The benefits of Win-Loss analysis
This article will define the benefits of Win-Loss Analysis, covering what Win/Loss is, how to do it and what you can expect. Winning or losing is rarely about just price, luck or the roll of a dice.
A win-loss analysis is an excellent deep market research exercise that focuses on how you sell and market your services and products. The process is usually conducted via telephone interviews with new customers or lost prospects.
The objective is to obtain as much useful and actionable information as possible and then analyse it to create Competitive Intelligence to encourage real change and continuous improvement throughout your business.
Win/Loss analysis has become increasingly popular for a simple reason: It works. It is believed that between 15 and 20% of companies use some sort of Win-Loss analysis. More companies are using Win-Loss within their business or outsourcing it to external and impartial partners like Octopus Intelligence.
Beware of bias
However, doing it yourself may bias your findings, especially if you use the sales team to ask questions. Arguably, it is a pointless exercise if you use the sales team, as they will have done nothing wrong, and the interviewee will not want to reveal the real reasons for not buying from you. Read more: How Your Competitors Catalyse Business Growth and Innovation
A win-loss exercise will help your company understand the selection criteria for your customers and prospects. And see how your company performs from their external perspective.
Most importantly, you will get a feel of how your sales teams approach a prospective customer the techniques used and how well they went down with the buyer. You may even be able to compare your efforts to that of your competitors.
Decisions are rarely down to pricing, and when you have a long sales cycle, which can also be problematic and complex, you have a better chance of success when you entirely understand your industry’s subjective selection criteria. Read more: Competitors Databases How to Build One and Why is it worth the bother.
But what can you do with the results of Win-Loss?
- You can reassess and restructure your product development process, sales training, and sales support needs.
- Isolate the key messages you and your competitors send that resonate with prospects. This will allow you to change your proposition to be more competitive.
- It’s less likely you will be left behind in interviews, and the subsequent analysis will isolate what features and benefits are becoming increasingly popular within your industry.
- Isolate and identify mistakes your company makes when selling your offering, enabling you to guide them on how to avoid them in the future.
Finally
In short, the independent, impartial and objective strategic intelligence you get from a Win-loss analysis by Octopus Intelligence is invaluable. It will only improve your immediate future sales opportunities, enhance your product and service offering, and show you if your marketing sends the right message and you have the right technology and pricing strategies. This article defined the benefits of Win-Loss Analysis and covered what Win/Loss is, how it can be done and what you can expect from it.
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