Questions to Ask During a Quarterly Business Review
For account managers and customer success managers running a quarterly business review (QBR) with a client. The questions follow the order of the meeting: last quarter's results, the client's goals now, adoption and friction, risks to the renewal and the plan for next quarter, then a closing group for the customer to ask the vendor back. The notes say which answers should worry you and what to have open when you ask, such as last quarter's goals, the ticket list or your own usage figures.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Last quarter
Looking back at the last quarter, what went well from where you sit?
Why ask it
Ask it before you open the deck, so the client's version of the quarter is on the table ahead of yours. A good answer names something in their own business, such as a launch that shipped on time or a report that no longer takes a day. If all they can name is friendly support, the value has not landed yet.
Which of the goals we set at the last review did you reach, and which did you miss?
Why ask it
Read the goals back from last quarter's notes first, so both sides are judging the same list. A miss with a clear reason is workable. The worrying answer is 'which goals?', which means the last review produced a document nobody opened again.
Where did we fall short of what you expected?
Why ask it
Ask it, then stay quiet for longer than is comfortable. A client who has a complaint and gets to say it in the first ten minutes will listen to everything after it. 'No, all fine' from an account that has gone quiet is not reassurance, so name the last delay or ticket yourself and ask how it felt on their end.
Do the numbers we just showed match what you see on your side?
Why ask it
Your dashboard and their finance team may count differently, and a result the client does not believe is worth nothing at renewal. If they shrug, find out which figure they would take to their own boss and how they would calculate it. Offer to rebuild the report around that figure.
What did your team get done this quarter that it could not have done without us?
Why ask it
This is the sentence your contact will need when someone above them asks why the line item exists. A specific answer, with a project or a customer in it, is worth writing down word for word. A long pause tells you they could not defend the spend today, and that next quarter's plan has to produce one clear example.
If you had to put a figure on what this saved or earned you last quarter, what would it be?
Why ask it
Most clients have never tried to work it out, so help them: hours saved at a rough hourly cost, deals closed sooner, errors avoided. Their own estimate, however rough, will carry more weight inside their company than one you calculate for them. If they cannot reach a figure at all, agree on one thing to start measuring today.
Did the actions we both took away from the last review get done?
Why ask it
Go through them one by one, yours first. Owning up to one you missed earns you the right to ask about theirs. A list where neither side finished much says the actions were too big or had no owner, and that is worth fixing before you write a new list today.
Which result from the quarter has your leadership actually seen?
Why ask it
Value that stops at your day-to-day contact does not protect a renewal. If nothing has traveled upward, offer a one-page summary in their terms that they can forward as it is. If leadership has seen it, ask what the reaction was.
Was there a moment last quarter when working with us was frustrating?
Why ask it
Asking for a moment gets a story, where 'any feedback?' gets a polite no. Listen for whether the frustration was with the product, with a person or with waiting. Each goes to a different owner on your side, and the client should hear who that is before the meeting ends.
How did we do on the support issues you raised?
Why ask it
Bring the ticket list and go to the ones that stayed open longest. 'Slow, but fixed' is a comment on communication more than on engineering. If they did not know a ticket had been closed, the thing to repair is how closure gets announced.
Goals now
What are your company's top priorities for the next quarter?
Why ask it
Ask for the company's, not the team's, then ask where your contact's own work sits under them. Three clear priorities you can write down is the answer you want. If the list runs to eight, ask which one their boss brings up most.
What has changed in your business since we last met?
Why ask it
A reorganization, a new executive, a budget freeze, an acquisition: any of these can change what you are for without anyone telling you. 'Nothing much' is a fine answer if the rest of the meeting agrees with it. If something big comes out, set the prepared agenda aside and ask what it means for the work you share.
What do you need to show your own boss by the end of next quarter?
Why ask it
Company priorities are abstract. This one is personal, and it is what your contact will be judged on. Whatever they name, ask how you could help them show it, because a vendor who makes the contact look good is hard to replace.
How does what we do for you connect to those priorities?
Why ask it
Let them draw the line and do not draw it for them. If they can do it in a sentence, you are part of the plan. If they struggle, you are a nice-to-have this quarter, and the honest next step is to find the one priority where you could matter.
Are the measures of success we agreed at the start still the right ones?
Why ask it
Goals set during the sale are often about getting live, and a year later the client cares about something else. 'I am not sure what we agreed' is common and no disaster: pull up the original plan and rewrite it together. Reporting against a goal the client has left behind makes a good quarter look irrelevant.
