Win / Loss Analysis
In most organisations, the assessment of the 'true' drivers of sales successes (and failures) come from two core beliefs. If we 'win' it's because of the inherent abilities and relationships of the sales team. If we 'lose' it's because of lack of pricing competitiveness. Both beliefs normally come directly from the sales team.
When there's a win, how often have you heard a sales rep say: "It was a hard sell. You are lucky that I'm working for you. In the end it came down to my strong relationship with the customer"
When there's a loss, how often do you hear this one: "At the end of the day we were beaten on price. There just wasn't anything that we could do!"
Unless you get direct customer feedback from from an independent source, win / loss assessments from the sales team are the most biassed assessments you will ever receive. Ask yourself, when was the last time that a sales rep said: "We lost that sale because I messed up". Whist sales teams are some of the most important people in your organisation, basing win / loss analysis solely on their opinion is like asking the little boy with the crumbs on his mouth "who ate the chocolate cake?"
We all want our sales teams to be the best in the world. Win / loss assessments are not primarily designed to be an assessment of your sales team, although that may be a concluding factor. Through utilising win / loss data organisations can (for example) identify recurring issues, profile key competitors, provide segment insights etc. This data can be used to provide sales, marketing and other key stakeholders with highly relevant and actionable intelligence to increase performance and success.
What's the process for Win loss Analysis?
If you want to discuss a Win Loss Analysis exercise, then contact us at Allisonz to find out how.