STOP QBR-ING YOUR CUSTOMERS TO DEATH. START UNDERSTANDING THEM.

with THE UBR
Bob London created The UBR training based on 2,600+ customer discovery conversations.
Here's what I learned while doing 2,600+ customer discovery conversations with B2B decision-makers: 

The most engaging and revealing conversations didn't require an agenda. Or a deck. Not even a single slide, stat or talking point.

In fact, I hardly needed to speak at all. Because the customer talked 70 - 80% of the time - revealing  critical business priorities and challenges they hadn't shared before.

​How is this possible? It's simple. I asked customers about what they're experts in: Their broader business challenges and priorities, independent of the vendor’s (in this case my client's) product or service.

Here's the reality: Despite the fact that our product is the center of OUR world, customers are not - nor do they aspire to be - experts in your product. So it's no wonder they don't engage when we pepper them with slides ABOUT US.

That's why you need to stop talking AT them and start understanding the bigger picture “why” that’s driving what they need your product or service to help them accomplish. And I learned that they’re happy to share if we just put a little more thought into the questions - and then just $TFU (my shorthand for growing faster by talking less!).
​
What's the result of more open-ended conversations ABOUT THEM?

An unprecedented  level of transparency that drives three precious outcomes for your company: Insights. Innovation. And revenue. 

​And, as you may already be painfully aware, the check-the-box nature of QBR's simply does not and cannot achieve those outcomes. Because QBR's are inherently focused on the vendor more than the customer. And that's why customers - and vendors - are experiencing unprecedented levels of "QBR fatigue."

It is precisely these lessons from the 2,600+ discovery conversations that led me to create The UBR. The UBR is a new type of customer conversation that incorporates all of the techniques and tools I've used to get customers to reveal what's most important TO THEM.

​WHAT IS THE  UBR? 

WHAT IS THE UBR?
​ (U = "you, the customer," since that's who the meeting is about)

The UBR is a fundamentally new and more strategic type of conversation where your only mission is to discover the customer's or prospect's broader priorities and challenges, including the top-level company initiatives driving their desired outcomes. 

The easiest way to think of The UBR is "discovery on steroids," or "customer re-discovery." But it goes so much deeper than the tired discovery questions that bore customers to tears, like "What keeps you up at night."

Here are the basics of The UBR:
  • You'll ask a few disruptive questions to engage the customer on their terms, not yours.
  • You'll go with their flow to understand what's most important TO THEM.
  • You'll embrace silence to make sure you're not pivoting back to your perspective.
  • You'll need no agenda and no slides (what a relief!).

When should you use The UBR? 
  • I recommend doing at least 1 UBR per year per customer. You can replace 1 QBR per year with a UBR. This is typically a 30-minute conversation with the decision-maker.
  • Or you can carve out 10 - 15 minutes during a QBR, EBR or other cadence meeting to ask UBR questions. 

Why should you use The UBR?
  • The disruptive questions you ask customers will increase their transparency. They’ll reveal more about their company’s top-level priorities and challenges which will help you position your product accordingly. 
  • You’ll get a more accurate read on their status - including whether they’re susceptible to competitive overtures. 
  • You’ll also identify expansion opportunities based on unserved or unmet customer needs.
  • And perhaps most importantly, you’ll elevate your team’s status and influence, because you’ll gain insights you can leverage to authoritatively collaborate with product, sales, marketing and other teams to drive innovation and growth.​
What are examples of disruptive questions?

“If I could be a fly on the wall at your next board meeting or executive leadership meeting, what do you think would be the number one priority or challenge they’re talking about?"
  • Their answer to this question gives you tremendous insight as to where the budget is flowing. Where are the resources and energy flowing? Not because it’s flowing directly to your product but it helps you position your product to align with their top priority. 
​
"Most job descriptions are a page or two long, single spaced, but usually there’s one thing in there that the company is absolutely counting on you and your team to get done this year. Is there one thing like that for you?"
  • Typically people have various responsibilities and tasks, but there’s often one big thing they'll be judged on at the end of the day. Understanding this will help you identify other areas where you can add value.

"What’s the biggest thing that surprised you since you signed the contract with us?:
  • The positive side: It’s notable that I’ve asked this question hundreds of times, and about half the time it’s a positive surprise. Suppose a number of customers cite a particular positive surprise, like “We were pretty impressed at how quickly we were up and running.” You can collaborate with your marketing team on ways to leverage this benefit in your company’s messaging.

what customer-facing leaders have to say

how is THE ubr different from a qbr?

here's what SOME leaders & professionals had to say:
"Just asked a 'Bob London' question in a monthly client call...it worked wonders! Asked the magic wand one, and from their answers, I was able to get 2 great customer outcomes and success goals."
- Senior CSM with a Multi-Billion Dollar SaaS Company
"This session went above in beyond in hitting what our role really is, and provided real examples of how to be a better partner with clients. I haven't received this type of training since client management training, and even then I feel like we didn't get this deep into questions/strategies like this."
- CSM
"(One of our CSMs) uncovered a massive issue with a client by asking the question, 'If a competitor called, how would you react.' We now have a chance to save the client."
- Senior Director of CS with a Multi-Billion Dollar Global Company
"I came out of it with specific tools I can use in my conversations with clients."
​- Senior CSM

why Gtm / revenue & post-sales leaders should care about the ubr

FOR REVENUE LEADERS
​- Know the voice of the customer first-hand.
- Authoritatively drive product-market fit, ideal customer profile & other critical business imperatives.
- Refine value proposition & messaging across all points in the buyer's journey & customer lifecycle.
FOR CS & ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT LEADERS
​- Get fresh insights to drive value & innovation.
- Get customers to stay longer.
- Grow revenue.
- Avoid surprise churn.
- Differentiate from the customers' other vendor interactions.
- Build your team's authority & confidence.

curious companies win

What about bob (london)?

I teach customer success, account management and sales teams how to have more strategic, revealing customer conversations that drive transparency, insights and revenue.

​Over the course of conducting more than 2,600 customer discovery conversations with B2B decision-makers, I developed a series of bold, disruptive questions and deep listening techniques - called Radically Authentic Discovery - that get customers and prospects to open up about what’s important TO THEM.

I was named a 2022 Top 25 Customer Success Influencer by SuccessCoaching and am also an Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Maryland’s Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship; a board member of Mindshare, one of the country’s leading organizations for tech CEOs and founders; and an active member of Gain Grow Retain, a leading customer success community. My clients have been honored more than 30 times on Inc. Magazine's list of 5000 Fastest-Growing Private US companies.

I'm a regular and passionate writer and speaker on the topic of listening to customers, and his work and writing have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Forbes, the Miami Herald, USA Today, Inc. Magazine and The Washington Business Journal.
P.S. The UBR is a new concept, so I'd love to get any and all feedback you may have. Feel free to email me at bob@chieflisteningofficers.com any time.