Which of last quarter's goals has dropped off your list?
Why ask it
Things fall off quietly, and you may still be spending effort on one of them. Find out why it went: finished, pushed down the list or given up on. The third needs a follow-up, since a goal abandoned because it was too hard with your product is an adoption problem.
What is the biggest obstacle between your team and its targets this year?
Why ask it
The answer often has nothing to do with you: hiring, a slow approval process, a data problem upstream. Resist pitching. Note it, and come back within a week with one concrete thing you can do about it, or an honest statement that it is outside what you offer.
Are new teams, locations or products coming that we should plan for?
Why ask it
Growth on their side means onboarding, licenses or capacity on yours, and it goes better with a quarter's notice than a week's. It is also a natural way into talking about a bigger account without a pitch. If the team is shrinking instead, ask what that does to how they will use you.
Adoption
Who on your team uses this every week, and who has stopped?
Why ask it
Bring your own usage figures and compare them with what the client believes. The gap between the two is the finding. When they name someone who stopped, ask what that person does now to get the same job done, and whether you could talk to them for fifteen minutes.
Which features does your team depend on most?
Why ask it
Whatever they name is what a competitor would have to match, and what you must not break. If they name one basic feature after a year, they may be paying for a tier they do not need. Raise that yourself, because it lands far better coming from you than from their finance team.
Which parts have you tried and then given up on?
Why ask it
Abandoned features tell you more than untouched ones, because someone made an effort and hit a wall. Ask what the wall was: setup, a missing integration, a confusing screen, no time. Pass the answer to your product team in the client's own words.
What is your team still doing in spreadsheets or another tool that we were meant to replace?
Why ask it
A workaround means the product is not doing the job it was bought for, or that nobody showed the team how. Ask to see the spreadsheet. It usually shows exactly what is missing, and now and then it shows a reasonable need your product should not try to cover.
Was there a stretch this quarter when your team used it less, and what was going on then?
Why ask it
Have the usage chart open, so you can point at the weeks in question if the client does not remember any. There is often an innocent reason, such as a holiday period or a quarter-end crunch. The replies to follow up are a staff change, a competing tool on trial or a problem nobody reported.
What is the most irritating part of using the product day to day?
Why ask it
'Irritating' invites the small things that never become support tickets: a slow export, too many clicks, a login that expires. Those shape what users say when the buyer asks them about you. Write each one down and say which you can fix, which you can work around and which will stay.
How does a new person on your team learn to use it?
Why ask it
If the answer is 'whoever sits next to them shows them', knowledge thins with every hire. Offer what you have: a recorded walkthrough, a short live session, a checklist. A client with a real onboarding step for your product has built it into how they work.
What have you asked us for that you are still waiting on?
Why ask it
Have your own list of their open requests ready and see whether theirs matches. Give each one an honest status: planned with a rough window, under consideration or not going to happen. A clear no with a workaround does less damage than a third quarter of 'it is on the roadmap'.
Risks
If the renewal decision had to be made today, which way would it go?
Why ask it
Months ahead of the date is the time for this, while the answer can still change. 'We would renew' is good, and 'I would, but it is not only up to me' opens the door to the next question. Treat 'we have not thought about it' as a maybe, not a yes.
Who else will have a say in the renewal, and what do they think of us?
Why ask it
Finance, procurement, a new executive or an IT lead may each hold a vote, and you may never have met them. Ask how the decision gets made at their company, since each one runs it differently. If a decision-maker has no opinion of you at all, getting a short result in front of them is this quarter's job.
Is anything happening with your budget that we should know about?
Why ask it
Clients generally hear about a cut well before the vendor does, and asked plainly and early they will often say so. If cuts are coming, ask what will be judged essential. Then work out with your contact what evidence would put you on that list.
Are you looking at other tools or providers for any of this?
Why ask it
Say it in an even tone, as a planning question. An evaluation is not a betrayal, and a client who tells you about one is giving you a chance. Ask what prompted it, because the trigger is usually one unmet need that you can either meet or honestly cannot.
What is the one thing that would make you think about not renewing?
Why ask it
Price, a missing capability and a fear that service will slip are the usual candidates, and limiting the client to one makes them choose. Repeat it back, write it into the plan with an owner, and open the next review by reporting on it.
If you changed roles, who on your side would carry this forward?
Why ask it
An account that depends on one champion is one resignation away from starting over. If no second name comes, ask who else should know the product and the results, and invite them to the next review. Do it while your contact is settled, so it reads as planning.
