As sales professionals, we want to win every pursuit. Unfortunately, we do not. Learning from our losses is key, so many people conduct external and internal loss reviews. In external loss reviews, we ask the customer a series of questions following the loss. This can provide us with valuable insight for future pursuits, making us more effective in the long run.

There are also internal “loss review” discussions, where leaders ask sales professionals a series of questions following a loss. Here are some loss review questions that are worth considering before we lose:

• How strong is our coach network?
  • Coaches are people who want us to win and feel that they win when we win. The more coaches we have, the more likely we are to win.
• Did we leverage our coach network effectively?
  • Coaches can do so much for us – provide critical information and insight, introduce us to others, suggest strategies for dealing with gatekeepers and gaining access to senior level decision makers, etc.
• Did we identify and get in front of the real decision maker?
  • We want to get in front of the decision maker that has the interest, ability, and resources to buy our value. These people are often shielded from us by gatekeepers and procurement, but it is our job to find a way to get to them.
• Did we leverage our own senior leaders to assist? 
  • Our job is to sell and manage customer relationships. Our leaders should help us, but they can only do so if we ask. This can be intimidating but can make an enormous impact.
• Did we do everything we could to win this pursuit? This is the toughest question, and leaders should ask us this. Sales pursuits are increasingly time-consuming and expensive. Knowing this question is coming can motivate us to take actions we otherwise may not have taken.

Of course, internal and external “win reviews” are also important to conduct and can provide us with good insight. But asking the above questions during the sales effort can help us make sure we are conducting more “win reviews” and fewer “loss reviews.”