Your quarterly business review – QBR – doesn’t have to be the intimidating, stressful mark on your calendar that it often is for so many people in sales.
In my experience, it should be a dialogue, not a presentation. It's an opportunity to discuss your territory, what has worked well and the progress you've made.
Here are three tips to help you dominate your next QBR.
1. Stop death by PowerPoint
It’s time to ditch the branded company slide deck. QBRs are about sales, usage and data, so present directly from the application you use to capture that data.
Most data-collection tools allow you to display the data in a range of visual ways that make it easy for viewers to understand.
2. Be objective
Drop any ideas about what you think happened and draw directly from the data. Once you've committed to Step 1, if you start talking about things that don’t align with the data, you'll confuse your audience. Don’t start with the activities that you have done, but with the results that have been achieved (or not).
Let the data speak for itself. Not only will your QBR match what you're saying, but you'll also learn where your gaps are and where you need to focus in the coming quarter.
3. Be a storyteller
Being a storyteller rather than a presenter is definitely a long-term trend in sales.
Storytelling is personal. In my experience, in an open setting before you finish telling your story, others will have started contributing their own.
TAKEAWAY: These tips may be a different approach to QBRs than what you're used to, but they'll help you to stand out and deliver a more engaging dialogue about your sales and territory.