In the competitive dynamics of sales, effective evaluation plays a pivotal role in driving improved performance. Through systematic assessment of sales strategies and outcomes, businesses can pinpoint strengths to leverage and weaknesses to address. Key performance indicators (KPIs) like conversion rates and customer acquisition costs offer quantifiable measures of progress, while also highlighting areas for refinement.
The importance of Evaluation
However, the scope of effective evaluation extends beyond analyzing general sales strategies and metrics. An often underestimated yet crucial aspect lies in evaluating both won and lost deals within sales teams. Delving into the dynamics of these outcomes provides a wealth of insights that can significantly influence future performance. A strong article published in the Harvard Business Review provides insights in the importance of learning from these outcomes. The authors raise three important questions to be asked when a deal is lost:
- How would the customer articulate the value of their choice?
- Beyond price, what were the key deciding factors in the client’s decision?
- Who was the most influential voice in and out of the room?
After losing a deal, most sales teams tend to swiftly move forward without dwelling on the loss’s details. Conversely, when a deal is won, celebrations quickly ensue. Surprisingly, only a handful of individuals invest time in evaluating why they succeeded in securing the business. Drawing from their background in guiding and training sales teams, the authors observe that conducting concise and focused sales retrospectives, wherein the underlying causes of both wins and losses are dissected, can considerably enhance a team’s prospective success rate.
Becoming the number one choice
In addition to those three questions, we at Batenborch International want to raise another important question used for evaluation your business performance: How can you become the number one choice next time?
In another article published our website, we speak about five important factors that can increase your business performance and can contribute to becoming the number one choice for your clients. One of those factors which closely connects to the topic of this article is about optimizing the customer experience. Proactively help your customers with problems they might be facing, because otherwise they might exchange you for a ‘better’ solution. By knowing what your customer desires and identifying their key deciding factors in their decision-making process, your sales organization will increase in performance.
