Win/Loss Analysis
How To Implement a Program
To Improve Win Ratios
Presented by
Michael Perla
Principal, The North Highland Company
June 2009
© 2009 The Sales Management Association
Summary
Win/loss analysis helps sales management improve win ratios, direct sales coaching
efforts, and enhance competitive advantage. Properly implemented, win/loss analysis
is a process-based discipline that involves contacting customers, sellers, and support
resources after a particular sales opportunity has been dispositioned and determining
what was done well, what could be done better, and what competitors did right or
wrong.
This webinar will focus on three key areas:
1.
Defining a win/loss analysis project;
2.
Conducting a win/loss analysis project; and
3.
Developing a strategy and action plan based on the project results.
2
© 2009 The Sales Management Association
Win/Loss Quotes
“Those who do not learn from
history are doomed to repeat it.” - George Santayana
“ We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act, but
a habit.” - Aristotle
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© 2009 The Sales Management Association
What is Win/Loss Analysis?
Definitions
• A formal process that interrogates wins/losses to understand relevant
causes and potential go forward modifications
• Triangulation of Input from sales professionals, sales team members,
sales managers, and prospects or customers
• An analysis of current win/loss data, trends and market or industry
compares
• A process that reveals the vulnerabilities and opportunities associated
with your competitive sales strategies/tactics, your target markets, and
exposes the challenges in executing a winning sales campaign
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© 2009 The Sales Management Association
Why Conduct Win/Loss Analysis?
Costs and Benefits
• An activity that is typical in almost every other competitive process and that
provides some of the richest sources of actionable intelligence you can
obtain from sales results
– Qualitative Benefits
• Identify behaviors of winning and poorly performing sellers
• Improve value propositions and competitive positioning
• Improve buying-sales process alignment
– Quantitative Benefits
• Increase win ratios ($ won / $ won + $ lost)
• Improve sales cycle velocity
• Increase competitive win-backs and wins
– Costs
• Resource time to conduct discovery and analyze results
• Potential 3rd party costs to conduct prospect/customer interviews
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© 2009 The Sales Management Association
How Do You Conduct Win/Loss Analysis?
One Approach
1.
Define the problem
–
2.
Reasons and impacts
Gather data
–
3.
Internal / External
Analyze the data
–
4.
Trends, patterns, gaps – stakeholders, competitors, geos, etc.
Develop a report and recommendations
–
5.
Actionable and accountable
Take action (and follow-up)
–
What, who, when and follow-up / measurement plan
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© 2009 The Sales Management Association
Win/Loss Analytical Process – Sources of Input
Internal Analytics
35%
120%
30%
100%
20%
60%
15%
40%
10%
20%
Value Story
Serv ice
%
30.00%
20.00%
15.00%
15.00%
8.00%
5.00%
3.00%
2.00%
1.00%
1.00%
Cum %
30.00%
50.00%
Integration Availability Competitor
65.00%
80.00%
88.00%
Contract
93.00%
96.00%
Price
References
98.00%
99.00%
Image
Features
100.00%
Opportunity Name
Type
