I sat in the back of a conference room watching a PMM present the quarterly business review to the sales team. Forty-three slides. Market trends. Product updates. Competitive analysis. Launch recaps. Pipeline metrics. Customer wins.
Ninety minutes in, I looked around the room. Half the reps were on their phones. Three were clearly responding to emails. One was asleep with his eyes open—a skill I didn't know was possible.
The PMM finished the presentation. The VP of Sales said "Thanks, that was helpful." Nobody asked questions. The meeting ended.
Two days later, I asked a rep what he remembered from the QBR. He said: "Uh, there was something about a new feature launch? I don't really remember."
Ninety minutes of presentation. Zero retention. Zero behavior change. Zero impact on how reps sell.
That's most sales QBRs. Checkbox exercises that make PMM look busy while producing nothing useful for sales.
Then I learned the difference between QBRs that people endure and QBRs that actually change how teams sell.
Why Most QBRs Are Painful
The fundamental mistake most PMMs make with QBRs: we treat them as reporting sessions instead of working sessions.
We build slide decks that summarize what happened last quarter:
- Here's what we launched
- Here's our competitive landscape
- Here's what customers said
- Here's what's coming next quarter
This information might be useful for executives. It's useless for reps in the middle of deals.
A rep doesn't need to know what happened last quarter. They need to know what to do differently this quarter to close more deals.
I learned this by watching the worst QBR I've ever attended. A PMM spent two hours presenting:
- Launch recap of three features
- Win/loss analysis showing we lost 40% of competitive deals to Competitor X
- Customer feedback themes
- Product roadmap for next quarter
At the end, the VP of Sales asked: "So what should reps do differently?"
The PMM said: "Well, we have these new features to talk about, and we should be aware of what Competitor X is doing."
That's not actionable. That's awareness. Sales doesn't close deals with awareness—they close deals with specific actions.
The VP pushed: "Specifically, what should reps say when Competitor X comes up in a deal?"
The PMM didn't have an answer. The session was full of insights but zero practical guidance.
The QBR That Actually Worked
Six months after sitting through that painful QBR, I had to run my first one. I was terrified of creating the same experience.
So I did something different. Instead of building a slide deck, I called five sales reps and asked one question:
"What's the #1 thing making it harder to close deals this quarter?"
Three of them said the same thing: "Prospects keep saying our price is too high compared to Competitor X."
One said: "I'm losing deals because I can't articulate ROI well enough for CFOs."
One said: "Discovery calls aren't surfacing urgency. Prospects are interested but not urgent."
Those five conversations told me exactly what the QBR needed to address. Not what I thought was important—what reps were actually struggling with.
I designed a completely different QBR:
Format: 90 minutes, but only 20 minutes of slides Structure: 70 minutes of working sessions where we solved problems together Goal: Reps leave with scripts and tactics they can use immediately
Here's exactly what we did:
Opening: State the Problem (5 minutes)
I opened with: "I talked to five of you before this QBR. Three people said the #1 issue is pricing objections against Competitor X. One person said articulating ROI to CFOs. One said surfacing urgency in discovery. We're spending this QBR solving those three problems. Everything else can wait."
No preamble. No company updates. No "thanks for being here."
Just: here's what's blocking deals, here's what we're fixing today.
I saw reps put their phones down. This wasn't going to be another presentation to sit through—we were solving their actual problems.
Session 1: Pricing Objection Workshop (30 minutes)
Instead of presenting how to handle pricing objections, we workshopped it together.
I started with: "Let's hear the exact objection you're getting. Don't paraphrase—tell me the prospect's exact words."
Rep 1: "They say 'Competitor X is $30K and you're $50K. Why should we pay more?'"
Rep 2: "I get 'Your pricing is higher than everyone else we're looking at.'"
Rep 3: "They say 'We don't have $50K budgeted. We were expecting to spend half that.'"
I wrote all three verbatim on the whiteboard.
Then I asked: "Who's successfully handling these objections? What are you saying?"
One of our top reps raised his hand: "When they say we're more expensive, I say: 'You're right, our list price is higher. The companies who choose us aren't paying for the software—they're paying to avoid the $200K implementation nightmare they had with Competitor X. Can I show you what that looks like?'"
I asked: "Why does that work?"
He said: "Because it reframes from price to total cost of ownership. And every prospect we talk to has heard horror stories about Competitor X's implementations."
Another rep: "I ask them: 'What's your budget based on—list price or total cost to get this running?' That usually makes them realize they haven't factored in implementation costs."
