Leverage Lost Sales

Sales teams focus on wins, revenue, and growth. But what about the deals they lose? Every loss holds valuable insights—if you know where to look.

During sales training, I will eventually ask what deals you are losing and why. Not to break confidence. Not to attack performance. To find patterns, fix problems, and drive more revenue.

Meet once or twice a year to analyze lost deals. Identify trends. Turn losses into lessons. The best teams use losing to win.

Why Deals Are Lost – Two Core Issues

Lost sales usually come from one of two problems:

📌 1. A universal issue with the product, service, or pricing. Something about what you sell makes closing harder than it should be.

📌 2. An individual or team sales issue. A rep (or group of reps) struggles with specific objections, pricing concerns, or positioning.

This is not a support group. It is a revenue-building session. Find the problem. Fix the problem. Close more deals.

If It Is a Universal Issue… Fix It

1️⃣ Pinpoint the exact problem.
🚫 “Price is too high” is not specific. Ask:
✔ Is the issue on all products or only some?
✔ Is the issue with bundles, renewals, or certain industries?
✔ Is it pricing perception or actual cost?

2️⃣ Consider market shifts.
New competitors do not always mean your product needs to change. Sometimes, the best move is to adjust messaging, not pricing.
✔ Reposition value.
✔ Refine comparisons.
✔ Strengthen differentiation.

3️⃣ Do nothing and lose.
Most companies ignore pricing objections, stay in denial, and die slowly. Only 10% of businesses survive long-term because they adapt.

If Sellers Struggle, Address the Problem

1️⃣ Ask objective questions.
✔ What obstacles stop the close?
✔ What products, pricing structures, or deal types cause problems?
✔ Are renewals struggling, or just new deals?

2️⃣ Develop real solutions.
✔ Work with cross-functional teams. Sales, product, and marketing must align.
✔ Find sellers who win. Learn from reps who consistently overcome these challenges.
✔ Ensure fluency. A rep unsure of features and benefits will always lose.

3️⃣ Create a playbook for objections.
✔ Over the next several months, build a repository of obstacles and proven responses.
✔ Use it as a training tool. Every sales team needs a battle-tested response guide.
✔ Drive culture and collaboration. Shared knowledge builds team trust and stronger results.

The Bottom Line: Listen, Learn, and Adapt

Sales teams improve by facing reality. No blind optimism. No feel-good meetings. Just data, insights, and action.

🔥 Ask the hard questions. Find the root cause.
🔥 Adapt to market shifts. Change messaging, pricing, or positioning.
🔥 Train for objections. Build confidence, consistency, and better close rates.
🔥 Turn losses into wins. Great sales teams do not ignore failure. They learn from it.

Fix what is broken. Close more deals. Win more often. 🚀

O