Your win rate is talking to you

Your win rate is talking to you.

You should listen.

“I don’t know.”

About 90% of the time that’s the answer I get when I ask an AE about their win rate.

Why don’t you know it?

“My boss doesn’t like using win rate as a KPI because he says it’s a lagging indicator.”

Huh?

That’s just wrong. On several levels.

(And if it were true, then you’d want to stop using quota as a metric for the same reason.)

First, your win rate is a very accurate measure of your current sales performance.

In fact, it is the single most accurate measure of your current sales performance.

Why?

Because, your win rate is the vote of your buyers on the value of their buying experience with you.

As ample research has found, the most important factors that influence your buyers’ choice of vendor are NOT your product features or price.

They choose you, or not, primarily based on the quality and value of their experiences with the seller.

A low win rate means that your buyers are often making the decision to buy from you in spite of you, not because of you.

Low win rate = low value buying experience.

No other KPI measures this as accurately.

Second, your current win rate predicts the future.

Unless you’re actively engaged in conversations with your customers about the deals you won and lost, to assess, diagnose and truly understand what you need to do to improve that buying experience, then your win rate is not magically going to get better.

In which case, your win rate is far from a lagging indicator.

Because, in the absence of measurable changes in behaviors and skills your part, your current win rate is the single most accurate predictor of what your future sales performance will be.

Your win rate is talking to you.

You should listen.