationship strategy
• Competitive positioning

Iteration Guide

Follow-up Prompts

• "Draft the one-page ROI summary for their CFO."
• "Create a competitive defense script for this QBR."
• "What questions should I ask about the new plants?"
• "Write the follow-up email after this QBR."

Checklists & Templates

QBR Prep Checklist

• Account overview verified
• Metrics pulled and validated
• ROI calculated
• Risks/opportunities identified
• Agenda drafted
• Talking points prepared
• Materials attached
• Calendar confirmed

References

• Gainsight QBR Best Practices
• Miller Heiman Strategic Selling
• Customer Success QBR Templates
• Executive Business Review Guide

Related Skills

• account-health - Health scoring input
• expansion-signals - Opportunity identification
• churn-prediction - Risk assessment

Skill Metadata

• Domain: Customer Success
• Complexity: Intermediate
• Mode: cyborg
• Time to Value: 30-60 min per QBR
• Prerequisites: Account history, metrics, relationship context