How to deliver QBRs that execs love with Nick Mehta

Summary

In this engaging discussion, Nick from Gong shares key strategies for delivering impactful Executive Business Reviews (EBRs) and Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs). He emphasizes the importance of active moderation, creating memorable moments, and engaging executives with personalized icebreakers, goal presentations, and benchmarking data. The conversation also explores the value of post-meeting follow-ups, feedback mechanisms, and the role of grit in customer success. With actionable insights for Customer Success Managers (CSMs) and sales teams, Nick provides a comprehensive playbook for driving executive alignment and ensuring long-term customer success.

Takeaways

• 😀 **Personalization is key to successful QBRs/EBRs**: Icebreakers, personalized recognition, and starting with a human touch can significantly engage executives and set the tone for the meeting.
• 😀 **Executives value discussing their goals**: Begin the year with excitement by showcasing and discussing the company’s new goals, which executives enjoy sharing, particularly at the start of a new fiscal period.
• 😀 **Benchmarking encourages improvement**: Sharing anonymized data of how other customers use the product helps executives understand how they stack up and sparks a desire to optimize their own use of the product.
• 😀 **Follow-up is essential for ongoing engagement**: After QBRs/EBRs, sending surveys and actionable next steps, like maturity assessments or specific follow-ups, keeps the momentum going.
• 😀 **Health scores help track progress**: Tracking customer health with metrics like adoption, engagement, and business outcomes gives clear insights into how customers are progressing with your product.
• 😀 **CSMs should provide personalized feedback**: Coaching is essential for CSMs. Use conversational intelligence tools to assess the quality of meetings and provide actionable feedback to improve performance.
• 😀 **Engagement with executives is crucial**: The engagement score, which tracks when and how often key executives meet with CSMs, should be a focus for leadership to ensure continued customer success.
• 😀 **Surveys are a great tool for feedback**: Measuring customer satisfaction and getting feedback after meetings ensures that the QBR/EBR content is valuable and helps adjust strategies moving forward.
• 😀 **Actionable insights drive results**: Show customers concrete next steps related to their goals, making the follow-up as personalized and actionable as possible to ensure continued value.
• 😀 **The four pillars of customer success measurement**: 1) Engagement (Did we meet with them?), 2) Meeting quality (How did it go?), 3) Customer feedback (How did they feel?), and 4) Business outcomes (Did we help them achieve success?).
• 😀 **Customer Success is about grit**: Customer Success requires passion and perseverance, as there are constant setbacks, such as changing stakeholders, budget cuts, or issues with new features.

Q & A

Why is active moderation important in executive meetings?

Active moderation ensures that discussions remain dynamic and that every participant feels comfortable contributing. It helps avoid awkward silences and ensures the meeting stays engaging, especially when dealing with high-level executives.

What are some strategies to ensure executives engage during a meeting?

Strategies like using icebreakers, sharing company goals, and presenting benchmarking data can spark curiosity and engagement. Additionally, creating moments for executives to present their thoughts or celebrate team achievements helps to maintain their interest.

What role do icebreakers play in executive business reviews (EBRs)?

Icebreakers serve to humanize the interaction, setting a positive and engaging tone at the start of the meeting. They help executives relax and feel more connected to the discussion, making them more open to collaboration.

How does sharing benchmarking data impact executive meetings?

Benchmarking data helps executives understand how their company is performing in comparison to others. It encourages them to ask questions and dig deeper, leading to a more engaged and insightful conversation about how to improve performance.

What are some effective follow-up actions after an EBR?

Effective follow-up actions include sending personalized thank-you notes, conducting surveys to assess the value of the meeting, and offering further engagement opportunities like maturity assessments or success plans.

Why is it important to ask executives for feedback after a QBR/EBR?

Feedback provides valuable insights into whether the meeting was useful and if it met the executive's needs. It can help improve future meetings and ensure that customer success efforts align with executive priorities.

How can a company track the effectiveness of its EBRs and QBRs?

By measuring metrics like engagement scores (how often executives participate in meetings), qualitative feedback from executives, and the business outcomes that result from those meetings, companies can evaluate the impact of their EBRs and QBRs.

What is the significance of using tools like Gainsight and Gong for managing customer success?

Tools like Gainsight and Gong automate the tracking of engagement and customer health, providing actionable insights to customer success managers. They help in monitoring meetings, feedback, and progress toward success plans, streamlining the entire customer success process.

How does 'grit' define success in customer success and sales?

'Grit' refers to the combination of passion and perseverance, allowing professionals to overcome setbacks such as shifting customer needs, stakeholder changes, and product issues. It is a critical quality for long-term success in customer success and sales.

What are the key elements to track when operationalizing customer success in QBRs?

The key elements include measuring engagement (how often key executives are involved in meetings), assessing qualitative feedback from those executives, tracking the progress of success plans, and determining how the EBRs or QBRs contribute to achieving business outcomes.