How to Use Perspective AI for Win/Loss Analysis & Competitive Positioning

What You'll Accomplish

• Clear understanding of why deals are won or lost based on buyer perspectives
• Competitive positioning insights that highlight your advantages and address weaknesses
• Sales process improvements informed by real buyer decision-making patterns
• Actionable strategies to increase win rates and improve competitive differentiation

Step 1: Define Your Research Question

1. Go to getperspective.ai/signup and create your account
2. Click "Create New Conversation"
3. Define your primary research question, such as:
   • "Why do we win or lose deals, and how can we improve our competitive positioning?"
   • "What factors most influence prospect decisions in our favor versus competitors?"
   • "How can we better position our solution to increase win rates and deal velocity?"

• Research type (Exploratory, Discovery, etc.)
• Detailed research description
• Interview goals and objectives
• Target participant profile
• Initial research plan

Step 2: Refine Your Research Plan

• Goals: 3 specific objectives (e.g., "Understand the key decision factors that determine vendor selection") - you can define additional goals in the refinement step
• Target participants: Recent prospects across different deal outcomes and characteristics
• Core questions: Foundation questions that ensure consistent win/loss data collection

• "Walk me through your decision-making process from initial need recognition to final vendor selection."
• "What were the most important factors that influenced your final decision, and how did different vendors perform on these criteria?"
• "If you could go back and change one thing about our sales process or approach, what would it be?"
• "How did you compare the different solutions you evaluated, and what made the difference in your final choice?"
• "What concerns or objections did you have about our solution, and how well were they addressed?"

Step 3: Customize the Participant Experience

• Conversation Title: "Sales Experience Feedback: Help Us Understand Your Decision Process"
• Welcome Message: "Thank you for your time during our sales process. We'd love to understand your experience and decision-making process to improve how we serve future prospects. Your honest feedback about our approach and how we compared to alternatives would be incredibly valuable."
• Researcher Info: Add your name, title (Sales Operations, Revenue Operations, etc.), and brief bio

• End-of-interview CTA: "Thank you for your insights. If you have additional feedback or questions, feel free to reach out" + contact information
• Auto-send thank you email: Enable to maintain professional relationships
• Require sign-in: Optional—consider anonymity for more honest feedback vs. follow-up capabilities
• Access level: Keep as "Account" (visible to your team only)

Step 4: Invite Your Target Participants

• Recent wins: Customers who chose your solution in the past 3-6 months
• Recent losses: Prospects who chose competitors in the past 3-6 months
• Stalled deals: Prospects whose deals went inactive or were postponed
• Different deal sizes: Mix of enterprise, mid-market, and SMB prospects
• Various industries: Representatives from different vertical markets or use cases
• Decision makers: Both economic buyers and user/technical evaluators

• Copy the unique conversation link
• Send via email or LinkedIn from sales team members
• Position as process improvement research rather than sales follow-up

• Use built-in email invitations
• Send directly from Perspective AI platform

"Hi [Name], Thank you again for choosing us! To help us improve our sales process for future prospects, would you mind sharing your experience and what influenced your decision? This AI-guided conversation takes 10 minutes and helps us better serve companies like yours. [insert link]"

"Hi [Name], Thank you for considering us during your evaluation process. To help us better serve future prospects, would you mind sharing feedback about your decision process and experience? This AI-guided conversation takes 10 minutes and your honest insights would be valuable for improving our approach. [insert link]"

• Reach out through the primary sales contact who built rapport
• Time outreach 2-4 weeks after decision (not too fresh, not too stale)
• Emphasize process improvement rather than sales follow-up
• Consider small incentives like industry reports or gift cards

Step 5: Let Perspective AI Conduct the Interviews

• Participants click the link and start conversations on their own time
• Perspective AI conducts natural, conversational interviews
• Each conversation adapts based on participant responses about their decision process and experience
• All win/loss insights are automatically recorded and organized by deal outcome and characteristics

1. Decision process overview and timeline exploration
2. Evaluation criteria and vendor comparison discussion
3. Sales experience and interaction quality assessment
4. Competitive positioning and differentiation analysis
5. Decision factors and final selection rationale
6. Thank you and relationship maintenance

Step 6: Analyze Your Win/Loss Data

• Get instant overview of win/loss patterns, decision factors, and competitive dynamics
• Identify common themes in wins versus losses
• See competitive positioning strengths and weaknesses across different deal types

• "What are the most common reasons we win deals versus lose them?"
• "How do decision factors and evaluation criteria differ between wins and losses?"
• "What competitive advantages and disadvantages emerge from prospect feedback?"
• "Which aspects of our sales process are most/least effective according to prospects?"
• "How do win/loss patterns differ across deal sizes, industries, or customer segments?"

