The #5 Mistake Sales People Make

Craig | December 2, 2008 - 7:35 am

The #5 mistake I see sales people and entrepreneurs make is either not analyzing their sales or doing a ‘Lost Sales Analysis’ INSTEAD OF conducting a ‘Won Sales Analysis’.

Here is something I find interesting. If you use Google to search for the term sales analysis – by using quotes around the words “sales analysis” when you search – and you’ll find around 750,000 pages on “sales analysis”. If you believe that when you lose the business you don’t want to lose the lesson and you use Google to search for the term “lost sales analysis” you will find around 1,000 pages on “lost sales analysis”.

But even when you conduct a lost sales analysis you still have to use conjecture to figure out how to win more sales. The top sales performers on the other hand conduct a won sales analysis so they know exactly what made them win, so they can go out and replicate their biggest wins.

Here is what I find truly amazing, if you use Google to search for the term “won sales analysis” you’ll find, on last check, around 250 pages that talk about how to capture more customers by analyzing the business that you have already won AND if you subtract the number of pages that reference the won sales analysis described on this this site you’ll be left with only three pages.

Of all the pages on the Internet that talk about “sales analysis”, only 0.15% talk about how to grow your sales by analyzing the sales you lose and less than .00002% talk about how to win more business by analyzing the sales that you have already won.

My question, to be answered by commenting below, is “What question provides the greatest insights into how you can win more sales?”

Win $1,500 worth of my time to help you conduct a series of Won Sales Analysis and analyze the results by getting the most votes for your answer. Answers are voted on by clicking on the Top Seven Mistakes in Sales Voting Button - Trigger Event Selling button that appears at the end of each answer. Comments/Answers need to be approved – to avoid spam – which typically takes just a few minutes.

Stumble!, Digg, Tweet, and email your friends so you get the most votes, because the voting system I use does not allow you to vote for your own answers.

Have an EVENTFUL week!

Craig

P.S. If you want to replicate your biggest wins and identify the ‘Trigger Events’ that lead up to them you can download the Won Sales Analysis form and the instructions on how to use it here.

  • http://www.largelywritten.com Joe Large

    Why would you do business with me again.?’

    Not only deepens reason on present business, but brings out factors of why they chose you in the frist place as well as details of process of not only choice but execution/use/enjoyment of service/product.

  • http://www.eepulse.com Laura Waggoner

    What is the most important aspect of this (program, venture, project) and what are you trying to accomplish to consider this a success?

    This is where I feel as an organization that prides itself on service we can bring our experience, skill and creativity to the client that sets us apart from our competition.

  • http://www.photomagica.com Bill Peters

    Thank you for the neat blog. Interesting questions!

    I’ve done won sales analysis for museums, though I haven’t called it that. The BIG question we asked was, “Where do we find more people exactly, demographically like those we are successfully selling to?” Who are they, where do they live, where do they work? This is the key strategic question. Once this question is in place then all sorts of subsidiary questions pop up like, “Exactly who makes the buying decision and when and what factors influence the decision?”

    I built a talented team to act on the answers and we got a positively spectacular growth trend going. Then we asked, “How can we build our brand and make it even easier for people to get over the decision threshold and make the buy decision?” The growth accelerated beyond our expectations.

    Of course every business is different and these questions will result in different answers and different tactics. Within the BIG question finding more and more business specific questions is vital. Also vital is creative response to answers. I’ve seen organizations with great data but no creative energy in the response – and of course no results to show!

    As you bore down from the big question I think of it like peeling an onion, each set of questions revealing a new layer with more opportunities for market and product development – and more questions.

  • http://www.wincourage.com Terri Dunevant

    How about…
    “What could we do next time to make this an even better experience for you?”
    That one question:
    affirms the happy customer/client
    assumes the follow up business
    reassures that it can only get better

  • http://www.bucaccifamilyenterprises.com Stacey Jimenez

    Best practice/question(s) I have found to be…

    REFLECTION

    What did I do during the sale that initiated a positive reaction and what did I do that initiated a negative reaction?

    An reflection analysis of each and every transaction allows me to see the cause and effect of all my sale techniques. This allows me to adjust any negative responses I receive and reinforce all the positive reactions.

    Doing this allows me to consistently modify and improve on my “won sales”.

  • http://www.linkedin.com/in/richphan Rich Phan

    From the point of view of a sales tactical approach, the question I would ask is:

    What is the reason my customer decided to buy from me and what did I do to influence that decision?

    Finding out the customer reason will help me to see what areas in my sales approach brought success, and how I can continue to leverage these approaches in other sales situations.

    Of course, each sale is different, but it is important for me to accentuate what I already do well in, and sharpen it. Perhaps the reasons may not be due to anything special I do from a personal style perspective and it has very much to do with the program, or the marketing position of my company. By analyzing each success, I will be able to pinpoint what works and how to better position my solution to other, similar customers.

    Also, if I combine this analysis with a loss sales analysis, I will then be able to refine both the corporate and personal features of my sales approach, positioning, branding and presentations to better refine, target and approach each new opportunity in order to increase the likelihood of the next customer making their decision to do business with me and my company.

  • Pingback: $1,500 Winner and Free Trigger Resource at SHiFT! - TURN PROSPECTS INTO CUSTOMERS by Harnessing Trigger Events

  • http://www.ciosynergy.com Nepal Patel

    As I find most sales seem to be won by emotion, over data and market stats I would ask the question of “What could we have done to improve our service rendered”.

    This will help us in both improving our service to the current client to ensure we gain their repeat business, and in turn predict what the next customer will expect to hear at the negiotiation table as we try to win their business.

    It’s a lot easier to gain a customer the first time around, but second time around is not a decision based on emotion, its a decision based on experience.

    Use one customers shortfalls to beef up the next customers proposal. If you have no shortfalls in your product / service then asking this question will likely get you a great testimonial to use to win the next sale.