Running Executive Business Reviews

• Source: Report research library
• Frameworks applied: Gainsight EBR cadence by tier and seven EBR goals, Goal-to-Recommendation strategic initiative pairs, Distilled CS QBR/EBR operationalization with the 80% completion target, Rework expansion triggers

Eight-point deck gate anchored on the customer's verbatim success criteria, plus a properly quarantined legacy agenda in a collapsed section.

Known weakness, published as found: The expansion-trigger list and Rework framing are copied from planning-renewals-and-expansion: keep one sentence and route to that skill. Add a filled example row to the results-against-criteria table so the required specificity of 'customer's words' is demonstrated.

1. 1.Copy the SKILL.md text below, or download the raw file.
2. 2.Create a folder named exactly running-executive-business-reviews in your agent's skills directory.
3. 3.Save the file inside that folder as SKILL.md.
4. 4.Ask the agent one of the trigger requests below.
5. 5.Check the output against what you already know before it leaves your desk.

• Our QBRs keep turning into product demos and the exec never joins — how do I fix the format?
• Build me an EBR agenda and deck outline for a strategic account ahead of renewal
• What cadence should we run business reviews at for mid-market versus SMB accounts?

• Recalibrate the weights in our customer health score against last year's churn
• Which of my accounts are ready for an upsell and what is the expansion forecast?

---
name: running-executive-business-reviews
description: >-
  Plans, builds, and runs QBRs and EBRs that report measured outcomes against
  the customer's own stated success criteria, secure executive attendance, and
  open the expansion conversation before the renewal window. Use when the user
  says QBR, EBR, quarterly business review, executive business review,
  business review deck, "QBR agenda", "QBR template", "our QBRs turn into
  product demos", "the exec never shows up", "what cadence should QBRs run
  at", or asks how to prove ROI to a customer executive. Use this skill
  whenever the task is preparing, structuring, or fixing a recurring
  customer-facing business review, even if the user only calls it a "check-in
  deck". Do NOT use for designing the health score itself (see
  scoring-customer-health), for renewal forecasting and expansion sequencing
  (see planning-renewals-and-expansion), or for at-risk save plays (see
  preventing-churn).
metadata:
  version: "1.0"
---

# Running executive business reviews

Set the review cadence by tier, build a review that measures outcomes against the criteria the customer stated at kickoff, and land the next-step commitments. One job: the recurring executive-facing business review. Health-score design, renewal forecasting, and churn save plays are out of scope.

Use one vocabulary throughout, because mixing the two produces double-booked accounts: **QBR** is the quarterly business review; **EBR** is the executive business review, run semi-annually for strategic accounts. Not every customer needs both ([Distilled CS](https://distilledcs.org/customer-success-playbooks/walk-qbr-ebr-cadence/)).

## Workflow

Copy this checklist into your reply and tick items as you complete them:

```
- [ ] 1. Set cadence and eligibility by tier
- [ ] 2. Retrieve the customer's stated success criteria
- [ ] 3. Assemble outcome evidence against each criterion
- [ ] 4. Build the deck in the fixed section order
- [ ] 5. Secure executive attendance and pre-read
- [ ] 6. Validate the deck against the eight-point check; fix and re-check
- [ ] 7. Run the review, capture commitments, track to completion
```

**1. Set cadence and eligibility.** Assign a cadence by tier rather than to every account, because CSM capacity, not customer demand, is the binding constraint:

| Tier | Cadence |
|---|---|
| Strategic | Quarterly |
| Mid-market | Every 6 months |
| SMB | Once per year |

([Gainsight](http://www.gainsight.com/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/6-Crushing-Your-QBR-Agenda-and-Template.pdf))

Verify feasibility before committing: count preparation, delivery, *and* follow-up time per review against CSM load, then publish the cadence to customers so the expectation is set ([Gainsight](http://www.gainsight.com/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/6-Crushing-Your-QBR-Agenda-and-Template.pdf)). Schedule the first review during the implementation hand-off call, and re-cut the cadence on either a code-red alert or a change in executive sponsor ([Gainsight](http://www.gainsight.com/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/6-Crushing-Your-QBR-Agenda-and-Template.pdf)). A commonly used program target is **80% or more of eligible accounts completing a QBR each quarter**; treat it as a practitioner heuristic, since the source states no derivation ([Distilled CS](https://distilledcs.org/customer-success-playbooks/walk-qbr-ebr-cadence/)).

An alternative pattern for lighter-touch books: two annual EBRs for tier-1 accounts at **month 4 and month 8** of the contract, with tier-2 self-service getting a light quarterly check-in and an EBR only when an expansion opportunity appears ([Gainsight](http://www.gainsight.com/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/6-Crushing-Your-QBR-Agenda-and-Template.pdf)).

