?? How to share win-loss insights with your executive team
As Bob Dylan said in his iconic song "Like a Rolling Stone": When you got nothin' / You got nothin' to lose
If you're reading this email, however, you work for a business that does in fact have something to lose.?That's why we're obsessed with win-loss analysis — and why you should be too.?
We've got a ton of great win-loss content coming at you in today's????Coffee & Compete?????
Such as:
???A Win-Loss Analysis Executive Summary Presentation Template?
???How to share win-loss insights with your executive team
???What doing less with more really means
?? And?CE and CI jobs you're going to want to apply for
Let's roll,
Ben???
???Sharing Win-Loss Insights with Execs ??
You probably have a treasure trove of win-loss data already at your disposal tucked away in your CRM. You may have even started conducting win-loss interviews, collecting data and drawing insights.?
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But if you can't effectively communicate and share those insights with your execs, you've wasted your time.?
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So we put together a little resource to help you out: a?Win-Loss Analysis Template?for Your Executive Summary.
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Here are the Coles Notes on what you need to know.?
?? ?? Aggregate interview data; highlight 2-3 trends ?? ??
Unearthing insights from?win-loss interviews?requires sorting the data into common themes and then highlighting 2-3 of the most important trends you see.?
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"Important" usually boils down to frequency. If the same theme comes up multiple times across different interviews, it's a good indicator that it's a trend worth surfacing.?
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But it's not just a question of quantity. Trends that maybe came up less frequently, but are particularly interesting, counterintuitive, or completely unexpected can also be valuable to share with execs.?
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The key here is to land on two or three trends and present those to your executives — no more than that.
?"Don't throw a thousand things at your execs. Give them the top three headlines of what you learned."
Keeping it to 2-3 highlights will give you the best chance of hitting the three C's of presenting to execs:
?? Use quantitative data to complement interview data ??
The biggest perceived limitation of win-loss interview data is the relatively small sample size.?
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One way to overcome this limitation is to use quantitative data from a larger data set in conjunction with your qualitative interview data.?
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CRM data for example is a great place to go for understanding what competitors are coming up most frequently in deals, and what percentage of those you're winning or losing.?
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If you need a convincingly large dataset to justify some of the decisions or recommendations you're making, your CRM might be the best place to go.?
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Ultimately the best way to deliver your win-loss insights is to understand your audience and tailor your presentation to their needs.?
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So while qualitative data generally surfaces the most impactful insights, some members of your exec team will need to see more quantitative data to be convinced.
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And it's your job to make sure they get what they need.?
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?? Present quarterly to execs and monthly to everyone else ??
You should strive to get in front of your executive team once a quarter to share your win-loss insights. This is?Jennifer Roberts's ideal cadence?and a reasonable goal to set for yourself.?
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But it doesn't mean that win-loss insights need to sit on the shelf in the interim. Part of the value of?win-loss analysis?is in ongoing research.
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So while you may only have enough insights to build an executive presentation once per quarter, some teams and departments will still benefit from monthly readouts.?
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On a?recent episode?of the?Competitive Enablement Show?with Community Brands' Tirrah Switzer, Tirrah says that she's in the habit of doing monthly or bi-monthly readouts to different teams across the org.?
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"We do a readout for the general manager of that product line, the product team, head of demand gen, customer success, and sales."
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The readouts aren't as formalized or high-stakes as the quarterly exec presentations. But the monthly cadence allows your win-loss program to increase to stay top of mind.?
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Without a doubt, the insights you get from?win-loss analysis?can and should inform strategic decision-making across the organization.?
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But in order to get there, you'll need to present those insights to your executive team.?
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And we've got a downloadable, customizable template to help you do just that. ???
?? CRM Data is Your Radar System for Win-Loss Insights??
The best part of?Competitive Enablement LIVE?is community involvement. This week's session was no different.?
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In fact it was someone from the audience — our friend and competitive intelligence wizard?Dustin Ray?— who dropped the best metaphor we've heard yet for explaining how quantitative and qualitative work together for win-loss analysis.?
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Quantitative win-loss data (from your CRM) is like a radar system that lets you scan a wide area and see hot spots from a bird's eye view.?
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Another way to think of it is that CRM data helps answer "what" or "which" questions:
But it's the "why" questions that uncover the most powerful insights — and the ones best answered by win-loss interview data.?
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Because win-loss analysis isn't just about learning what's going wrong or right, it's about deeply understanding why it's happening in the first place.?
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Watch, listen and check out three takeaways from this week's CE LIVE on our?episode recap page.
A concise and powerful plug for why your organization needs a competitive enablement program in 2023 — from the competitive enablement guy at the competitive enablement company.?
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Because efficiency isn't just about more revenue and less cost.?
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It's saving time and reducing the effort required in order to generate more business and cover more bases with fewer employees.?
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Following Brandon on LinkedIn is one way to stay up to date on all things competitive enablement.?
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And for a quick reminder of why it's so important,?check out our website.
Senior AE @ ??
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