When they’ve stopped working to win big quotes, practically every company I’ve worked for has done regular loss reviews. It was almost a knee-jerk response by management “how can this perhaps have occurred?”, despite the truth that the sales group typically knew well beforehand that they weren’t going to win. Despite being done relatively hardly ever, the win reviews are much more likely to produce future wins than loss reviews.

 

The factor is basic. Loss reviews focus on attempting to recognize the reasons you didn’t win– “mistakes”– and change them for the next time. In truth, the factors why you do not win are normally much less likely to be fixable mistakes than they are to be fundamental features of your items and your business. Things which are extremely difficult to alter. Possibly your culture didn’t fit, or your high-quality product line wasn’t ideal for a low-cost customer

 

With a winning analysis, nevertheless, you aim to determine the elements that helped you win. These factors are generally repeatable for other bids. The important thing is to find more customers who value these elements.

 

The secret is not to attempt to alter the unchangeable (naturally, if you do discover fixable mistakes then repair them)– however instead to recognize which types of clients value the things you are strong at and which don’t. You can then use this to identifying and screen potential new clients and quotes.

 

One of my previous customers, an IT services company had a very strong consultative culture. They thought that by dealing with their client to help them take ownership of their issues and jointly interacting to establish options (instead of just “informing them the response”) they would have a far more sustainable lead to the long term.

 

Like all business, they won some quotes, and they lost some. They would then interpret the feedback as suggesting they had to attempt to alter the method they used– to abandon their collective approach to win more business.

 

What worked for them was to stabilize the feedback from their losses with feedback from their wins. This permitted them to become aware of all the events where their collaborative culture had actually assisted them to win instead of losing. With this more balanced view they began to understand that instead of trying to win whatever, they ought to focus their efforts on those quotes where their culture and capabilities much better matched what the clients appreciated.

They began to qualify bids based on these criteria to permit them to see which ones they were well suitable for, and which ones the clients were looking for a different kind of technique. This focused method enabled them to make significant improvements in the number of quotes they won– and decrease the effort invested in bids where they truly stood no opportunity.

 

Nearly every company I’ve worked for has actually done routine loss reviews when they’ve stopped working to win big quotes. Despite being done fairly hardly ever, the win reviews are much more likely to produce future wins than loss reviews.

 

With a winning analysis, nevertheless, you intend to identify the aspects that assisted you to win. With this more well-balanced view they started to comprehend that instead of trying to win whatever, they ought to focus their efforts on those bids where their culture and capabilities much better matched what the customers appreciated.