Form ulary Focus for
Diversified Products
New Business
3750 0
1
In Hand
New Business
New Business
4688.9 7
1000
1
0
In Hand
6b - Closed Lo st
New Business
125000
1
In Hand
32
New Business
8
0%
Process
& Owners
Contract Value (converted)
Won
Stage
Total P rice
(converted)
Age
Product Name
0
FORMULARY FOCUS DYNAMIC DATABA 28980
37500
3750 0
0
0
PMA - Other
Fastrack
6000
1000
4688. 97
1000
Laun ch & Brand M anagemen t
Sales Force Effe ctiveness
PMA - Other
125000
12500 0
Laun ch & Brand M anagemen t
Call Quality Bonviva
Resea rch Seminar April
2008
BICL - M icardis
Ea rlyView d ashb oard
chang es
BICL - M icardis
Ea rlyView d ashb oard
chang es
Tota l Price
Business Line
46149. 82
Manage d Care
API FARMA -Vacinas Sell o ut mensal
Xponen t - Viviant
Viviant PRx
APIFARMA - Inf Nac
Farma cêut ica ( OTC) fa rmácias
46149. 82
0
6b - Closed Lo st
6061
1
In Hand
0
SALES STRATEGY EVALUATION
DISTRIBUCION DE DROGAS - COLOMBIACO_DDDC
35240
Rene wal
6061
6061
Sales Force Effe ctiveness
New Business
21117. 28
1
In Hand
0
RKG TRAINING - 28999
21 117.28
21117. 28
Laun ch & Brand M anagemen t
New Business
9478.6 7
1
In Hand
19
In sourcing - SFE
2700
2326. 58
Sales Force Effe ctiveness
New Business
9478.6 7
1
In Hand
19
Earlyview Cana da
8300
7152. 09
Sales Force Effe ctiveness
New Business
New Business
Rene wal
19034. 83
64627. 32
21542. 44
1
0
0
In Hand
6b - Closed Lo st
6b - Closed Lo st
0
17
17
M ANAGED CARE INFORMATION
Xpone nt - Project ed Data
Perform ance Rx
14535
75000
25000
19034. 83
64627. 32
21542. 44
Manage d Care
Sales Force Effe ctiveness
Sales Force Effe ctiveness
22339
29254. 85
In Hand
0
M ANAGED CARE INFORMATION
New Business
29254. 85
1
Eurod rug_SPA_2008
Rene wal
1207 6
1
In Hand
3
12076
1207 6
Portfolio Opt imizatio n
New Business
6000 0
0
6b - Closed Lo st
50
08241
60000
6000 0
Portfolio Opt imizatio n
New Business
2000 0
0
6b - Closed Lo st
46
PLANTRAK SMALL PHARMA - 24573
20000
2000 0
Manage d Care
Pharmaceutical Audit
What
Description
Outline
Win/Loss
Situation &
Context
New Business
3000
1
In Hand
0
NPA NEW TO BRAND - 08270
3000
3000
New Business
7726.5 6
1
In Hand
0
PAC OFFTAKE - 4
5900
7726. 56
0
CLIENT SERVICE CONTRACT - COCO_OTH CS
100
100
Sales Force Effe ctiveness
0
CLIENT SERVICE CONTRACT - COCO_OTH CS
100
100
Sales Force Effe ctiveness
LBM - CORE - 49092
75000
7500 0
Laun ch & Brand M anagemen t
FORECASTING & OPPORTUNITY - L&B LBM - CORE - 49092
48600
4860 0
Laun ch & Brand M anagemen t
New Business
100
1
In Hand
New Business
100
1
In Hand
Market
New Business
7500 0
1
In Hand
16
SNN No vartis Diovan
Analog Analysis
New Business
4860 0
1
In Hand
22
2
Win/Loss
Reasons
Price
3
4
Portfolio Opt imizatio n
Consumer Health
FORECASTING & OPPORTUNITY - L&B -
Time
• Opportunity
Owner
• Sales Team
10 min
Outline 3-5 Specific Win/Loss Reasons
Provide Evidence for Each Reason
• Opportunity
Owner
• Sales Team
10 min
Clarify &
Question
Clarify and Test Reasons
Augment and/or Add Reasons (via other lenses –
marketing, LOB, ops) and determine plausibility
• Sales Team
• Marketing, Ops,
Mgmt., LOB’s
20 min
Learnings &
Actions
ID 3-5 Specific Actions Based on Learnings –
What, Who, When – and how each will be
measured and communicated
• Sales Ops
• All
5 min
People - Client relationship
Win/Loss
Reasons
Who
Outcome – Win/Loss & Competitor
Current Client / Account Relationship
Business Problem / Client Vision
Opportunity Profile - $, Close Date, Offerings, etc.
