What a partner QBR covers
A typical agenda runs in this order:
- Results: sourced and influenced revenue, deals won and lost, against last quarter's goals.
- Pipeline: open referrals and registered deals, with expected close dates.
- Wins and losses: what worked and why deals were lost.
- Enablement: training completed, certifications and gaps.
- Marketing: co-marketing campaigns run and planned.
- Issues and asks: what each side needs from the other.
- Next quarter: goals and action items, each with an owner and a date.
For partners with a joint business plan, the QBR is where progress against it is reviewed. A partner scorecard gives the results section a consistent format from quarter to quarter.
Why QBRs matter
A quarter is long enough to see results and short enough to correct course. Without a regular review, small problems sit unresolved: a deal stuck in approval, a missing piece of sales material, a commission dispute. The QBR gives both sides a fixed point to raise them.
It also shows the partner they matter. A partner who gets a prepared review with their own numbers is more likely to keep putting effort into your product than one who only hears from you when something goes wrong.
Example
A vendor's partner manager holds a Q3 QBR with Signal Partners. The pre-read, sent two days earlier, shows Signal sourced $72,000 against a goal of $90,000, with $150,000 in open pipeline.
In the meeting, Signal explains that two deals slipped because prospects wanted a security review the vendor took three weeks to complete. The vendor agrees to share its standard security pack in advance. Signal commits to certifying one more consultant. They set a Q4 goal of $100,000 and five action items, and the partner manager sends the notes the same afternoon.