For 30 minutes, we didn't talk about pricing strategy or competitive positioning theory. We just collected and practiced the exact responses that were working in real deals.
By the end of the session, every rep had three scripted responses to pricing objections. Not insights—scripts they could use word-for-word on their next call.
Session 2: CFO ROI Role-Play (25 minutes)
For the CFO objection, I did something even more practical: role-play.
I asked the rep who was struggling: "Walk me through your last call where you couldn't articulate ROI. What did the CFO ask?"
Rep: "She asked how quickly they'd see value. I said 'most customers see value within 6 months' but she pushed back and said that wasn't specific enough for their situation."
I said: "Okay, I'll be the CFO. You're the rep. Let's redo that conversation."
We role-played in front of the whole team. The rep tried his usual response. I pushed back as the CFO would.
Then I paused and asked the room: "How would you respond to that pushback?"
Three reps offered different approaches. We tried each one in the role-play. One worked significantly better than the others—it involved asking the CFO to quantify their current costs so we could build the ROI model together instead of presenting a generic model.
We practiced that approach three times with different scenarios. By the end, the rep who'd been struggling had a framework he could use.
But more importantly, every rep in the room learned the same framework by watching.
Session 3: Discovery Question Deep-Dive (25 minutes)
For the discovery urgency problem, I pulled Gong recordings.
I played two discovery calls side-by-side. One that led to a closed deal. One that stalled.
I didn't narrate or explain. I just played 5-minute clips from each and asked: "What's different?"
The team identified it immediately:
Stalled call: Rep asked "What are your pain points?" Prospect gave vague answers. Rep asked feature questions. Prospect stayed vague. Call ended with "let's stay in touch."
Closed call: Rep asked "Walk me through the last time this problem cost you a deal or revenue." Prospect told a specific story. Rep asked "What happens if you don't solve this by end of quarter?" Prospect articulated consequences. Call ended with clear urgency and next steps.
I asked: "What questions from the second call should we all be using?"
We built a discovery question list together:
- "Walk me through the last time this problem cost you something specific."
- "What happens if you don't solve this by [date]?"
- "Who else in your org is feeling this pain?"
- "What have you already tried that didn't work?"
Then we practiced. I paired reps up and had them role-play discovery calls using these questions. Five minutes per role-play, then switch.
The room was loud, chaotic, and energetic. Completely different from the silent presentation format of most QBRs.
Closing: What Changes This Quarter (10 minutes)
The last 10 minutes, I synthesized: "Here's what we built today that you should start using immediately:
On pricing objections: Use these three reframes we workshopped. They're in the doc I'm sharing after this call.
On CFO conversations: Build the ROI model with them using their numbers. Don't present a generic model.
On discovery: Use these four questions to surface consequences and urgency. Practice them until they feel natural.
What I need from you: Try these in your next five calls. Slack me what works and what doesn't. We'll refine in our next enablement session."
That was it. Ninety minutes. Three problems addressed. Reps left with specific tactics.
What Happened Next
The difference in engagement was obvious. During the working sessions, reps were active—offering input, practicing role-plays, taking notes.
But the real test was whether they actually used what we built.
I tracked usage through Gong. In the two weeks after the QBR:
- 18 of 22 reps used the pricing objection reframes in calls
- 12 reps used the CFO ROI co-building approach
- 20 reps changed their discovery questions to focus on consequences
More importantly, reps started Slacking each other variations that worked:
"I tried the pricing reframe but added this twist—worked even better..."
"Used the CFO approach and they loved building the model together..."
That organic sharing told me the QBR had actually changed behavior, not just checked a box.
The QBR Format That Works
After running that first successful QBR, I've used the same format for three years. It works every time.
Here's the template:
Pre-Work (2 weeks before QBR):
- Interview 5-7 reps: "What's making it harder to close deals this quarter?"
- Identify the top 3 issues mentioned most frequently
- Pull Gong recordings or examples of these issues in real deals
Agenda Structure (90 minutes):
- Opening (5 min): State the 3 problems we're solving today
- Working session 1 (25-30 min): Solve problem #1 through workshop, role-play, or call review
- Working session 2 (25-30 min): Solve problem #2
- Working session 3 (25-30 min): Solve problem #3
- Closing (10 min): Summarize tactics, assign practice
Follow-Up (Within 48 hours):
- Share doc with all scripts, frameworks, and tactics built during QBR
- Post in Slack: "Here's what we built in QBR—start using these in your next calls"
- Schedule 1:1 time to practice with reps who need help
What's NOT in the agenda:
- ❌ Product roadmap updates (send in email instead)
- ❌ Launch recaps (reps were there for the launches)
- ❌ Market trends (not actionable)
- ❌ Competitive landscape (only include if it solves a specific objection)
- ❌ Win/loss insights (only include if they lead to specific tactics)
The rule: if it doesn't directly help a rep close a deal this quarter, it doesn't belong in the QBR.
