Bpma scip-win-loss schwarz-

Win-Loss: A Closed-Loop System for
Continuous Innovation

Boston Product Management Association
SCIP Boston

Ken Schwarz
Marketing Director
Progress Software

November 15, 2012

Getting Started
Setting up a Win-loss Program

Tonight’s Agenda:

• How can you do it all?
• How do you keep it from becoming
a colossal waste of time?
1 of you
50 sales reps
500 deals won or lost
2 © 2012 Ken Schwarz. All rights reserved.

Win-loss
A Product Management/Marketing Perspective

Business Marketing
Positioning
Plan Plan

Market Market Buying Customer
Pricing
Problems Definition Process Acquisition

Win/Loss Distribution Buy, Build Buyer Customer
Analysis Strategy or Partner Personas Retention

Distinctive Product Product User Program
Competence Portfolio Profitability Personas Effectiveness
Strategic

Tactical
Market Strategy Business Planning Programs Readiness Support

Competitive Product Launch Sales Presentations
Innovation Requirements
Landscape Roadmap Plan Process & Demos

Technology Use Thought “Special”
Collateral
Assessment Scenarios Leadership Calls

Status Lead Sales Event
Dashboard Generation Tools Support

Referrals & Channel Channel
References Training Support

“Pragmatic Marketing Framework”
© 1993-2012 Pragmatic Marketing, Inc. All rights reserved


Getting Started
Setting up a Win-loss Program

Don’t just ask the field

They’re too busy
They seldom know why they lost


Getting Started
Blind and Anonymous Customer Interviews

 Why blind & anonymous interviews?
• Most objective source of intelligence
• Customers & sales reps are more likely to
cooperate

 Hire a consultant to call customers for you
• Only ethical way to make blind calls
• Only practical way to call many customers

 Interview a representative sample
• 10 starts to yield statistical significance
• Even a few yield fascinating anecdotes
• Biggest challenge was getting contacts to call


Getting Started
Blind and Anonymous Customer Interviews

 Reading a blind interview transcript is
like being a fly on the wall.
Executive Summary
 Use high-level interviewer who
understands market and decision-
making process.
 Executives won’t take canned/scripted
calls.
Score Summary
 Our interviewer conducted calls using a
standard method:
1. Discover or confirm those criteria that
were important and helpful to making a
decision.
2. Weight/prioritize the criteria. Verbatim transcript
3. Rate vendors for the criteria. .
4. Ask why they rated vendors as they did. .
.


Getting Started
Internal Win-loss Field Debriefs

ALSO, do field
debriefs to find out
what happened from
the sales teams.

Issues Questions
General How did you learn of the opportunity? Value proposition used?
background Partners used? Corporate executives used?
Competitors’ What did they do? How did they respond to your competitive
tactics tactics?
Your strategy What strengths did you emphasize and how did you show
them? What worked or didn’t work?
Recommendations What should other field teams know? What should corporate do
to support you better?

Getting Started
Internal Win-loss Field Debriefs

 Field Debrief best practices:
• Invite sales team, product management, product
marketing, industry marketing, etc.
• Record call. Make a transcript for later reference and share with
those who couldn’t come.
• Use customer win-loss interviewer – helps you scale and builds
trust with field.

 No substitute for customer interview, but has many benefits:

100% response rate Creates credibility with field
Immediate access Creates buy-in
Success story fodder Get customer contacts


Getting Insight
Win-loss Analytics: Introducing “Plumbersoft”

 “A leading pure-play provider of
middleware, helping large
organizations create new
business applications by
leveraging data and functionality
trapped in their legacy
environment…”

 Founded 2001

 Roughly $80m in revenue

 Competitors: You are entering a dimension
IBM, Oracle, TIBCO, Software of imagination…
AG, Progress, Ant Hill, etc.