Qualification / Client Feedback
Value Prop / Competitor Value Prop
Sales Strategy & Tactics
Decision Makers (Political Landscape)
Manage d Care
NPA MARKET DYNAMICS - ONLI NE -
CO_CLIENT SERVICE
CONTRACT - CO
LNT 138 479
CO_CLIENT SERVICE
CONTRACT - CO
1
Universe,
Sample,
Contact
Info
Sales Force Effe ctiveness
NPA M arket Dyna mics
Adam s Rx PlanTrak
ad hoc
NPA New to Bran d
AMG Amgen Analogs of
Brands De monstrat ing
Sustained Growth in the
#
IMS Expertise
Philips P & MA
W eekly-Solodyn and
Ziana
PRESENTACION
MERCADO TEST
EM BARAZO
LNT 138 478
People - Expertise and
knowledge
Product/Offering
and Epirubicin
Fastrack - Symb icord
LNT 13940 2 CO_DDDC
WTH Wyeth Ma rket
Win/Loss
Trends –
YoY &
QoQ
80%
5%
Client Feedback
Act avis PMA: Oxaliplatin
25%
0%
Sales Team Review
Review
Agenda
Standard
Interview
Guides
Service (after sale)
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
% of Responses for Win/Loss
Loss
Won
No.
Action
Owner
Resources
Due Date
1
0
0
00 400
-8
0
-
L-IR
0
0
0
00 0 00 200 6 00 000
2
40
1
8
1
L-OOR
16
Frequency (response)
12
8
4
W-IR
16
12
8
0
L-IR
Mean 1462
StDev 4394
N
20
L-OO R
Mean 4417
StDev 4303
N
10
W-IR
Mean 3057
StDev 3134
N
20
W-OO R
Mean 2780
StDev 2221
N
14
4
0
0
0
00
00
-4
-8
W-OOR
0
CUSTOMER RESPONSE WIN
Mean
2
Average MRCs for Win/Losses and IR/OOR
Compares
– W/L
Reasons
0 0 000 00 0 000 000
40
8
20
12
16
3
4
5
6
Joint
Action
Planning
7
12%
6.7
15%
7.2
12%
6% 26%
7.7
7.4
56%
74%
16%
The overall business operations at IMS
to get things done
Interaction with the IMS sales
rep/relationship
Pricing
68%
13% 19%
7%
The actual contract content itself
44%
32%
8.0
Total (n=30)
Pre-sales/contract negotiation process
55%
41%
3% 24%
0%
8
33%
8.5
6.8
CUSTOMER RESPONSE LOSS
Total (n=34)
7.0
The offering itself
68%
31%
The image/reputation
53%
30%
63%
50%
Comparison to other providers offerings
100%
(1-3) No Impact
15%
10%
38%
6.1
7.0
68%
33%
6.8
57%
7.2
10%
38%
13%
30%
57%
33%
60%
7.2
59%
7.1
7%
52%
28%
14%
7%
36%
0%
(4-7) Some Impact
Mean
46%
16% 16%
6.7
7.2
57%
50%
Analysis
&
Synthesis
100%
(8-10) Great Deal of Impact
?: How do es averag e MRC differ by wins/loss and IR/OOR
Sales Teams, Systems
Marketing, Ops, Mgmt.
7
Client (W/L) Input
© 2009 The Sales Management Association
Draft Win/Loss Opportunity Review Agenda
#
What
Description
1
Outline
Win/Loss
Situation &
Context
2
Win/Loss
Reasons
3
4
Who
Outcome – Win/Loss & Competitor
Current Client / Account Relationship
Business Problem / Client Vision
Opportunity Profile - $, Close Date, Offerings, etc.
Qualification / Client Feedback
Value Prop / Competitor Value Prop
Sales Strategy & Tactics
Decision Makers (Political Landscape)
Time
• Opportunity
Owner
• Sales Team
10 min
Outline 3-5 Specific Win/Loss Reasons
Provide Evidence for Each Reason
• Opportunity
Owner
• Sales Team
10 min
Clarify &
Question
Clarify and Test Reasons
Augment and/or Add Reasons (via other lenses –
marketing, LOB, ops) and determine plausibility
• Sales Team
• Marketing, Ops,
Mgmt., LOB’s
20 min
Learnings &
Actions
ID 3-5 Specific Actions Based on Learnings –
What, Who, When – and how each will be
measured and communicated
• Sales Ops
• All
5 min
8
© 2009 The Sales Management Association
Potential Win-Loss Questions – Sales Teams
• If you had to do it all over again, would you bid this deal? Why or why not?
