6 classic mistakes about win-loss analysis

Introduction

Performing win-loss analysis is already a common practice for high performing B2B companies. This is the process of systematically looking for an external buyer feedback after closing a deal (won or lost). This feedback could be qualitative with a deep interview or quantitative through quick surveys. The aggregation of all of these feedback give B2B companies a single source of truth about why they win or lose deals. However, launching win-loss analysis is not easy and we often observe 6 common mistakes. In this article, we explore these mistakes and how to avoid them to get the most out of your win-loss analysis programs.

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Mistake 1 - Not formalizing the process

Win-loss analysis is not just calling some prospect to get their feedback about their recent experience. If you want to get a real impact, it’s way more sophisticated than that. A common mistake is to launch a short initiative, with occasional contacts with customers and prospects, on a limited number of deals. All of this without a strong willingness to instaure a real process within the organization. The insights you get will be non significant, incomplete or biased.

‍The process does not have to be complex. It just has to be complete with at least the following actions done: 

• State your learning objectives
• Choose which kind of deals you would like to analyze and for each category, which type of feedback you will ask (qualitative or quantitative)
• Define your interview guide based on your learning objectives
• Define and structure all the next steps once a feedback is received
• Structure a memo page explaining the full process to everyone in the organization
• Structure a quarter presentation with all the results

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Mistake 2 - Lack of strong executive support

Launching win-loss analysis is core to your organization. If you do it successfully, you will get continuous, unbiased and new insights on strategic topics. Make sure your C-levels are motivated to launch it and that they understand its huge value. As win-loss analysis could take 3 to 9 months (depending on your sales cycle) to give you the full value, it’s important that Executives people are strong supporters of the initiative. This will help you drive adoption within the organization.

To get the full support of Executives, you can highlight the following benefits of win-loss analysis : 

• Win rate could improve up to 50% if you perform win-loss analysis successfully (according to Gartner)
• Staying close to buyers and listening to the voice of customers is key for successful B2B companies
• Competitor monitoring 
• Sales effectiveness improvement
• Winning product strategy
• Strategic decisions based on data rather than feelings
• Customer retention improvement

For example, when we launched win-loss analysis with Reveal, Simon Bouchez, CEO & co-founder, personally sponsored the project. In that way, all C-level executives and the whole organization were aware of the benefits of this new ritual. Simon’s sponsorship helped make this process successful and Reveal (now Crossbeam) use Diffly’s win-loss insights on a regular basis.

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Since the implementation of the platform, our win rate has increased by 25% and we are now able to make strategic decisions based on data rather than feelings. Diffly is a game changer tool for us.

Simon

CEO @Reveal

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Mistake 3 - Ask only salespeople for a feedback

Another common mistake is to launch win-loss analysis based only on salespeople input. It’s important to take their opinion on why they won or lost deals. But it’s only one part of the story. If you only ask for your internal teams, you could get superficial results and the conclusion of why you lose deals is likely to be pricing or product issues. We all know it’s not only pricing or product issues.

Successful B2B companies ask both external (prospect and/or clients) and internal stakeholders.When you ask your buyer for a feedback, make sure you ask the right people such as decision makers.

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We nearly made a wrong product decision, wrongly thinking we were at a disadvantage for not having a particular feature.

Raphaël

Chief Revenue Officer & Co-founder @Didomi

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Mistake 4 - Not using a neutral third party

Performing win-loss analysis internally by yourself is a good first step, but your buyers know they are talking to you. When you lose a deal, if you personally ask for a feedback to your prospect, you will not get transparent and honest feedback on why this prospect decided not to move with you. 

Also, the person within your organization that receives the feedback is not totally objective and independent. Getting an outside objective perspective is key to successful win-loss analysis programs.

Of course, using a neutral third party comes with a cost, but if you think in terms of ROI and win rate improvements, it becomes a no brainer. The benefits to use a neutral third party are the following : 

• You get candid and open feedback 
• You get unbiased analysis
• You benefit from an expertise that helps you design win-loss program
• You get one single source of through about what you have to do to excel in your Go-To-Market strategy
• You focus your time on acting on win-loss insights rather than collecting it

Mistake 5 - Not performing win-loss analysis on a regular basis 

‍The truth of today is not necessarily the truth 6 months later. Some companies make one shot win-loss analysis. Depending on your sales cycle, these organizations are not reactive and proactive about potential change in their sales skills, product performance, marketing messaging, competitors’ improvements or strategic moves.

If you want to leverage the full value of win-loss and make sure you become a leader in your market, ask for external feedback on a regular basis with an automated process.

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Mistake 6 - Restrict access to the feedback received 

It’s surprising all the insights we can obtain thanks to external buyer feedback. Key insights could be relevant for each customer-facing department (Sales, Product, Marketing). If you decide to keep all of the feedback you receive only to 2 or 3 people in the organization, then you lose the full potential impact of your analysis.

During win-loss interviews, B2B companies get clear and impactful verbatim mentioned by their buyers. These verbatims help make decisions directly based on buyer’s needs.

Not to mention the fact that everyone is curious when a feedback is received. You can create a culture of feedback transparency and make sure everyone thinks about your buyer’s needs. It’s a perfect way to stay close to your buyers.

‍Conclusion

‍Collecting external feedback is a game-changer tool for B2B organizations. This process could be owned by different stakeholders that are customer-centric : CEO, CRO, CMO, CPO, Product Marketing Manager, Head of Customer Experience. At Diffly, we can help you launch and optimize your win-loss analysis program. Contact us with great pleasure to find out more.