Win/Loss analysis is custom research. It's a great source of customer intelligence, product development and competitive intelligence...not just your sales process and performance. 60% of the decision making for a sale is made before buyers contact your sales reps, on average. Win/loss can help you learn how to improve you brand ID and how buyers are finding you. While you can monitor your website's activity, you don't know what influences buyers unless you ask.
Consider the 10 things this presentation focuses on to pick the right consultant when you outsource Win/Loss.
- Industry Experience
- Connection to Sales
- Professionalism
- Project Management
- Team Player
- Written/Oral Skills
- Project Delivery
- Deliverables
- Fees
- Sharing Win/Loss Experience
Contact us for Win/Loss:
https://ellennaylor.com/contact-ellen-naylor/
Check out our Book, "Win/Loss Analysis: How to Capture and Keep the Business You Want"
https://amzn.to/297Mrxl
1. Outsourcing Win/Loss Analysis:
Finding the Right Consultant
A checklist for working with a Win/Loss Consultant
Ellen Naylor, MBA
Ellen Naylor
https://EllenNaylor.com
2. Pros and Cons of Outsourcing Win/Loss Analysis
Pro’s
• Get the full story
• Buyers more candid
• Uncover hidden customer
satisfaction issues
• Reveal your company’s blind
spots
• Professional Win/Loss
interviewer and analyzer
Con’s
• No one knows your business like
you
• May not probe as deeply as you
• Cost: a budget expense
• Consultant may not be a good fit
for your customers and
employees
• Consultant less accountable for
results
Ellen Naylor
https://EllenNaylor.com
3. Hybrid Model to Work with Win/loss Consultant
• Collaborate with Consultant to Create the Win/Loss template
• Reach out to Sales to collect relevant customer contact data
• Salespeople inform customers/non-customers about Win/Loss
• Consultant conducts Win/Loss interviews
• Consultant writes up Win/Loss interview summaries
• You do the Win/Loss Analysis
• You take action from Win/Loss results
Collaboration Company Consultant
Be creative: this is an example of how you might work with a consultant and split up the Win/Loss
work. The work can be split in different ways. Ellen Naylor
https://EllenNaylor.com
4. When Hiring a Win/Loss Consultant
1. Industry Experience
2. Connection to Sales
3. Professionalism
4. Project Management
5. Team Player
6. Written/Oral Skills
7. Project Delivery
8. Deliverables
9. Fees
10. Sharing Win/Loss Experience
Check out these traits to see if the consultant you’re hiring is competent in Win/Loss.
Ellen Naylor
https://EllenNaylor.com
5. 1. Industry Experience
• How much industry experience is required to conduct Win/Loss
interviews? The analysis?
• Can you educate the consultant enough about your industry?
• If they work in your industry, do they work for competitors?
- If so, is this a conflict of interest?
Unless you’re in a very technical or complex industry, most consultants can learn enough about your
industry to conduct Win/Loss interviews. You really want them to be business savvy.
Ellen Naylor
https://EllenNaylor.com
6. 2. Connection to Sales
• Have they ever worked as a full-time salesperson?
• How well do they communicate and connect with sales and sales
management?
• Can they “speak” sales?
Rapport with sales and sales management is often overlooked. Most are concerned about how well the
consultant will conduct the Win/Loss interviews with customers and non-customers. If you can’t get the
right information from sales about their customers and non-customers, you will have a tough time
connecting with the right customers to conduct Win/Loss interviews.
Ellen Naylor
https://EllenNaylor.com
7. 3. Professionalism
• How do you gauge their professionalism, especially for interviews?
• Does the consultant have customer testimonials?
• What other evidence of professionalism?
The consultant needs to be professional with your company’s employees as well as with your customers and
non-customers.
Ellen Naylor
https://EllenNaylor.com
8. 4. Project Management
• Develop the right questions at the project’s outset
• Collaborate with Sales to get customer/non-customer data
• Keep track of each contact in the interview process
• Conduct interviews and write up interview summaries
• Analyze interviews thoroughly
• Write up analysis accurately, clearly and persuasively
These are the key project management tasks in Win/Loss analysis. There are a lot of logistics to keep
straight.
Ellen Naylor
https://EllenNaylor.com
9. 5. Team Player
• How well will the consultant connect with your salespeople?
• How about with sales management?
• How well will the consultant collaborate with your company?
• Is the consultant trustworthy?
• Will the consultant develop rapport quickly with customers/non-
customers?
• Are they good at listening?
The ability to develop rapport and trust are key traits to look for in a Win/Loss interviewer.
Ellen Naylor
https://EllenNaylor.com
10. 6. Written and Oral Skills
• What is their experience in conducting Win/Loss interviews?
• How can you assess their writing skills?
• Do they write or blog about Win/Loss analysis?
• Be sensitive about asking for a Win/Loss work example:
• Win/Loss analysis is highly proprietary
• It’s also custom research: your final report could look quite different
and will reflect what is uncovered in your Win/Loss analysis
Ellen Naylor
https://EllenNaylor.com
11. 7. Project Delivery
• Win/Loss is a relationship business
• You rely on other people’s schedules for the 1st Four Steps
1. Collaboration to create the Win/Loss template
2. Collecting and organizing all customer/non-customer contact data
3. Reaching out to schedule interviews
4. Conducting Win/Loss interviews
• To do Win/Loss right…you need time…don’t skimp on it
Ellen Naylor
https://EllenNaylor.com
12. 8. Deliverables
• Project progress communication along the way…
• Interview summaries and/or transcripts if you record
• Quantitative data detail
• Format for Win/Loss analysis final report
• Accompanying oral presentation of final report
• Win/Loss results brainstorming half/full day interactive workshop
Be Clear on Expected Deliverables
Ellen Naylor
https://EllenNaylor.com
13. 9. Consultant Fees
• Project set up fee
• Learn your industry, your sales process and deliverables, the competition and
organize Win/Loss template
• Cost per completed interview
• Cost to write up interview summaries or transcribe recordings
• Cost for Win/Loss analysis report
• Cost to present the Win/Loss findings orally to your team
• Cost for half/full day review of Win/Loss findings, recommendations,
brainstorming
Understand the Full Cost of your Win/Loss program
Ellen Naylor
https://EllenNaylor.com
14. 10. Sharing Win/Loss Experience
• Does consultant write/blog about Win/Loss?
• Does consultant present or teach about Win/Loss?
• Has consultant been published in Win/Loss?
• How clear is their Win/Loss proposal?
- Is it customized to your needs?
Published July 2016
Amazon page
Ellen Naylor
https://EllenNaylor.com
15. Taking Action: Key to Improving Win Rates!
• Statistics differ on the effectiveness of Win/Loss analysis
• All point to improved win rates.
• Many sales organizations say they conduct Win/Loss
analysis.
• Research by Anova Consulting Group finds that less
than 20% of US companies do formal Win/Loss.
• Their research and others indicate that taking action
from a formal Win/Loss program can improve win rates
by 15 to 30%.
Ellen Naylor
https://EllenNaylor.com
16. Ellen Naylor, MBA: https://ellen.naylor.com
https://ellennaylor.com/contact-ellen-naylor/
720-480-9499
ellen@EllenNaylor.com
@ellennaylor
www.linkedin.com/in/ellennaylorcolorado/en
Win/Loss Analysis:
How to Capture and Keep the Business You Want
Ellen Naylor
https://EllenNaylor.com