Sales QBR Template: How To Run Reviews That Build Trust and Revenue

How you reflect on the past determines how you plan for the future.

For sales teams, that’s what a quarterly business review (QBR) is all about — stepping back to evaluate what worked last quarter, what didn’t, and what should change to reach bigger goals. Too often, though, QBRs turn into long, slide-heavy meetings that leave everyone drained and unclear on what’s next.

A solid sales QBR template can fix that. With the right structure, your review turns into a focused conversation — one that highlights wins, tackles challenges, and aligns your team on the goals that matter most.

Here, we’ll walk through how to create and use a template that makes QBRs more effective, with practical examples for your own sales team to adapt.

What Is a QBR, and Why Is It Important?

Think of a QBR as a reset button for your sales team. Every quarter, you get the chance to look back at what went well and what didn’t to move ahead with clearer direction. When done well, a QBR helps sales reps, managers, and stakeholders get on the same page about business goals and the real work driving revenue growth.

So, what are QBRs really about?

They’re structured reviews where you highlight wins, dig into challenges, and create a clear path for the next steps. A good QBR format makes the conversation useful and actionable by focusing on these key elements:

• Strategic alignment: Ensure everyone, from reps to leadership, is working toward the same company objectives.

• Performance insights: Look at sales metrics, key performance indicators (KPIs), and real outcomes to see how successful the last quarter was.

• Future planning: Use sales forecasting and trend analytics to anticipate demand, shape strategy, and spot opportunities before they surface.

• Cross-team collaboration: Bring in voices from customer success, marketing, and product to keep everyone in sync.

• Growth opportunities: Use customer data and feedback to help account managers and reps personalize outreach, refine recommendations, and deepen client relationships.

• Resource allocation: Decide where to double down on tools, people, or processes for higher productivity.

• Tactical refinement: Improve prospecting, fine-tune the sales strategy, and boost retention.

• Culture of improvement: Create space for honest feedback and fresh ideas.

With AI and big data, QBRs can go beyond static spreadsheets and sales reports, connecting key metrics to strategy and making decisions that actually move the needle.

Note that QBRs differ from executive business reviews. Executive reviews are higher-level, focusing on overall company performance and stakeholder alignment. A sales QBR template, on the other hand, zooms in on the sales team itself — evaluating performance, shaping sales plans, and aligning reps around what’s next.

How To Build a Quarterly Business Review Agenda

Without an agenda, a QBR can drift off course fast. People bring their own slides, conversations run long, and the sales team walks away without clear next steps. A strong agenda keeps everyone aligned and prepared to make progress.

Here’s what a well-structured QBR format usually includes:

• Kickoff and objectives: Start with why you’re here. What do you want this review to achieve?

• Progress on goals and KPIs: Look at how your sales reps performed against sales metrics and targets from the last quarter.

• Challenges and opportunities: Be honest about roadblocks in the sales cycle and where new opportunities are opening up.

• Wins, lessons, and ROI: Highlight what worked, share takeaways, and connect those wins to revenue growth.

• Goal updates: Refine targets and realign on strategy.

• Stakeholder discussion: Give space for input from managers, customer success, and other teams who play a role in outcomes.

• Action items and accountability: Decide who owns what and set deadlines for follow-up.

• Prep for the next QBR: Close with a plan to track progress and keep the team accountable before the next quarter rolls around.

Quarterly Business Review Agenda Examples To Borrow From

No two teams run QBRs the same way. A sales team will obsess over pipeline health, while customer success might zero in on client retention. That’s why it helps to see different QBR examples and adapt them into a sales QBR template that fits your team.

Here are three agenda styles you can work with.

1. Sales Quarterly Business Review Agenda

Purpose: Keeps your sales team aligned on targets, strategy, and next steps.

Agenda example:

1. Kickoff and meeting goals (5 min)

2. Pipeline health: deal flow, bottlenecks, velocity (20 min)

3. KPI recap: quota attainment, win rates, deal size (15 min)

4. What worked last quarter: standout reps and strategies (10 min)

5. Sales forecasting and goals for the upcoming quarter (20 min)

6. Adjustments: prospecting tactics, outreach, and territories (15 min)

7. Wrap-up: action items, owners, and next steps (10 min)

2. Customer Success Quarterly Business Review Agenda

Purpose: Helps account managers boost retention and long-term value.

