Win Loss Analysis: Strategize Your Results

Companies who study their past deals have a 3 to 7 times higher win rate.

What exactly is Win Loss Analysis?

Win Loss uncovers:

• How decisions are made
• What buyers care about
• Where you stand out (and where you blend in
• What caused the final decision

Why does Win Loss Analysis work?

• It goes to the source: buyers and sellers
• Looks for the root cause: what drives decisions
• It tells you what's real: a competitive advantage is only real if the buyer thinks so
• It focuses on an outcome: a better win rate

"Win loss programs act as a directional compass for every department in the enterprise, clearly identifying what to work on to improve competitive advantage and drive win rates up." —Ken Allred, CEO, Primary Intelligence

How to win at Win Loss Analysis

Who? Find the right buyers to talk to

• Look for recently closed lost and won deals
• Find the key decision makers

Why? On the field ruling with the buyer

• Have a conversation with the buyer
• Ask for measurements (e.g. How would you rate our on-demand reporting? What about the other vendors?)
• Ask for context (e.g. Why did you rate on-demand reporting that way?)
• Make sure you can answer: What drove the final decision?

What? Review with the sales team

• Review decision drivers with the sales rep/team
• Ask what they did or didn't do to influence the buyer's perceptions (root cause)
• Identify action items for future improvement

Now what? Take action

• Inform strategic leaders on the root causes of why you're winning and losing
• Give everyone in the company access to the win loss insights
• Benchmark your win rate consistently

Where have companies turned around their results?

Healthcare technology company

• Symptoms: Low win rate (41%)
• Diagnosis: Win loss revealed the company was only targeting the financial buyer (hospital administrator), but the technical buyer (director of nursing) was very influential in the decision.
• Prescription: Refocus of sales efforts to include education sessions with the nursing staff and adjustments to marketing materials to focus on how the product helped nursing teams.
• Outcome: Win rate increased to 63%.

Enterprise technology company

• Symptoms: High number of losses with target accounts due to "high pricing."
• Diagnosis: Buyers didn't need full services in every product, but the sales team had limited ways to pitch the service,
• Prescription: configure new product package options based on the buyer's workload needs in each area. There was no reduction in pricing.
• Outcome:
  • Earned 2-year competitive advantage
  • Projected significant increase in win rates
  • Sales team felt better equipped to address buyer needs