On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend us, and what is behind the number?
Why ask it
The number matters less than the sentence after it. Ask what would move it up by one, which gives you something small enough to act on. A high score with a vague reason should be checked against what you heard under Adoption.
Does anything in the contract or the pricing no longer fit how you use us?
Why ask it
The usual misfits are seats nobody logs into, a tier sized for a plan that changed and terms written for a team that has since been reorganized. Raising them yourself may cost a little revenue now, and it removes a grievance the client would otherwise bring to the renewal. You may not be able to change terms on the spot, so say what you will take back and to whom.
When does your side start working on the renewal, and what does that involve?
Why ask it
Approval steps, notice dates and who signs differ at every company and in every contract, so ask how it runs at theirs and check your own agreement for the dates. A client who says 'procurement needs three months' has just handed you your timeline. Put the first step in both calendars.
Next quarter
What should we commit to getting done together before the next review?
Why ask it
Aim for two or three things, each small enough to finish. Type them on screen as the client says them, so the wording is theirs. If the list grows past five, ask which ones they would drop if the quarter got busy, and drop those now.
How will we both know at the next review that the quarter went well?
Why ask it
Push past 'things run smoothly' to something you could both check: a number, a date, a thing that exists. Agree where the number will come from, their system or yours. This becomes the first slide of the next review.
Who owns each of these on your side, and by when?
Why ask it
An action with no name on it will not happen. If your contact takes every item personally, ask whether that is realistic alongside the rest of their work. Give your own owners and dates in the same breath, so the list reads as shared.
What do you need from us that you are not getting today?
Why ask it
The answers tend to be modest: earlier warning of changes, a different report, a technical contact they can reach directly. Say yes or no to each in the room if you can. A request you cannot grant is easier to hear now than to find unmet in three months.
What should we stop doing because it is not useful to you?
Why ask it
Stopping something is the cheapest improvement you can offer, whether it is a weekly report nobody opens or a check-in call with nothing on the agenda. If they name one, cancel it before the meeting ends. Then ask what they would like in its place, if anything.
Is there another team here with the same problem we solved for yours?
Why ask it
This is the expansion question, and it only works when the earlier groups have gone well. Ask for an introduction, not a sale: a twenty-minute conversation your contact sets up. If they hesitate, find out whether the doubt is about the other team or about recommending you.
Was this review a good use of your time, and what would you change about it?
Why ask it
Clients sit through plenty of vendor reviews and can tell you which parts they would skip. If they ask for fewer slides or more time on the plan, make the change at the next one, where they can see it. If they would prefer to meet twice a year, weigh that against how much is changing in the account.
What did you come in wanting to raise that we have not gotten to?
Why ask it
Keep five minutes for it, and ask before anyone starts packing up. The answer is often the real reason your contact accepted the invitation. If it is 'nothing', ask what they will tell their team about this meeting, which gets at the same thing.
Ask the vendor
What is on your roadmap for the next two quarters, and what has slipped since you last showed us?
Why ask it
For the customer to ask: a vendor who can say what slipped and why is giving you a roadmap you can plan around, and anything without a rough window is a maybe. Account managers should arrive knowing what they are allowed to share, and say so plainly when a date is not theirs to give.
What have you released this quarter that we have not switched on yet?
Why ask it
New features often arrive turned off or buried in release notes, so you may be working around a gap that has already been filled. Ask which one fits the goals you named today and what it takes to set up. Whether it is included or costs extra depends on your plan, so ask that in the same breath.
What caused the biggest problem we had last quarter, and what has changed since?
Why ask it
Ask for three things: the cause, the fix and what would catch it sooner next time. 'It was a one-off' is not a cause. A written summary afterward is a reasonable request, and whether it arrives without chasing tells you something too.
How does our usage compare with other customers of our size?
Why ask it
The useful part is the difference: which features similar customers use that you do not, and what they get from them. A vendor will not name other customers but should be able to describe the pattern. If all you hear is 'you are doing great', ask for one thing the strongest accounts do differently.
Where are we making it harder for you to help us?
Why ask it
Slow approvals, no single contact, requests arriving from five people: vendors rarely say this unasked, and it often costs little to fix. For the account manager it is the opening to ask for the one thing you need, so have it ready and keep it to one.
Are any changes to pricing, packaging or terms coming before our renewal?
Why ask it
Better heard now than in the renewal quote. Your account manager may not know, or may not be free to say, so ask when they will know and who decides. Then read what your own contract says about price changes and notice, since every agreement is written differently.