**2. Retrieve the stated success criteria.** Pull the success criteria the customer defined at kickoff or in the last review, verbatim. Do not restate them in your own words, because the review's entire credibility rests on reporting against the customer's language, not yours. If no criteria were ever recorded, stop building slides and run a criteria-setting call first; a review with no agreed measure of success degrades into a feature update, which is the named failure mode of the format ([Distilled CS](https://distilledcs.org/customer-success-playbooks/walk-qbr-ebr-cadence/)).

**3. Assemble outcome evidence.** For each stated criterion, produce: the target, the measured result, the delta, and the mechanism that produced it. Where a criterion is unmet, bring the diagnosis and the remediation plan into the deck rather than omitting it — omitted misses are what the executive's own team will raise in the room.

Benchmark health against the customer's cohort, not against an absolute, because a raw score means nothing to a customer executive. The published pattern states health as **five measures, a mix of quantitative and qualitative, with adoption most heavily weighted**, and frames it comparatively, for example "customer health is among the top 10% for customers between 10 and 18 months old" ([Gainsight](http://www.gainsight.com/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/6-Crushing-Your-QBR-Agenda-and-Template.pdf)).

**4. Build the deck.** Use the fixed section order below. Judgment applies to the content of each section; the order does not, because it moves from earned credibility (results) to the ask (expansion), and reordering puts the ask before the proof.

QBR sections: outcomes achieved, usage trends, open issues, goals for next quarter, expansion opportunities. EBR sections for strategic accounts: executive summary, ROI analysis, strategic alignment, multi-year roadmap ([Distilled CS](https://distilledcs.org/customer-success-playbooks/walk-qbr-ebr-cadence/)).

Structure the strategic-initiatives content as explicit **Goal → Recommendation** pairs, each with a measurable next step ([Gainsight](http://www.gainsight.com/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/6-Crushing-Your-QBR-Agenda-and-Template.pdf)). Keep every review pointed at the seven goals of the format: demonstrate value, highlight potential value, thank the customer, align and measure goals, deepen the executive relationship, gauge health and likelihood to renew, and identify referenceable users ([Gainsight](http://www.gainsight.com/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/6-Crushing-Your-QBR-Agenda-and-Template.pdf)).

No agenda timings are published in any source, so allocate minutes yourself. A defensible default for a 45-minute EBR: 5 outcomes recap, 15 results against criteria, 5 health and usage, 10 roadmap and strategic alignment, 10 next steps and commitments. Adapt freely; the constraint is that results against criteria gets the largest single block.

**5. Secure executive attendance.** Running the review only with operational contacts instead of securing executive participation is one of the two named pitfalls of the format ([Distilled CS](https://distilledcs.org/customer-success-playbooks/walk-qbr-ebr-cadence/)). Send the deck as a pre-read at least 48 hours ahead and ask the champion to confirm the executive by name. If the executive declines twice in a row, treat it as a relationship risk signal and escalate to your own executive sponsor rather than proceeding with a downgraded audience.

**6. Validate before you send.** Run this check on the assembled deck. Fix every failure and re-run the full check; only send the pre-read when all eight pass:

```
- [ ] Every stated customer success criterion appears with a measured result
- [ ] Zero slides whose primary content is a feature announcement
- [ ] Every number traces to a named system and a stated date range
- [ ] Each unmet criterion has a named owner and a dated remediation step
- [ ] Health is stated comparatively against a cohort, not as a bare score
- [ ] Expansion appears as a Goal -> Recommendation pair, not a price quote
- [ ] Every open issue from the prior review is closed or explicitly carried
- [ ] A named executive on the customer side has confirmed attendance
```

The most common failure is check two, because product marketing supplies release slides and they get pasted in. Train the delivery on outcomes and business impact, not feature updates ([Distilled CS](https://distilledcs.org/customer-success-playbooks/walk-qbr-ebr-cadence/)).

**7. Run it and close the loop.** Document action items in the room, share with all stakeholders within 24 hours, and track each to completion ([Distilled CS](https://distilledcs.org/customer-success-playbooks/walk-qbr-ebr-cadence/)). Track QBR completion rate and correlate it with renewal and expansion outcomes, which is how the program earns its own budget ([Distilled CS](https://distilledcs.org/customer-success-playbooks/walk-qbr-ebr-cadence/)).

## Opening the expansion conversation

Open expansion only from proven value, and only when a trigger is present: a usage threshold reached, success metrics proven, the champion ready to make an introduction, budget-cycle timing, or alignment with a strategic initiative ([Rework](https://resources.rework.com/libraries/post-sale-management/land-and-expand-model)). Forcing expansion before readiness creates resistance and damages the relationship ([Rework](https://resources.rework.com/libraries/post-sale-management/land-and-expand-model)).

Frame the ask as a roadmap, not a quote: current state, next step, future state, visible without forcing commitment ([Rework](https://resources.rework.com/libraries/post-sale-management/land-and-expand-model)). Use the review to arm the champion with shareable metrics, ROI calculations, and executive briefing material, and set up monthly updates to the VP or C-level sponsor between reviews ([Rework](https://resources.rework.com/libraries/post-sale-management/land-and-expand-model)).

