Losing business but not knowing the real reason why, can be a very scary situation.

It can be pretty difficult to build upon your successes, and avoid painful client and customer loses, if you don't have a firm handle on why they occur. Most companies compile an abundance of anecdotal information, but frequently don't get to the heart of the issue.

The goal of Win/Loss analysis is to increase your closing ratios. You can do this by obtaining factual information from your prospects and customers on why they chose to do business with you or with your competitors.

Done properly, Win/Loss analysis will:

• Help you know your prospects' or clients' perception of your company.
• Allow you to better leverage your strengths and avoid your weaknesses.
• Compile valuable competitive information
• Provide a basis for sales force training, mentoring and coaching.

How Does It Work?

Commonwealth works closely with you to customize the approach, both with your clients and prospects who have awarded their business elsewhere. While the process varies, it generally will follow this typical scenario:

• We develop, with your help, a customized questionnaire/interview guide.
• We ask that you contact your prospect/client/customer and request their participation.
• We introduce ourselves to the prospect/client/customer in writing.
• We schedule a telephone interview.
• We conduct an interview, normally 20 to 30 minutes in duration
• We prepare a comprehensive report, detailing the results.
  

Some Areas You Can Explore:

The questions we will ask and the areas of primary focus depend on your industry, product or service, type of sales process, etc. Below are listed some typical topics of interest:

• Who was involved in the decision?
• Who was the competition?
• Their assessment of your product/industry/service knowledge.
• Your Reputation.
• Your selling team's credibility.
• Your selling team effectiveness, ability to communicate.
• Company support resources.
• Attractiveness of systems.
• Salesperson effectiveness.
• Salesperson professionalism.
• Proposal/Quote effectiveness.
• Effectiveness in determining your needs/objectives/goals.
• Financial competitiveness.
• Effectiveness of presentation.
• Your company's flexibility.