If you were in our position, what would you do differently with the product?
Why ask it
It invites advice in place of a pitch. A good account manager has one or two specific suggestions ready and can say which is free and which costs more. If every suggestion involves buying something, ask again with 'using only what we have today'.
How to run a quarterly business review that the client wants to attend
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before the review
Send the numbers ahead
Share the usage report and the results a few days before, with a line saying you will not read them aloud. People who have seen the figures arrive with reactions, and the hour goes on questions. If nobody opens the report, that is worth knowing too: ask at the start which figure they would have looked for.
Reread the last review
Open the notes from last quarter: the goals in the client's words, the actions and who took each. Several questions under Last quarter depend on them, and a client notices at once when the vendor has forgotten what was agreed. For a first review with an account, use the goals written down during the sale or onboarding.
Choose the questions for this account
No review has room for the whole list. Take two or three from each group and decide which group gets the most time. A healthy account can move quickly through Last quarter and spend the hour on Goals now and Next quarter. An account with open problems needs Last quarter and Risks first, and may not get to expansion at all.
Know who will be in the room
An executive sponsor cares about results and priorities and will not sit through a discussion of export formats. Daily users know the friction and usually cannot answer renewal questions. If only users are coming, lean on Adoption and book a shorter, separate conversation with whoever decides on the budget.
Brief your own side
Agree who asks, who takes notes and who answers technical questions. Find out what you may say about the roadmap and about pricing, because the client's questions under Ask the vendor will go there. Send those questions to the client with the agenda, so they know that part of the meeting is theirs.
In the meeting
Let the client speak first
Open with a question from Last quarter before any slide goes up. What the client says first tells you which of your slides matter and which to skip. A review that starts with twenty minutes of vendor charts teaches the client to bring a laptop and answer email.
Keep your own report short
Show the few figures that connect to the client's goals and put the rest in an appendix. If you have talked for more than half the meeting, it was a presentation. Leave the plan for next quarter at least as much time as the look back.
Ask about a specific time
'How is adoption going?' gets 'fine'. 'Who stopped using it this quarter?' gets a name and a reason. Most questions on this page work better with something concrete attached: a ticket, a month, a person, a number from your own data.
Take a hard answer without defending
When the client says where you fell short, write it down, say it back and ask one question to understand it. Explanations can wait for the follow-up. A client who watches a complaint get argued with will bring fewer of them next time, and the ones they keep to themselves are the ones that end accounts.
Write the plan where everyone can see it
Type the goals and actions on a shared screen as they are agreed, with a name and a date beside each. It takes a few minutes and removes the usual argument three months later about what was promised. Read the list back before the meeting ends.
After the review
Send the summary within a day or two
Keep it to one page: what went well, what did not, the goals for next quarter in the client's words, and each action with its owner and date. Include what you said no to. Write it so your contact can forward it to their boss without editing.
Pass on what you heard
Product feedback goes to the product team in the client's wording, support complaints to whoever runs support, and anything said under Risks into wherever your company tracks the health of an account. A warning that stays in one person's notebook helps nobody when that person is on leave during the renewal.
Do one thing quickly
Pick the smallest request from the meeting and finish it within the week: the changed report, the training session booked, the introduction to a technical contact. A fast, visible follow-through does more for the next review's attendance than the review itself.
Check in before the quarter is half gone
A short message at the midpoint on the agreed actions, yours and theirs, keeps the plan alive. It also means nothing at the next review is a surprise, which is how these meetings stay calm.
Mistakes to avoid
Turning the review into a sales call
The client agreed to a review of their results. If the last third is an upgrade pitch, they will send someone junior next time. Expansion belongs in the meeting only when it follows from a goal the client has just named, and even then as a next conversation, not a quote.
Reporting activity in place of results
Logins, tickets closed and emails sent are your work, not their outcome. Each figure you show should answer 'so what did that do for us?' before the client has to ask. If you cannot connect a figure to one of their goals, leave it out.
Asking only the comfortable questions
It is tempting to skip Risks when the mood is good. The questions about renewal, budget and other vendors are easier to ask in a good quarter than in a bad one, and the answers are more candid. One question from that group in every review keeps the subject ordinary.
Giving every account the same meeting
A large account with a sponsor and a long plan may need the full hour each quarter. A small, steady one may be better served by thirty minutes twice a year and a written report in between. Ask the client which they want. A review they asked for gets attended.