The commercial reason expansion belongs in the review: NRR above roughly 110% is what moves company growth, while GRR is treated as table stakes with little direct correlation to growth ([SaaS Capital](https://www.saas-capital.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/RB32WS1-2025-B2B-SaaS-Retention-Benchmarks.pdf)).

## Output format

Produce the review brief in this exact structure. The section order is fixed because the follow-up tracker parses the commitments block; content inside sections is yours to adapt.

```
# <Customer> <QBR|EBR> — <period>
Attendees (ours): <names, roles>   Attendees (theirs): <names, roles, exec named>
Cadence: <tier> -> <frequency>   Prior review: <date>   Renewal date: <date>

## 1. Results against stated success criteria
| Criterion (customer's words) | Target | Actual | Delta | Status |

## 2. Usage and adoption trend
<metric, current, prior period, direction, cohort comparison>

## 3. Health
<five measures, adoption weighted heaviest, stated vs cohort>

## 4. Open issues
| Issue | Raised | Owner | Status | Next step (dated) |

## 5. Goals for next period
| Goal | Recommendation | Owner | Measure | Due |

## 6. Expansion
Trigger present: <usage threshold | metrics proven | champion ready | budget cycle | strategic initiative>
Current state -> next step -> future state

## 7. Commitments
| Commitment | Owner (ours/theirs) | Due date |
```

## Gotchas

- The review is a retention instrument, and the standing pitfall is turning it into a product demo instead of a business-value discussion ([Distilled CS](https://distilledcs.org/customer-success-playbooks/walk-qbr-ebr-cadence/)). Cut every roadmap slide that is not tied to a criterion the customer stated.
- Cadence set without counting follow-up time collapses in the second quarter. Prep, delivery, and follow-up all consume CSM capacity, and only the delivery hour appears on a calendar ([Gainsight](http://www.gainsight.com/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/6-Crushing-Your-QBR-Agenda-and-Template.pdf)).
- A change in executive sponsor invalidates the cadence and the success criteria at the same time. Trigger an off-cycle review to re-establish criteria with the new sponsor, because the prior sponsor's goals are not inherited ([Gainsight](http://www.gainsight.com/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/6-Crushing-Your-QBR-Agenda-and-Template.pdf)).
- Scheduling the first review during the implementation hand-off call, rather than after go-live, is what prevents the account from reaching month 6 with no agreed measure of success ([Gainsight](http://www.gainsight.com/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/6-Crushing-Your-QBR-Agenda-and-Template.pdf)).
- A high completion rate with flat renewal rates means the reviews are being run with the wrong audience. Correlate completion against renewal and expansion before adding more reviews ([Distilled CS](https://distilledcs.org/customer-success-playbooks/walk-qbr-ebr-cadence/)).
- Multi-year contracts run **103% NRR / 94% GRR** versus month-to-month at **100% / 89%** ([SaaS Capital](https://www.saas-capital.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/RB32WS1-2025-B2B-SaaS-Retention-Benchmarks.pdf)), so a term-extension ask belongs in the review agenda for annual accounts, not only a price increase.
- Presenting a raw health score to a customer executive invites a debate about your scoring model instead of about their outcomes. State it comparatively against a cohort, and keep the weights out of the deck ([Gainsight](http://www.gainsight.com/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/6-Crushing-Your-QBR-Agenda-and-Template.pdf)).

## Old patterns

<details>
<summary>Legacy 10-slide first-EBR agenda (superseded)</summary>
The 2015 published order was: Introductions, Company Updates, EBR Purpose, Partnership, Strategic Initiatives, Functionality Rollout, Usage, Health Scorecard, Product Momentum, Recommendations and Next Steps ([Gainsight](http://www.gainsight.com/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/6-Crushing-Your-QBR-Agenda-and-Template.pdf)). The value-to-usage-to-health-to-roadmap-to-next-steps arc still holds; the individual slides are legacy. Use the section order in step 4 instead.
</details>

What does the Running Executive Business Reviews skill do?

Plans and runs QBRs and EBRs that prove outcomes against stated success criteria and open expansion

Where does the Running Executive Business Reviews skill come from?

Report research library. It was written by The Revenue AI Report against a 12 criterion quality rubric and graded in an independent scoring pass.

Why was the Running Executive Business Reviews skill chosen for this library?

Eight-point deck gate anchored on the customer's verbatim success criteria, plus a properly quarantined legacy agenda in a collapsed section.

When should the Running Executive Business Reviews skill not be used?

Do not use it for: Recalibrate the weights in our customer health score against last year's churn Or: Which of my accounts are ready for an upsell and what is the expansion forecast?

How do I install the Running Executive Business Reviews SKILL.md file?

Download the file, create a folder named exactly running-executive-business-reviews inside your agent's skills directory, and save the file inside it as SKILL.md. The agent loads it when a request matches the description.