Companies today operate in a highly competitive market. While the global nature of business has created more opportunities, it has also generated more options for consumers, making it all the more complex for one organization to perfect the “art of the sale.” To replicate a big win, many business leaders concentrate on the strategies their top performers utilize to educate the rest of their sales force. But while success stories are an integral part of training for growth, many companies miss what could be even more valuable – sharing the stories about the deals they lost.
After losing a sale, one of two attitudes can take hold:
- The sales representative loses confidence when approaching the next opportunity, or
- They learn from the loss and adjust their strategy with an eye toward the next win.
Getting Back in The Game
There are many reasons why companies lose a sale. Perhaps the sales rep didn’t follow up promptly, allowing a competitor the opportunity to step in. Maybe the prospect didn’t feel confident that their salesperson fully understood their business dilemma. It could be that the rep didn’t effectively qualify the opportunity or understand their competitor’s offering.
Whatever the reason for the loss, business leaders are missing out on a significant learning opportunity for the company if they do not speak about the sales they lost – at least as much as the deals they won. Talking openly about missed opportunities allows the entire team – and those that support them – to make the needed adjustments for improvement.
Here are some tips to get back in the game.
Facilitate Regular Team Meetings
With remote, hybrid, and flexible work environments increasingly becoming the norm, the water cooler chat is becoming a thing of the past. Meeting regularly with the sales team, even over Zoom, gives management a chance to review what methods are effective and generate wins – and which strategies and thought processes need improvement to minimize lost sales. By cultivating a sense of teamwork and interdependent culture, those who lost deals will feel as comfortable speaking as those who were successful. Positive, supportive communication allows for constructive criticism, correction and education.
Remember, it is not only the individual sales representative who can learn something – the entire team may learn about a new competitive offering, a need your current service
is not fulfilling, or a breakdown in the communication between sales and support. Identifying and fixing these issues can be instrumental in winning more deals in the future.
Don’t Let the Loss Disqualify You
Lost sales happen, but that doesn’t mean the rep should sever the relationship with the client. Analyzing what went wrong can empower the entire team to successfully return to their customers for new future business opportunities.
Leadership should teach sales teams not to burn any bridges. Instead, they should encourage their employees to show appreciation for the opportunity – even if they lost – and ask for the chance to participate in the next one. A sales representative should always seek a balance between making the sale and establishing a relationship with a potential customer. The goal is to be asked to the table in the future, and what was learned during one lost sale can be utilized to create a thriving relationship.
“Make a customer, not a sale.” – Katherine Barchetti, Motivational Speaker.
Focus on the Future Opportunities
Attitude plays a significant role in recovering from losing a sale, so leaders are responsible for changing the mindset of their team and building and encouraging confidence and skill.
Once team members have identified why the sale was lost, they can turn their attention to making the next sale. Think of their new outlook as a “factory reset” – forget the problem, and move forward with a clean slate. Work with them to develop an action plan that includes tangible steps to correct the behaviors that lost the sale and help them to address any organizational and communication issues that may have contributed. Keep the process positive by hosting a lunch or after-hours meeting so the team can interact and encourage one another. Collaboration in an informal setting can often provide the breakthrough a sales rep needs or allow them to pick up some tips from the more successful representatives.
Remember, even your most successful team member can learn valuable information from a lost sale. It is essential to frame your interactions so that lost sales are recognized as an opportunity for education and growth, not simply a failure by the team member.
Wins are Valuable As Well
We would be remiss if we didn’t mention that your sales wins also offer significant learning opportunities. Successful and experienced sales reps can provide a wealth of knowledge that should be documented and leveraged, with best practices shared with less experienced reps who may need guidance and expertise.
Document and Aggregate your Findings
Companies must document the knowledge they glean from both wins and losses to ensure future revenue and growth. Whether presented in a written document or video, processes, procedures, and practices that lead to success should be shared throughout the organization. Without proper documentation, companies will find themselves “reinventing the wheel” with each new sales rep or new customer support hire.
But more than simply documenting the tacit knowledge of your company is required. Employees must have an effective and easy way to search for and access the information they need to successfully do their job without spending hours trying to track it down. Implementing an online portal that aggregates this information allows employees to locate any required resources quickly and frees management from repeatedly answering the same issues and questions.
The KLONE Organizer is a robust information platform that delivers all of your company’s most important knowledge to the right person – when and where they need it in the flow of work. Moreover, KLONE enables the salesforce to share observations, feedback, and suggestions to support sales strategies, competitive scenarios, product launches, and other use cases. This information is not only documented and tracked, but it is also aggregated into a feedback report for leadership to review and prioritize ongoing improvement.
Call today to learn more about how we can help your organization achieve its goals and objectives, increase sales, and enable your growth.