If you do lose a contract you should always ask for
feedback and find out why you lost. Client’s are
often happy to provide feed...
Article Body:
No matter how successful you are, eventually you
will lose potential contracts. This is not always a
bad thing - losing contracts can present you with
opportunities to get closer to the client and get
valuable feedback. It allows you to analyze what
you did wrong, what was done right, and how you
can improve your products, services…and
proposals.
If you do lose a contract you should always ask for
feedback and find out why you lost. Client’s are
often happy to provide feedback to “soften the
blow” of losing a contract. This is especially true if
there was an elaborate qualification period or your
proposal required an extensive amount of
preparation and research.
Quite often, the deciding factor may be price and
you may lose out on contracts where you proposed
a superior product or service. Everyone who has
lost a contract has been told that it was lost
because they were too expensive…but how often
have you been told you won because you were
cheap?
Even if price is the primary reason, it’s good to
know. It may mean that you misinterpreted the
tender requirements and proposed something
above the specification. Alternatively you may
need to re-evaluate your pricing, or even serve to
shift your focus to higher end clients who pay a
premium for the products and services you offer.
It may be they liked another company’s track
record better, they may have previous dealing with
the chosen supplier, or sometimes you may not
have fully addressed their concerns in your
proposal. Whatever the reason, there is always
something that can be learned.
Try and get a face to face meeting. This will enable
you to get the most honest and detailed feedback
possible – clients will often be prepared to say
things off the record that they won’t commit to
paper. You can also use the lost opportunity as a
chance to get to know the client better, build
rapport and start to position yourself for future
contracts. Any opportunity to develop a
relationship with a perspective client serves to
better your business base so always take advantage
of these opportunities whenever you can.
Remember to also ask for feedback when you win.
Ask the client why you were chosen, exactly how
you stood out from the rest of the field and how
your proposal could have been better – check if
there were any parts of your proposal that caused
doubt or uncertainty with the client.
All of these options offer you a chance to improve
your products and services, eventually resulting in
more clients and better business. In such a
competitive marketplace you need to grasp any
potential advantage you can find. Finding out
exactly why you lost makes a huge difference the
next time around. Be willing to look at your faults
and be prepared to change – it’s about what the
client wants, not what you have to offer.
Summary:
No matter how successful you are, eventually you
will lose potential contracts. This is not always a
bad thing - losing contracts can present you with
opportunities to get closer to the client and get
valuable feedback. It allows you to analyze what
you did wrong, what was done right, and how you
can improve your products, services…and
proposals.
