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12.20.04
How Win/Loss Analysis Can Improve Your Sales Performance
 By Mal Watlington
Win/loss analysis, the process of differentiating why one sales effort wins and others fall short of the mark, has long been a basic tool in the competitive intelligence toolbox. Most companies conducting win/loss analysis make some changes in the way they go to market based on findings.
However, many fail to realize that the information garnered during the process can make the difference between productive versus simply "busy" sales organizations.
OK, So What Is Win/Loss Analysis?
 In the B2B business environment, a sales process that begins with lead generation and ends either with a sale or a loss can last many months. The sales organization can expend considerable resources in terms of time and real dollars in answering an RFP and cultivating a lead. Some of the most frustrating situations are those in which the losing organization is a contender or finalist, but comes up short and loses to a known competitor when the buyer makes a final decision. Often it is a particularly disappointing loss, following a heroic sales effort that spurs a company into sponsoring a win/loss analysis project.
As a first step in setting up a win/loss analysis project, the sales and/or marketing organization puts together a list of key questions, which may touch every aspect of the sale:
promotion
messaging
product features/functions/benefits
sales force behavior
qualification process
presentations and product demonstrations
references and reputation
pricing, terms and conditions, etc.
After developing a list of recent (or most important) lost sales opportunities, the project sponsors face a critical decision - should they conduct interviews with lost accounts using internal resources or engage an external consultant to make the contact?
The external choice, while potentially more expensive, often provides significant benefits. The most obvious is a perception of objectivity. This often creates a willingness to be more candid on the part of the companies being interviewed. Less obvious benefits may include gaining the benefit of the external consultant's prior win/loss project experience, which may include language choice in question framing, proper use of incentives, "sales moratorium" commitments to interviewees and recommendations to look at wins as well as losses (to rule out factors which don't seem to influence wins or losses).
With questions and interview call lists in hand, interviews are conducted and results are compiled. Once the interviews are concluded, and the results have been recorded, the question remains, how should the sponsoring organization use the data?
Maximizing the Value of Win/Loss Data
The first question on the mind of managers receiving the results from a win/loss analysis is usually "who's at fault?" This tendency to finger-pointing is unfortunate, for it often misdirects energy into internal political struggles and spirited denials at a time when openness to new ideas is critical.
Savvy organizations engage in "no fault" discussions during which the data is the centerpiece, allowing patterns and combinations to emerge. It begins with the assumption "if we accept what we hear at face value . . ." and provides opportunities for everyone involved in the sales process from beginning to end to make suggestions that might lead to improved results. When an objective external third party has conducted the interviews and presents the results, there is an increased likelihood that the results will be listened to and not dismissed as reflecting an internal party's bias.
For some, the process ends with the management review, followed by some tweaks on presentations, product information and other aspects of the sales process. However, other organizations with strong learning cultures go beyond the changes noted above, and incorporate what was learned into the sales training.
 Companies commissioning win/loss analyses should develop and deliver training which sensitizes their sales force to prospect "signals" indicating a high or low probability of successful "closing." Using job-aids based on these "signals," a salesperson could determine the relative probability of success early in the sales cycle, and concentrate his or her efforts on those accounts with most promise. When a sales force can avoid spending time on low probability accounts, and concentrate on those most likely to close, the gains in overall sales force productivity can be impressive.
The Gift that Keeps on Giving
Sending a sales force into the marketplace with training based on win/loss analysis can pay big dividends. Not only do the salespeople make more effective use of their time, but they are able continue their learning, listening for additional signs and signals that may point toward winning or losing. If the culture rewards learning, good salespeople do not keep new knowledge to themselves, but share it with the larger organization so that everyone can win from their experience. Field data, incorporated into solid strategic marketing, can be a source of significant competitive advantage.
Consider the benefits that win/loss analysis can bring to your organization. But also consider whether the culture in your organization supports the learning required to get the most out of what you discover. Your success can depend on it.
About the Author:
Mal Watlington is President of City Square Consulting, Inc., a specialty consulting firm focused on the achievement of superior financial performance through market focus, competitive responsiveness and workforce potential realization. |
