Do You Ask Your Sales Reps Why They Lose? Why?

A typical practice in sales organization is the post-sale debrief or "post mortem." This may occur in many different ways, ranging from a small questionnaire that is administered through the SFA when an opportunity is marked as a win or loss. Or, it may occur in person, between sales rep and manager.

But, why are you asking the sales rep why the client decided for or against the proposed solution? The sales rep wasn’t a decision-maker; only a facilitator. The decision-maker is sitting in the prospect’s office, with a head filled with the details that created a favorable/negative outcome based on your sales efforts.

In my experience, the only real opinion that matters is the one from the person that signed the check.

I’m not saying that sales reps don’t know anything. On the contrary, they know what they did and how they perceived the reaction to their presentations, responsiveness, relationship building, etc… But, that’s not enough for a department to make the most effective, consistent improvements.

If you are serious about improving your company’s sales performance, reach out and consistently talk to the prospects, post-decision.

I have heard of some companies that interview both the prospect and sales rep. What do they find out? Mostly, that their sales reps don’t see the situation in the same way as the prospects. At worst, it’s a case of “He said, she said,” which doesn’t really solve much either.

Talk to your prospects and clients. They will be the most effective voice for helping you sell the deals in the pipeline. If you don’t have time, hire Primary Intelligence. This is what we do. You won’t find any other company that has conducted more post-sales interviews. We interpret data and create improvement programs. (Shameless plug, but that’s life)

I have some ideas about the types of performance-enhancing questions to ask. Also, I can help you see how to gather competitive intelligence at the same time. Let me know how I can help. (cdalley@primary-intel.com, 801-838-9600 x5050)