Understanding why a sale is lost is critical, yet some salespeople fail to pinpoint the true reasons for losing.

When 500 salespeople were asked what percent of the time they believed they were at fault for losing deals, they blamed themselves only 25% of the time.

The study shows that salespeople underestimate how much their actions actually contributed to losing sales.

Working in the dark

Looking for the solution without accepting the problem is like working in the dark. This is what salespeople do when they continue to sell without fully knowing why they lost the deal.

Some blame product/service features or pricing issues. Others say it’s all about chemistry and feel — and there’s nothing they could’ve done to change the outcome.

Improving performance via debriefings

The best salespeople don’t see losing as in inevitable process that can’t be changed. They work to learn everything they can about why they lose and are constantly improving themselves. As soon as they learn a sale is lost, they call the prospect immediately to conduct a post decision debriefing.

The problem: Prospects don’t always give straight answers when salespeople ask why a sale is lost. They often feel uncomfortable giving feedback and criticism directly to salespeople because they don’t want to hurt their feelings.

They also fear confrontation or criticism from a salesperson who may become defensive. The study showed that prospects share the complete truth less than half of the time.

Real v. perceived problems

The study matched up the reasons that salespeople provided for why they lost specific deals with the real reasons given by prospects. Only 40% of the time did salespeople identify the real reasons. Another 28% were partially right, but 32% of them were totally wrong in their assessments as to why they lost a deal.

Here are five reasons why salespeople are unable to accurately assess the reasons for losing the sale during a debriefing:

1. Bias and perceptions. Even in situations where prospects are giving candid feedback, salespeople may misinterpret what they’re saying or may find themselves selectively listening.
2. Lack of chemistry with the prospect. Deals are lost because the salesperson failed to develop the right chemistry with the prospect. They same problem may prevent the salesperson from getting the real reason in a debriefing session.
3. Inaccurate of assessment of prospect’s needs. The salesperson doesn’t accurately assess the prospect’s needs and fails to focus on hot buttons during the debriefing session.
4. Fear of accountability. Some salespeople may not want to gather the truth because they don’t want to be held accountable for the loss.
5. Hesitancy to reach out to a prospect after a loss. Some salespeople fear bothering prospects when conducting debriefing calls. They feel they will be better off moving on to the next deal instead of tracking down the reason for the present loss.

Adapted from the book From a Good Sales Call to a Great Sales Call by Richard Schroder, President of Anova Consulting Group, a market research and consulting firm.