• What one thing would you do differently next time to improve your
chances of winning?
• What behaviors do you think you need to do more/less of to improve your
chances of winning?
• Knowing what you now know, what question or questions do you wish
you had asked the prospect/client?
• In the future, what would you do differently (loss) or the same (win)
against X competitor?
• Why did the competitor win/lose?
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© 2009 The Sales Management Association
What Are Some Win/Loss Factors or
Attributes?
Areas to Investigate
with Wins/Losses
Attribute
Brand/Image
Competition
Offering
Service
Seller
Process
Quantitative Scaling (Example)
Questions
Brand promise
Brand risk
Competitive patterns
Differentiation
Features/Benefits
Price/Value
Capabilities
Service perceptions
Knowledge, skills, abilities
Rapport/Responsive
Buyer-Seller alignment
Breakdowns
On a 10-point scale, where “10”
indicates “Very Satisfied” and “1”
indicates “Very Dissatisfied”, how
satisfied were you with the overall
experience you had with ABC Co.
during this particular interaction?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DK
Qualitative Probes (Example)
Was there anything missing
during these discussions that you
would have wanted to happen,
that did not?
What could ABC Co. do differently
in the future, if anything, to be
more effective?
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© 2009 The Sales Management Association
The Six S’s
What are Some Strategies/Actions
from Win/Loss?
Strategy
Segments
Structure
There may be a significant
W/L difference with regard to
market segments – the
company may be able to
create more value or be a
better fit in some, but not all
segments.
The company may have
issues around coverage and
support and may not be
structured appropriately;
customer losses may
complain about availability
and responsiveness.
Story
Skills/Process
Sellers
The company/value story
may not be credible for a
certain subset of customers;
customer losses may make
comments about the veracity
of claims and allegations.
Individual sellers may not fit
the new success profile (e.g.,
consultative sales
professional); customer
losses may complain of hardsells and being “sold-to”.
Sellers’ skills may be weak in
terms of solution selling,
value positioning, or
negotiation, among other
skills and capabilities.
Sellers may not be
differentiating their sales
strategy given the situation,
competitive landscape, and
the unique needs of the
customer.
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© 2009 The Sales Management Association
Examples
What are Some Strategies/Actions
from Win/Loss?
1. Regular debriefs with the customer and quarterly/annual report-outs
2. Pricing sales aid – five steps, clear decision points and language
3. Needs/Solution alignment aid and training – checklist for ensuring
synchronization
4. Reference / Success Story database – mitigate risk and add evidence
5. ROI / Value Justification aid – pre-empt the discussion and demonstrate
expertise and experience
6. Re-segment / target new industries and profiles – create ideal client
(winning) profile and focus messaging
7. Develop a measurement team – baseline up-front situation and provide
content for quarterly/annual report-outs
12
© 2009 The Sales Management Association
Win/Loss Lessons Learned
• A win/loss analysis is not a “Silver Bullet” type exercise – it needs to be
integrated as part of a monthly/quarterly cadence
• The more intelligence and information captured during the sales process,
the more in-depth the win/loss review can be
• The win/loss reasons may be subtle – it pays to probe and drill-down
• Win/loss reviews should not be used to “beat people up” – the key is to
focus on what can be done differently going forward
• Be willing to follow the logic to where it leads – phase in changes, monitor
and adjust
• Don’t assume that sales teams are effectively executing the
fundamentals – the prospect/client feedback is paramount
• The process often reveals sales data issues – inaccurate, incomplete,
irrelevant, and inconsistent
13
© 2009 The Sales Management Association
Questions and
Discussion
© 2009 The Sales Management Association
Thank You
© 2009 The Sales Management Association