How to Get the Most Out of Win Loss Data
Introduction
Sales relies on win loss data to improve the chances of winning a deal. Product relies on win loss data to figure out potential bundles, product gaps and opportunities. Understanding why the sales team (which reflects your company’s product) is winning or losing deals helps improve your Go-To-Market (GTM) and product strategy.
Personally, I’ve experienced both sides — filling in win/loss data in Salesforce, AND pulling Salesforce data for win/loss analysis.
- I’m sympathetic to how painful it is to fill in reasons for a loss/win when you’re trying to clean your pipeline and be done for the day.
- I’ve seen how ambiguous win/loss reasons make it hard to glean insights and leaves product wondering as to why product might be gaining traction (or not).
In this post, I will answer:
- What is Win Loss Data in Salesforce?
- How can you use Loss data in Salesforce to grow your business?
What Is Win Loss Data in Salesforce?
Win loss data is a valuable asset for GTM and product teams. It helps both teams understand gaps in the sales process and product.
In Salesforce aka “SFDC”, win/loss data is collected and stored in the “opportunity” record.
- This data is collected when a rep closes a deal — either close win or close lost. SFDC has input fields for reps to fill in primary and secondary reasons for win or loss.
- The company (via the sales operations team) controls what reasons reps select to explain the deal’s outcome.
Caveat: You might have heard a phrase “rubbish in, rubbish out”. This is true for win/loss data. If the data inputted in SFDC is rubbish, then win/loss data is useless. This post focuses on what you can do with the data assuming the best case scenario of decent data.
How Can You Use Win Loss Data in Salesforce?
The point of tracking win loss data is to use it to improve business outcomes. Here are a few non exhaustive ways:
- Identify your most and least successful product and product bundles
- Pinpoint the stages of the sales process where reps are losing deals
- Observe common win and loss patterns across industry and customer profiles
1. Identify your most successful products and product bundles
While I did not enjoy filling in the growing number of “product selector” input fields in SFDC, I knew the work was necessary for the company’s growth. Knowing which products a customer bought, what they agreed to pay, what the bundled deal was, helps a business to assess:
- How products are doing
- What product and pricing bundles work together (or don’t)
While product can wait till usage metrics (still important!) to observe traction, win/loss data offers an earlier view.
2. Pinpoint the stages in the sales process where reps are losing
Win loss data helps identify potential customer objections. This information helps the GTM team to create more effective pitches and case studies, or help managers decide where more training is needed. I’ve seen analysis spotlight gaps in lead qualification skills, and also how objection handling against one particularly strong competitor needed more work.
3. Observe common win and loss patterns across industry and customer profiles
It’s fascinating to cut win loss data by verticals, customer profiles (size, geography) to test hypotheses. For example, you might hear that XYZ product appeals to non-profits. Win/loss data helps you compare your win/loss rates across verticals (non profits vs SaaS vs retail) to pressure test if you’re winning more deals in that vertical. Additionally, data might show that your loss rates are higher in some sub-verticals. For example, in my time selling payments — it was clear that the retail sub-vertical of electronics was particularly challenging to sell to.
Note of caution: use the data to test hypotheses, not look for random patterns.
Conclusion
Win loss data gives you a clearer picture of what is and isn’t working in your sales process and an early view of product gaps.
I recommend deep dive interviews (via a relatively neutral party like marketing or UXR) to pressure test conclusions from the overall win/loss data analysis. Your customers, including ones that chose your competitors, are great sources of insights. Losses are painful, but don’t miss the chance to listen and learn, so as to improve your GTM and product strategy.