Getting Insight
Win-loss Analytics – “Wizard Chart”

Reasons you Lose Reasons you win
High
Criteria in the Criteria in the
upper left corner upper right corner
are the key reasons are the key reasons
you lose to competitors. you win over competitors.

Impact
on the
customers’
decision

Low
Unfavorable Customer Opinion Favorable Customer Opinion

Note: Wizard Chart is protected by U.S. Patent 5,734,890, Richard Case and PSP Enterprises


Getting Insight
Win-loss Analytics – Plumbersoft

High Price Customer Engagement
Customer Engagement
Product Line Breadth Proof of Concept
References Simulation
Openness
Product Line Integration Losses Wins
Vendor Viability
Ease of Use 99% and up
Ease of Use
Impact Vision Product Line Breadth
95%-98%

on the Product Line Integration
90%-94%
customers’ Price 85%-89%
Proof Of Concept
decision References 80%-84%
Existing Skillset
Vision < 80%
Scalability
Adapters Scalability Fill Color is
Product Line Breadth Statistical
Data Analysis Confidence
Low 31 Losses Product Line Integration Adapters 22 Wins Level



Getting Insight
Win-loss Analytics – Customer Engagement

High Price Voice of the Customer:
Customer Engagement
Customer Engagement

“Plumbersoft had people who were justice and public safety
Openness
specialists,Viability Product Line Integration Losses Wins
Vendor who were actually assigned to the project and
they stated that right of Use the get go. The depth of knowledgeUse
Ease from 99% and up
Ease of
Impact in the subject area was critically important to us. We were
Vision Product Line Breadth
95%-98%

on the very impressed and their technical people are good too. And
Product Line Integration
90%-94%
customers’ they were nice. They weren’t arrogant. They worked very
Price 85%-89%
Proof Of Concept
decision closely with the team and you could see they would work as a
References 80%-84%
Existing Skillset
team.”
Vision < 80%
Scalability
Plumbersoft Win over Oracle at a law enforcement agency for $34M Statistical
Data Analysis Product Line Breadth
Confidence


 “Customer Engagement” – Typically tops the list
• Listening and understanding is most important
• Critical that demos empower, not bewilder the audience
• Prove your support and responsiveness

 Here, neither side “owns” this issue – It’s a tactical, not a strategic advantage

Getting Insight
Win-loss Analytics – Product Line Breadth

Customer Engagement
Openness
Vendor Viability
Ease of Use
95%-98%

90%-94%
Proof Of Concept
Existing Skillset
Vision < 80%
Scalability


 Product Line Breadth is a strategic weakness for Plumbersoft.

 Plumbersoft, a pure-play, can’t compete with IBM or Oracle in terms of breadth.
 It’s winning in this area when competing against smaller pure-plays.
 It’s losing sometimes against arch rival Ant Hill – PM needs to fill a hole in the lineup!


Getting Insight
Win-loss Analytics – Simulation

Customer Engagement
Openness
Vendor Viability
Ease of Use
95%-98%

90%-94%
Proof Of Concept
Existing Skillset
Vision < 80%
Scalability


 What can we do now? PUSH YOUR STRENGTHS, PLUMBERSOFT!

 Simulation – A Strategic Advantage – Never lose with this one!
• Do you market this front and center? You should!
• Does your sales process get the issue into the POC? It should!


Getting Insight
Win-loss Analytics – Proof of Concept

Customer Engagement
Openness
Vendor Viability
Ease of Use
95%-98%

90%-94%
Proof Of Concept
Existing Skillset
Vision < 80%
Scalability


 PoC – The manifestation of product in the customer engagement.
• How much of your R&D is directed at PoC-visible functionality?
• Is your field really trained and organized to win them?

 Benchmark yourself against the toughest competitor


Getting Insight
Win-loss Analytics – Vendor Viability

Customer Engagement
Openness
Vendor Viability
Ease of Use
95%-98%

90%-94%
Proof Of Concept
Existing Skillset
Vision < 80%
Scalability


 For Plumbersoft, a strategic weakness.
 An issue to be COUNTERED, not won.
 Customer References and Corporate Marketing (AR/PR) are critical.


