So, why didn’t we win?

30th November 2016 |   Chris Wilson

The truth may hurt, but being a good loser is a key strategy for future success.

So, why didn’t we win?

Business has been using client feedback to sharpen performance since the year dot and Loss Reviews have long been part of the competitive sales cycle. But the process fell out of favour with many corporates because the information it provided wasn’t valued – why was this?

There are a number of reasons: firstly, the internal feedback lacked credibility; often it would be self-serving, designed to avoid or deflect blame, or it would reinforce convenient prejudices – a case of being plausible rather than true. Secondly, the client’s feedback was often vanilla and predictable.

Because of the insensitive way they were asked, that is often through an electronic or paper-based template or, at best, a telephone conversation, clients would opt for the obvious or easy explanation: “You were beaten on price” or “We selected a better solution” – avoiding the more explicit and confrontational “Your salesperson didn’t listen” or sometimes “Your CEO gave all the wrong messages.”

Chris Wilson

Chris Wilson has over 25 years of sales experience and a successful business development track record both within the public and private sectors, helping to secure over £11 billion of contract wins with customers as diverse as the UK’s Tax, Work & Pensions and Defence departments, the US State Department, Eastman Kodak, Unilever, HSBC and Xerox.
He describes himself as a “deal architect” leading and supporting engagements that match customer needs with core bidder capabilities, supported by compelling value propositions built on a strong investment in customer relationships and a complete commitment to continuous sales-process improvement.