Vendors who have the discipline to complete win/loss reports usually uncover valuable insights. But concentrating only on wins and losses, and ignoring the growing number of deals that end in "no decision" is really missing a trick!
Most of our clients - who tend to be B2B focused, and sell into complex sales environments - find win/loss reports useful. But most of these reports end up focusing on why the customer chose one vendor over another - and not why the prospect chose to buy anything.
We've found that surveying prospects who ended up doing nothing can generate profound insights into why buying processes often stall or stop part-way through the cycle - and what vendors can do about it.
By paying particular attention to the circumstances under which the buying process was initiated - and understanding the trigger event that set the process going in the first place - vendors can learn a great deal about how momentum is created and maintained in the buying process...
...And armed with better insights into what commonly causes prospects to abandon the exercise, vendors can put themselves in a much better position to develop sales tools and coach sales people to help sustain the buying momentum.
Last, but not least, if you want accurate, unbiased feedback, please don't ask the sales person - or anyone with a direct vested interest to complete the win/loss/no decision report. We've proved time after time that conducting these reports from an independent perspective creates true insight rather than CYA behaviour.