Getting Insight
Win-loss Analytics – Customer References

High
Reasons you Lose
Price C
Customer Engagement
“Plumbersoft gave better
Reasons you win
Customer Engagement
D
testimonies as references. Their
References excellent. It
reference sites were “They [Plumbersoft] actually had
Simulation
Openness some references that we talked to
gave us a lot of confidence.” Product Line Integration Losses Wins
Vendor Viability had a lot of problems.”
Plumbersoft Win over IBM at a Ease of Use
Impact bank for $5.5M in UK Vision Plumbersoft Loss at an Airline
Product Line Breadth
95%-98%

90%-94%
Proof Of Concept
Existing Skillset
Vision < 80%
Scalability
Statistical

M
Data Analysis Product Line Breadth
Confidence


“The project team went but the
 feedback I got on that was that on
Plumbersoftthey came to create
Plumbersoft;
needs back or strengthen its Customer Reference program
 with doubts.”
Doing so should turn this from a reason for losing to a reason for winning.
 Weak references are Hill
Plumbersoft Win over Ant endangering deals.
and IBM at a state government
department for $4M


Getting Insight
Win-loss Analytics – Price

Customer Engagement
Openness
Vendor Viability
Ease of Use
95%-98%

90%-94%
Proof Of Concept
Existing Skillset
Vision < 80%
Scalability


 What about price?

 When all else is equal, price becomes the ONLY issue.
 Plumbersoft has ample means to build a sale around issues other than price.
 Inconsistent performance across field can indicate a field training issue.


From Insight to Action
Summary

Issues Examples Recommendations
Strategic Simulation Find segments who care and
Strength market to these people. Build
thought leadership and brand
around this.
Strategic Product line breadth, Focus on segments that care
Weakness Vendor viability more about strengths; close
capability gaps
Tactical Customer References Create or strengthen program
Weakness
Tactical Parity Customer Engagement Look to transcripts for best
practices, and train field with
examples of what works.


Action
Win-loss and Competitive Sales Tools

 Use your win-loss decision
criteria to guide the field.

 Show field how to control
buyer’s agenda with
strengths (win-factors)

 Help field counter
weaknesses (loss factors)
well enough to prevent
defeat


Action
Getting Buy-In

 Executive Sponsor
• Who has the money? CEO

• Who has a broad, cross-functional
view?

Engineering Marketing Sales
 Sales Leadership
• Ask for air-cover (letter to the field)
• Expect little else Product Product Field
Management Marketing Enablement

 Product Management and
Marketing Watch out for
• Invite to field debriefs “Not Invented Here”
• Regularly review win-loss insights
face-to-face
• Win-loss quotes are great for sales
training


Summary

 Plan and resource win-loss as on-going program
• Become known in your company as the champion of win-loss
• Find a sponsor willing to pay and interested in all facets of competition:
product, marketing, field effectiveness.

 Interview customers and the field
• Blind, anonymous customer interviews give you unique, objective
intelligence
• Field interviews will enhance insight, win confidence, and get the customer
contacts needed for customer interviews

 Invite others to participate – make this a cultural change
• Invite functional executives to field interviews to broaden culture of
continuous learning enhance program visibility
• Involve product management and marketing in analysis and preparation for
executive presentation – prevent “not invented here”
• Present findings as high as you can. The CEO should be interested in what
you discover.

Action
Win-Loss for Continuous Innovation

Landscape Strategy Planning
Analysis

Competitive
Win-loss
Positioning

Feedback

Field
Sales Tools
Debriefs

Field
Training & Tactical Support
Support


Panel Q & A

Ken Schwarz Richard Case Eric Kuhnen

Progress Software PSP Enterprises Focal Partners
Marketing Director Win-loss Consultant Battlecard Consultant


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