Do you ever conduct a win-​loss review? If not, you’re not alone despite the benefits conducting one can bring you. Typically, sellers are so anxious to get to the next stage, they skip this valuable process. This can be a costly mistake. You’re missing valuable insights that can help you tweak your strategy for maximum success. 

What is a win-​loss review?

A win-​loss review is simply a review of why you won or lost a sales opportunity. As HubSpot’s Emily Brudner notes, it sheds light on why a prospect chose you, a competitor or is undecided. This knowledge can be used to strengthen your future efforts. And research supports it.

“…Researchers found teams that regularly used win-​loss analysis outperformed those that did not,” she reports.

Optimize the process with prep and quality questions

While any review is better than not, be sure to use best practices. This increases your chances of getting helpful feedback. And creating a proper plan is an essential first step, according to David L. Zion. 

He recommends determining who you will include in the win-​loss review. Will it be your primary contact, the prospect? Or do you want to include stakeholders as well? Make sure that whoever you interview, they have experience with your strategy and process. 

Next, determine the questions that you will ask. They need to be succinct and open-​ended. These will generate the most thoughtful responses. 

Brudner suggests the following for each win-​loss review, which you can personalize to your own needs:

• What did you base your decision on?
• Did you define your decision criteria? If so, what did it include?
• Did we personalize the entire experience enough to fit your needs and preferences?
• What would you rate our solution and why?
• How did our solution and our process compare to competitors?
• Why did you decide to buy/​not buy?
• What would you advise us to change for the better?

These questions can serve as a starting point for your own, too. Remember, you want to ask questions that will give you the clearest insights into the prospect’s decision. And you want insights that can help you evolve your process for the future. 

Keep an open mind

Hearing the responses to these questions won’t always be easy. You may even be taken by surprise by the feedback. But having an open mind and growth mindset will benefit you. 

A growth mindset “reflects viewing your abilities, talents, and intelligence as skills you can grow and improve upon,” SalesFuel reports.

When listening to the prospect, use active listening best practices to truly hear them. Make sure you’re keeping eye contact and have open body language. Repeat back to them any points that you’d like clarified. 

You’ll find these behaviors may encourage them to open up to you even more. By showing genuine interest, you’re establishing trust and a comfortable environment. 

Keep control of your emotions and reactions. You may not like or agree with feedback you hear. But don’t respond defensively. Stay calm and avoid knee-​jerk responses that may heighten tension. For tips on navigating tough conversations, take a look at this article. 

And when finished, Zion encourages you to share your thanks. 

“Express appreciation for their time and respect the appointed time frame, even if a few questions went unanswered.”

Take action

Your work-​loss review efforts won’t be of value unless you take action based on the feedback you receive. Don’t let these valuable insights go to waste. Take notes on the key takeaways and share them with your team and manager. 

Analyze the responses, looking for opportunities to improve. Even the most positive feedback can lead to growth and evolution. And use these insights to compare against future ones. You may find trends that emerge. Turn these insights into actionable steps for each next sales cycle.

Photo by Vitaly Gariev