What's in a Win?

Yesterday, I was working with Chad Sly, reviewing a proof of concept trial with a client that had purchased win loss analysis from Primary Intelligence.

To be more accurate, they purchased loss analysis. In other words, they weren’t interested in measuring won opportunities; only lost deals.

I can understand that. I can respect that. Your instinct tells you that you are going to learn more from your losses than your wins. You might think that you are in a better position to talk to your wins later and find out the story of what happened. These are true statements.

But, I’d like to toss out a couple of reasons that you ought to apply your same, rigorous study of sales opportunities to your wins, too:

1-Knowing why you lose is interesting. Knowing why you win is just as valuable. If you don’t thoroughly understand your winning value proposition, how can you make the necessary changes in the less certain opportunities?

2-Benchmarking of successful data. If you want to make improvement, you have to understand where you are starting. Get a benchmark of your performance across the board (and not just in losses) or you will have a skewed benchmark that doesn’t really reflect current performance. (BTW, Primary Intelligence believes that measurements in 20-30 individual performance areas make the best sales
reviews)

3-Interpretation of comparative data. If you see that your sales team is weak in certain skills during losses, how will you know if they were strong in those same areas during wins? Or, did they win despite the an across-the-board weakness? You’ll never know unless you discover their performance in both wins and losses.

4-Goodwill with your new customers. Your new clients worked very hard to make the best decision for their company. They appreciate the opportunity to tell you
what went right or wrong and how you can be more effective in like situations.

5-Competitive intelligence from a friendly source. Your new clients are the most likely to provide you with the best actionable competitive intelligence, based on the tactics and messages presented during the recent transaction. You shared time with your competitors. Find out what your prospect/new customer found out during
that time.

I understand that losses look more important. I understand that having the inside scoop on a recent loss is nearly a status symbol. But, don’t forget the wins. They’re what keep you in business.

Let me know what you think. (cdalley@primary-intel.com, 801.838.9600 x5050)