Think about a significant piece of business that you competed for and ultimately lost. Use this assessment to review your sales strategy. It focuses primarily on how you pursued the opportunity, not on the specifics of your solution or any credit issues that may have been important in the deal.
 
This is not about beating yourself up for losing business. It’s designed to help you figure out what you can learn from the experience. The best way to do that is to reflect on what happened and then share your perspective with your Sales Manager and any others involved in the relationship.
 
So grab a writing implement (yes, putting pen to paper helps most of us clarify our thoughts) and begin the post-mortem. Be as specific as you can in answering the questions.
 

1. What was the source of the request (existing customer, prospect you have been calling on, referral from customer or COI, etc.)?
2. How did you get the lead?
3. What research did you do prior to the first meeting to discuss the opportunity?
4. What value proposition did you use in the initial stages of the sale?
5. What were your objectives for your first call?
6. Describe your second (third, fourth, etc.) call.
7. Whom did you involve from your team in the sale? What roles did they play?
8. Who from the client side was involved in the process? What were their priorities?
9. How did you present your solution to the client?
10. Who won? Why?
11. If you had to compete for this business again, what would you do differently?

 
 
One parting thought: Landing a significant piece of new business from a prospect may involve losing a few deals. Keep calling!
 
Check out our recent webinar from the Prospecting Clinic Series on “What to Do After Losing a Deal to the Incumbent.” You can register for the webinar three ways: (1) Call Whit Midkiff at 727-741-0766 or (2) email him at wmidkiff@mzbierlyconsulting.com or (3) go to the Training Center section of our secure Webex website at https://mzbierlyconsulting.webex.com and pay the $150 fee by credit card.