The Mistake Most PMMs Make
The mistake I made early—and still see PMMs make—is treating QBRs as opportunities to showcase our work.
We want to show everything we accomplished last quarter:
- Look at all these launches we supported
- Look at this competitive analysis we did
- Look at all this customer research
We optimize for looking busy and comprehensive.
But sales doesn't care about our workload. They care about their quota.
If the QBR doesn't help them close more deals, it's a waste of their time.
I had to shift my mindset: QBRs aren't about me. They're about making reps better at selling.
That means:
- Less presenting, more workshopping
- Less historical recap, more forward-looking tactics
- Less insights, more scripts
- Less talking at them, more building with them
The QBR format I use now has 20 minutes of slides and 70 minutes of interactive problem-solving. That ratio feels uncomfortable—it feels like I'm not presenting enough content.
But reps prefer it 10 to 1 over traditional presentation QBRs.
How to Design Your Next QBR
If you're running a sales QBR next quarter, here's exactly what to do:
Step 1: Interview Reps (Do this 2 weeks before QBR)
Talk to 5-7 reps. Mix of high performers and average performers. Ask:
- "What's making it harder to close deals this quarter?"
- "What objections are you hearing more often?"
- "Where are deals stalling?"
- "What questions do you wish you had better answers for?"
Look for patterns. The same issue mentioned by 3+ reps becomes a QBR focus topic.
Step 2: Pick Your 3 Focus Topics
Don't try to solve everything. Pick the top 3 issues that:
- Are mentioned by multiple reps
- Are actively blocking deals
- Can be solved with tactics (not just awareness)
Example good topics:
- Handling specific competitive objections
- Articulating ROI to financial buyers
- Surfacing urgency in discovery
Example bad topics:
- Market trends overview (not actionable)
- Product roadmap (doesn't solve active problems)
- General competitive landscape (too broad)
Step 3: Design Working Sessions
For each topic, design a 25-30 minute working session. Options:
Workshop format: Collect the problem, crowdsource solutions from reps who've solved it, document and practice together.
Role-play format: Act out the scenario, try different approaches, identify what works.
Call review format: Play Gong recordings of won vs. lost deals, identify differences, extract tactics.
Case study format: Walk through a real deal, analyze what worked, turn it into a repeatable playbook.
The format doesn't matter as long as it's interactive and produces specific tactics.
Step 4: Document Everything
During the working sessions, document everything in a shared doc:
- Objection handling scripts verbatim
- Discovery question lists
- Competitive response frameworks
- ROI conversation structures
Don't just summarize—capture the exact words reps should use.
Share this doc immediately after the QBR so reps can reference it.
Step 5: Follow Up With Practice
The QBR plants seeds. Follow-up makes them grow.
After the QBR:
- Slack the tactics doc
- Offer 1:1 role-play sessions for reps who want practice
- Check Gong to see if reps are actually using the tactics
- In your next enablement session, refine based on what's working
The QBR isn't a one-time event—it's the start of continuous improvement.
What Good QBRs Feel Like
You know a QBR worked when:
Reps take notes the whole time instead of checking email.
Reps ask questions and offer input instead of sitting silently.
Reps talk to each other after the QBR about what they learned instead of rushing out.
Reps actually use the tactics in their next calls.
Reps Slack each other variations and improvements on the tactics.
The energy in the room shifts from "let's get through this" to "this is actually useful."
That's the difference between QBRs that feel like root canals and QBRs that feel like coaching sessions.
The Uncomfortable Truth
Most sales QBRs are designed to make PMMs look good, not to make reps better at selling.
We build comprehensive slide decks because we want to demonstrate our work. We present everything because we want to look thorough. We cover all the initiatives because we want credit.
But none of that helps sales close deals.
The QBR format that works—interactive problem-solving, minimal slides, focused on rep challenges—feels uncomfortable because it's not about us.
It's harder to prepare. It's less impressive-looking. It doesn't showcase everything we did last quarter.
But it's what sales actually needs.
The choice is simple: run QBRs that make you look good, or run QBRs that make reps better.
I've tried both. Only one actually works.