● Customer Success · Play 01 · v1.1
The Business Review
The one motion in Customer Success that is strategic by design — what it is and is not, why it works, the agenda in three movements, the joint scorecard, the executive runbook, and the checklist.
Why it matters
Most “QBRs” fail because nobody said what one is for. A Business Review is a sales-led, success-facilitated exercise with the customer’s stakeholders, held to make sure the relationship is driving the right future for both companies — and to unlock what comes next. It is the only motion in Customer Success that is strategic and proactive at once, which is why it is the one that grows the account. This is the play I would hand a new Customer Success Manager in their first week.
What’s inside
Defined, and is-and-is-not. Timely, relevant, valuable; never operational, tactical, or a surprise. Nobody learns bad news in a Business Review.
Why. The mature model in one meeting, and the three layers of measurement shared with the one person who can act on them.
The agenda in three movements. Progress, challenges, roadmap — nine items, past, present and future tense, fifteen-twenty-five-twenty minutes. If progress runs long you are presenting; if roadmap runs long you are pitching.
The joint scorecard. The Partnership Maturity Model: six dimensions, each a question both sides can answer; five levels; a radar chart against the peer group. Score it twice — by us and by the champion — because the gap is the agenda.
The Executive Business Review. Review, plan, execute: three weeks out, two weeks out, the week of. Nothing is said for the first time in the room.
The checklist. Before, during and after. Print it.
How to use it
- Read pages 4–6 once.
- Read page 7 before every review.
- Score the partnership on pages 8–9 before every review, and have the champion score it too.
- Run page 10 with your account executive for the executive version.
- Print page 11.
Where it came from
An internal briefing on business reviews, and the partnership-maturity work from a quarterly leadership report, both from my time as Senior Vice President of Customer Success at a venture-backed software company in 2022. The first play on the shelf; adoption workshops, feedback cycles and success initiatives follow in the same shape. Rebuilt as a Juan.co play in October 2026.