You Win Some, you Lose Some...but why?
As software companies we are very familiar with the competitive nature of our business. As a startup company, winning a deal is very significant on many levels. Unfortunately losing a deal is equally significant. So what do you do when you win? You celebrate! High fives, kudos all around and you start planning for the work ahead. Seems logical enough. What do most people do when they lose?
Well...most companies walk away and chalk it up to the nature of the software beast and take an attitude of you win some, you lose some. The truth is, you DO win some and you DO lose some. The little known truth is that losing a deal well...it not only builds character...but it can also be a valuable tool in understanding, improving process, identifying and discontinuing bad habits and most importantly building strong customer relationships. Yes, even if you lose a deal and a customer has chosen not to go with your firm, you can continue the relationship and if you do it right, you can make it stronger than ever.
Ok so you lost the deal, now what? You need to find out some key things:
- How did the customer reached the decision they did, what was the evaluation process?
- What didn't work for them and in what way did our organizations not meet the customers' needs?
- Was this a competitive situation? If so, what are we lacking that our competitors have?
- How can you work better with this customer moving forward?
Yes all very interesting things to find out after the fact but this could be an uncomfortable situation. So suck it up, get rid of the discomfort and proceed without fear to your win/loss analysis! Odds are customers may also feel a level of discomfort discussing their decision with you. Some organizations outsource these conversations to ensure that there is not a direct connection between the customer and organization which encourages the customer to speak freely. If you are a large organization I would strongly consider this approach. If you are a smaller organization like us, it's just a matter of handling it delicately, gracefully, not taking it personally and understanding the decision so that your organization can do better next time.
Ask the customer if they wish to participate in a short and confidential discussion to help you understand their decision and to improve your organization. If the answer is no, accept it. If the answer is yes, stay positive and most importantly, remember you are no longer selling but rather gathering information for improvement and continuing the relationship with your customer. You may hear some things you weren't expecting and you may be told some things you don't want to hear. All of this is important to the growth of the organization and your relationship with the customer. Did I mention stay positive, keep it light and look at the process as a learning experience. Don't let the conversation deteriorate even if you are getting bad news. Don't forget to thank the customer for their time and valuable feedback and tell them you look forward to working with them at some point in the future. Most customers will be impressed that you took the time at all to gain an understanding of what is important to them. It may (this is not the objective btw) even get them to reconsider their decision or consider your organization in the future.
At the same time, don't end your win celebration with a high five and a beverage at the pub either. Ask your customer the SAME questions as you would in a loss scenario. It's equally important to understand how you were able to win the deal so you can repeat the process next time!
I recommend the follwoing resource if you are interested in additional information about performing a win/loss analysis. Pragmatic Marketing offer a plethora of courses, webinars and resources including coverage of win/loss analysis techniques, interviews and more. They even offer certification in a number of key areas related to product management and marketing!
Stay tuned to our blog for some new and exciting conversations from the SpotOn Team!!
Anastasia