3 Next Steps After a Buyer Says “No.”

Find out why . . .  This is your best opportunity to increase your odds of winning the next buyer.

When a buyer says “No” it can feel like a train wreck, especially when sales cycles are long and costly. So when this happens, what’s next? Of course moving on to the next sales target is the right thing to do, but there lies tremendous value in taking the time to maintain a relationship with the buyer and in discussing the factors that lead to the lost deal or lost customer.

1 - Talk About It

Gather the key contributors who worked the deal and ask everyone to share their thoughts about what happened. Avoid assessing blame or trying to analyze responses at this time. The initial discussion should be limited to drawing out everyone’s honest perspectives.

Hold a second meeting to analyze the answers, establish lessons learned, and consider worthwhile changes to your products (services), marketing message, sales approach, or pricing. Try to include the applicable folks in the organization who are empowered to invoke change. This will help foster immediate buy-in and effective implementation of recommended changes.

2 - Ask Why

"If you pick the right source, you can fast-forward."  - Brian Chesky, Airbnb CEO

Find out why your company was not selected. This is your best opportunity to increase your odds of winning the next buyer. How best to extract positive results from a negative event.

Do this by going to the source, the buyer. Use the buyer’s external perspectives to augment the information gathered in your internal discussions.

If you choose to do this yourself, wait a few months and have someone who is not in sales contact the buyer. Explain that your company’s efforts to win the buyer’s business was considerable and this is an opportunity for you to learn how you can do better. When questioning the buyer, try to emphasize why the winning vendor was selected vs. why you were not selected. This keeps the conversation focused on them, not you. Keep the interview short; no more than 15 minutes. The downsides to a DYI approach are that waiting may result in a lost opportunity to recover the deal, if such a possibility existed, and the buyer will naturally resist being open and detailed.

As an alternative, consider contracting an outside consultant or research firm to interview the buyer on your behalf. Research companies deploy creative methods for getting people to openly and willingly participate in research interviews. Researchers are also viewed as neutral and independent; thus non-threatening with no emotional stake in the lost business. Such allows research firms the latitude to ask a broader range of questions and the ability to dig into the details as appropriate.  Services can range from $300 to $1,000 per interview and professional report depending on how comprehensive the research requirements and interview are. 

Decades of research shows evidence that buyers tend to draw perceptual conclusions in four key areas when evaluating multiple procurement alternatives. I describe them as the 4 P’s of Buyers’ Perception which include; Product, Price, Position and People. Product addresses attributes like capabilities, functionality and scalability. Price involves functions of value perception and affordability. Position simply ranks your products or services against the competition. Finally, People evaluates interpersonal qualities like knowledge, responsiveness, professionalism, and honesty. To gain a broad perspective on your overall offering, develop a spectrum of questions designed to help reveal the buyer’s thoughts within these four categories.

3 - Leverage Cognitive Dissonance

Closed contracts go south more often than you think.

Nearly all buyers experience cognitive dissonance after the sale; which sometimes quickly escalates to buyers’ remorse. Closed contracts go south more often than you think. Don’t miss out on an opportunity to be the warm backup!  If this scenario happens, the buyer still has a problem that they need someone to help them solve.

Start by thanking the buyer for inviting your company to be evaluated and be sure to stay in touch by following up periodically; especially if the buyer provided favorable feedback when interviewed. Don’t be afraid to ask how things are going with the new vendor and how they are being treated.

Finally, solicit a referral. Research has shown buyers don’t always select the best product or services. Often times the reasons for losing a deal are related to unacceptable contract terms and conditions or high price. Otherwise the product, service and people are highly regarded. In cases such as this, a referral from a lost buyer can be perceived as more evangelical than a referral from a won buyer.