The lost sale syndrome – finding out why

Did you ever lose a sale that you thought was “in the bag?”  You nurtured the prospect and all the signs were good, only to find out that they bought from someone else?

Did a client or customer stop buying from you “all of a sudden” and you don’t know why?  Very often the client may provide a reason but it really doesn’t sound plausible?

These situations are happening more and more often and vendors are struggling to truly understand why.

Recently our company was retained by a few vendors to call the lost customer/client on their behalf, but as an independent company, acting on behalf of the board of directors/management team, to attempt to find out the real reason behind their decision.  It was incredible how open the prospect/former customer was when we positioned ourselves as: 1. not looking to make a sale   2. providing high level feedback to management so that they could improve their sales process.

In talking with us – an independent firm – they were happy to provide the real reason behind their decision.  Often, they didn’t provide this reason to the selling company themselves because they didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.  While this is understandable, it often prevents a company from making changes that would make them a better selling organization.

By knowing the real reasons behind lost sales, companies can improve their processes and planning and implement proper sales and marketing to be more successful.  It could also lead to improved training, help to evaluate salespeople and get an honest evaluation on products and services.  An independent viewpoint often creates perspective that is sometimes hidden behind emotions, attitudes, loyalties and (dare one say it?) a lack of caring on behalf of the customer/prospect.

It is possible to break-through and find the real truth behind the lost sale if you use an independent company to do the questioning.

Read more about Why customers leave you

About the author: Neville Pokroy