QBR Builder Skill
Use this skill when you are preparing for a customer QBR, building an executive-level account summary, or demonstrating product value. It builds a QBR document that tells the story of the value delivered and maps out the path for the next quarter.
---name: qbr-builder-skilldescription: Build quarterly business review content with usage trends, ROI highlights, mutual success metrics, and agreed next steps. Use when preparing for a customer QBR, building executive-level account summaries, or demonstrating product value. Trigger with "build QBR for", "quarterly review for [customer]", "prepare business review".---
# QBR Builder Skill
Build QBR documents that combine usage analytics, an ROI narrative, success metrics, and agreed next steps. Account data comes from you, a connected MCP source, or companyRAG collections.
## Where the Data Comes From
| Source | What It Adds || --- | --- || **CRM via MCP** (e.g. HubSpot, Salesforce) | Account metadata, contract details, expansion history, stakeholder contacts || **Product analytics via MCP** (e.g. Amplitude, Mixpanel, Pendo, or internal) | Usage metrics, feature adoption, trend data || **companyRAG / file upload** | Success plans, CSM notes, support exports, customer-reported data |
> **No connected source?** Provide the data in chat or upload the relevant files — the skill works the same way.
## QBR Building Workflow
Begin preparation 2–3 weeks before the QBR date to allow time for data gathering, narrative construction, and internal review.
### Step 1: Gather Metrics
Collect data across four metric categories. For each metric, record the current value, the prior period value, and the trend direction.
| Metric Category | Key Metrics | Source || --- | --- | --- || **Usage & Adoption** | Active users vs. licensed, login frequency trend, feature adoption breadth, usage depth, time-in-platform | Product analytics || **Value & Outcomes** | Customer-stated goals progress, ROI metrics (if quantifiable), efficiency gains, business impact evidence | Success plan, CSM notes, customer-reported data || **Support & Satisfaction** | Ticket volume trend, resolution time, CSAT/NPS scores, escalation history | Support platform || **Partnership** | Milestones achieved, training completions, feature requests addressed, roadmap alignment | CSM notes, CRM |
For each metric, note the source and date range. Stale or incomplete data should be flagged, not omitted.
### Step 2: Build the Value Narrative
The QBR is not a data dump — it is a story about the value the customer has received and where the partnership is headed.
**Narrative Structure:**
1. **Where we started** — Remind the audience of the customer's original goals and the starting baseline. This anchors the conversation in what matters to them.2. **What we accomplished** — Present achievements using the customer's language and metrics, not your product's feature names. "Your team reduced contract review time by 40%" is stronger than "Users adopted the AI review feature."3. **Wins and highlights** — Call out 2–3 specific wins that the customer's leadership would care about. Connect each to a business outcome.4. **Challenges and how we addressed them** — Be transparent about issues that arose. Show that they were handled and what was learned. Hiding problems erodes trust.5. **What's next** — Forward-looking goals for the next quarter, aligned with the customer's evolving business priorities.
### Step 3: Highlight ROI
ROI is the centrepiece of any executive-level QBR. Structure it using evidence the customer can validate.
**ROI Framework:**
| ROI Type | Calculation Approach | Evidence Source || --- | --- | --- || **Time savings** | Hours saved per week × number of users × hourly cost (customer-provided or agreed rate) | Usage data, workflow comparison || **Cost avoidance** | Costs that would have been incurred without the product (e.g., additional headcount, tool licences) | Customer estimate, industry reference || **Revenue impact** | Pipeline influenced, deals accelerated, conversion improvements attributable to the product | CRM data, customer attribution || **Risk reduction** | Compliance incidents avoided, security improvements, audit readiness | Customer assessment, support data || **Efficiency gains** | Process improvements, error reduction, automation of manual tasks | Before/after workflow comparison |
**Critical rule**: Only claim ROI that the customer has confirmed or can validate. Never fabricate ROI numbers. If ROI cannot be quantified, use qualitative evidence — "your team reports that..." or "based on your feedback in our last check-in..."
### Step 4: Prepare the Agenda
A QBR should be a conversation, not a presentation. Structure the agenda to ensure executive engagement.
| Agenda Section | Duration (suggested) | Purpose || --- | --- | --- || **Business context** | 5–10 min | Customer shares their current priorities and any changes since last quarter || **Value delivered** | 10–15 min | CSM presents the value narrative (Step 2) with metrics || **ROI review** | 5–10 min | Walk through the ROI evidence; ask the customer to validate || **Challenges & feedback** | 5–10 min | Open discussion of what could be better; acknowledge issues proactively || **Product roadmap alignment** | 5–10 min | Share relevant upcoming capabilities; gather customer input || **Forward plan** | 10–15 min | Agree on next quarter goals, success metrics, and action items |
**Total**: 40–70 minutes depending on account complexity.
Adapt timing to the audience. Executive sponsors want the summary and the "so what" — skip granular usage data unless asked. Operational stakeholders want the detail.
### Step 5: Draft the QBR Document
Use the output template below. The document serves both as the presentation framework and the post-meeting record.
## Output Template — QBR Document
```QUARTERLY BUSINESS REVIEWAccount: [name]Period: [Q_ 20__]QBR date: [date]Prepared by: [CSM name]Attendees: [list]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: [3-5 sentence summary: what was achieved, key highlight, forward focus]
BUSINESS CONTEXT: Customer priorities this quarter: [from customer input] Key changes since last QBR: [organisational, strategic, or market changes]
VALUE DELIVERED: Goal 1: [customer's stated goal] Status: [Achieved / On track / Behind / Revised] Evidence: [specific metrics or outcomes] Impact: [business significance]
Goal 2: [customer's stated goal] Status: [...] Evidence: [...] Impact: [...]
[Repeat for each goal]
USAGE & ADOPTION HIGHLIGHTS: Active users: [current] vs. [prior quarter] ([trend]) Feature adoption: [key features and adoption rates] Usage trend: [summary with directional indicators]
ROI SUMMARY: [ROI type 1]: [quantified or qualitative evidence] [ROI type 2]: [quantified or qualitative evidence] Total estimated value: [if quantifiable, with methodology note] Customer validation: [confirmed / pending validation / qualitative only]
WINS THIS QUARTER: 1. [specific win with business impact] 2. [specific win with business impact] 3. [specific win with business impact]
CHALLENGES & RESOLUTION: 1. [challenge] → [how it was addressed] → [current status] 2. ...
PRODUCT ROADMAP ALIGNMENT: Upcoming capabilities relevant to [account]: - [feature/capability] — [expected timeline] — [relevance to customer] Customer feedback / requests: - [request] — [status in roadmap]
FORWARD PLAN — NEXT QUARTER: Goal 1: [description] — Success metric: [how we'll measure] — Owner: [name] Goal 2: [description] — Success metric: [...] — Owner: [...] Goal 3: [description] — Success metric: [...] — Owner: [...]
ACTION ITEMS: | Action | Owner | Due Date | |--------|-------|----------| | [action] | [name] | [date] | | [action] | [name] | [date] |
NEXT QBR: [proposed date]```
## Guardrails
- Never fabricate metrics, adoption rates, or ROI figures. All account data must come from the user, a connected MCP source, or companyRAG collections. When data is missing, mark fields as [DATA NEEDED].- Never generate ROI claims without customer-confirmable evidence. Use qualitative framing when quantitative data is unavailable.- Never present roadmap items as commitments. Use "planned" or "on our roadmap" — never "will be delivered by."- Source-label every assertion: [From account data], [From QBR framework], [Customer-reported], or [CSM observation].
> **Tip:** Ask for PPTX output via companyFILES to get a formatted presentation ready for distribution.