Agenda example:

1. Welcome and objectives (5 min)

2. Client health check: adoption metrics, net promoter score, support trends (15 min)

3. Renewal pipeline and upsell opportunities (15 min)

4. Customer feedback: wins, challenges, and unmet needs (15 min)

5. Success stories: ROI or impact delivered this quarter (10 min)

6. Joint planning: customer goals for the next quarter (20 min)

7. Next steps and ownership (10 min)

3. Financial Quarterly Business Review Agenda

Purpose: Gives leadership clear insight into financial performance and resource strategy.

Agenda example:

1. Kickoff and agenda overview (5 min)

2. Revenue vs. forecast: wins and gaps (15 min)

3. ROI breakdown: the campaigns or segments that paid off (20 min)

4. Budget performance: spend vs. plan, cost drivers (15 min)

5. Growth opportunities and investment priorities (20 min)

6. Refined financial goals for the next quarter (15 min)

7. Closing: action plan and follow-up (10 min)

The best QBR agendas aren’t one-size-fits-all. Whether you lean toward a customer success QBR template or a financial format, the goal is to keep the meeting actionable and worth everyone’s time. Take these examples and tweak them to meet your team’s needs.

Planning Your QBR: 8 Best Practices Every Sales Team Should Follow

A QBR only works if it’s planned with care. Come unprepared, and you’ll end up in another long meeting that takes up half the day without real results. But with the right prep, your sales QBR template becomes a roadmap for smarter decisions and revenue growth.

Here are eight best practices every sales team should keep in mind.

1. Set Actionable Goals

Your QBR isn’t just a presentation; it’s an opportunity to align your team and drive improvement. Define clear, actionable goals ahead of time, whether it’s improving sales cycle velocity or closing gaps from last quarter. This way, everyone walks into the meeting knowing what success looks like.

2. Involve Your Customer

If you’re working from a customer success QBR template, make it a two-way conversation to give your clients a voice. Ask about adoption challenges and what’s working for them. Their feedback helps you tailor sales strategies around real needs rather than assumptions.

3. Plan the Agenda

A strong QBR agenda example avoids slideshows that feel like marathons. Instead, keep it simple: Focus on progress against KPIs, highlights and challenges, key metrics that need attention, and clear next steps.

And tailor the agenda to your audience to avoid sharing redundant details. What senior managers need to see will differ from what frontline sales reps need to act on.

4. Competitive Market Analysis

Bring in insights on what competitors are doing, like their sales tactics or product launches. A quick sales analyst report or the right sales tracking software can help your team brainstorm smarter ways to compete.

5. Sales Pipeline Health Check

A healthy pipeline means healthy quarters. Dedicate time to reviewing current opportunities, deal velocity, and potential bottlenecks. Look at both internal performance and external factors that might slow things down. Sales performance indicators help here, giving managers a real sense of what’s driving or stalling revenue.

6. Customer Acquisition and Retention Strategies

Landing new logos is great, but don’t forget the customers you already have. Discuss how to prospect for sales more effectively while also reviewing customer success strategies that improve retention. When acquisition and retention work hand in hand, revenue grows stronger and steadier.

7. Innovative Sales Tactics and Tools

QBRs are a good time to step back and ask: What else could we try? Use QBRs to test new approaches — maybe a fresh sales management framework, experimenting with AI-driving analytics, or exploring better CRM systems. Tools evolve, and your team should too.

8. Follow-Up and Accountability Measures

A QBR without follow-up is just talk. Assign clear owners to each action item, document progress in a report spreadsheet, and schedule checkpoints before the next quarter. Accountability ensures the ideas shared in the meeting translate into measurable outcomes.

By linking your QBR planning with sales and operations planning, you connect sales priorities to broader business operations and align teams with the bigger picture.

Make QBRs More Impactful With Rox

A sales QBR template only works if it produces real outcomes. When your sales team walks into a QBR, they need clarity on what worked last quarter and how to hit bigger business goals next. The right structure turns a routine, check-the-box QBR into a springboard for insight, alignment, and growth.

That’s where Rox comes in. Rox pulls your sales data, metrics, and forecasts into one place so you can quickly address roadblocks and align on next steps.

Ready to transform your QBRs? Watch the demo, and see how Rox can help your team plan smarter and grow faster.