• "Compare our positioning and messaging effectiveness against key competitors"
• "Identify objections and concerns that most frequently cause deal losses"
• "Map decision-making processes and show where we excel or struggle in the buyer journey"
• "Create competitive battle cards based on real prospect feedback and decision factors"
• "Prioritize sales process improvements based on impact on win rates"

• "Segment win/loss factors by deal size, industry, or competitive set to identify patterns"
• "Analyze sales cycle length and deal progression differences between wins and losses"
• "Identify early warning signs that predict deal losses based on prospect feedback"
• "Compare sales team performance and approach effectiveness across different scenarios"

Step 7: Optimize Your Sales Strategy and Competitive Positioning

• Competitive battle cards with real prospect language and decision factors
• Objection handling scripts based on actual concerns raised during evaluations
• Sales process optimizations that address identified friction points and buyer needs
• Qualification criteria that predict winnable deals versus likely losses

• Training programs focused on competitive differentiation and positioning effectiveness
• Talk tracks and messaging frameworks that resonate with actual buyer priorities
• Demo customization strategies based on decision criteria and evaluation processes
• Proposal and presentation improvements informed by prospect feedback

• Positioning adjustments that address competitive weaknesses and emphasize strengths
• Content creation priorities based on buyer information needs and decision factors
• Lead qualification improvements that identify better-fit prospects
• Competitive messaging that addresses real buyer concerns rather than assumed ones

• Feature gap analysis based on competitive losses and buyer requirements
• Roadmap priorities influenced by deal loss patterns and buyer feedback
• Competitive differentiation opportunities identified through win/loss analysis
• Integration and capability requirements that impact deal outcomes

Real-World Example

• Price ranked 4th in decision factors (lower than assumed) behind solution fit, implementation complexity, and vendor trust
• Implementation timeline was the #1 differentiator—prospects chose vendors promising faster go-live
• Sales process quality influenced 67% of decisions—responsive, consultative approach preferred over feature demos
• Champion development predicted wins—89% of wins had internal advocate, only 23% of losses did
• Technical depth mattered less than expected—business outcome focus resonated more with buyers
• Reference customers in similar situations strongly influenced 78% of decisions

• vs. Competitor A: Lost on enterprise features but won on ease of use and support quality
• vs. Competitor B: Lost on price but won on implementation speed and customer success
• vs. Competitor C: Lost on market presence but won on product innovation and customization

• Strength: Technical expertise and product knowledge (mentioned by 84% of participants)
• Strength: Responsiveness and communication quality during evaluation
• Weakness: Limited business case development and ROI quantification
• Weakness: Insufficient discovery of political dynamics and decision-making process
• Weakness: Demo focused on features rather than specific prospect use cases

1. Solution fit for specific use case (mentioned by 91% as top factor)
2. Implementation speed and complexity (78% considered critical)
3. Vendor reliability and support quality (72% evaluated carefully)
4. Total cost of ownership over 3 years (68% calculated TCO, not just licensing)
5. Reference customers with similar challenges (64% required proof points)

1. Sales Process Redesign: Implemented consultative discovery focusing on business outcomes
2. Competitive Messaging: Created battle cards emphasizing implementation speed and support quality
3. Demo Customization: Shifted from feature tours to use case-specific demonstrations
4. Champion Development: Trained sales team on stakeholder mapping and internal advocate cultivation
5. Business Case Tools: Developed ROI calculators and TCO comparison frameworks
6. Reference Program: Built industry-specific customer case studies and reference networks

• Win rate improved from 40% to 67% for qualified opportunities
• Sales cycle shortened 23% with better discovery and champion development
• Average deal size increased 31% with business case focus rather than price competition
• Competitive win rate vs. main competitor improved from 35% to 58%
• Sales team confidence increased significantly with clear competitive differentiation

Advanced Win/Loss Analysis Use Cases

• Build ongoing competitive monitoring based on systematic win/loss feedback
• Track competitive positioning changes over time and market evolution
• Identify new competitive threats and market entry opportunities

• Compare win/loss patterns across different sales reps and approaches
• Identify best practices from high-performing sales team members
• Customize training and coaching based on individual win/loss patterns

• Analyze win/loss patterns across different industries, company sizes, or use cases
• Identify segments where competitive positioning is strongest/weakest
• Optimize go-to-market approach for different market segments

Quick Start Checklist

• Create Perspective AI account and define win/loss analysis research question
• Customize research plan with 2-3 mandatory questions about decision processes and competitive factors
• Set up participant experience emphasizing process improvement rather than sales follow-up
• Identify and invite recent prospects across wins, losses, and stalled deals
• Wait for interview completion (typically 48-72 hours)
• Generate Magic Summary for win/loss pattern and competitive insight identification
• Ask specific questions about decision factors, competitive positioning, and sales process effectiveness
• Create competitive battle cards and sales process improvements based on findings
• Schedule ongoing win/loss analysis (monthly or quarterly) to track improvement and market changes

Sample Analysis Questions for Win/Loss Analysis

• "What factors most strongly predict whether we win or lose deals?"
• "How do evaluation criteria differ between our wins and losses?"
• "Which competitive advantages matter most to prospects in their decision-making?"

• "How do prospects compare us to key competitors on important decision criteria?"
• "What competitive weaknesses cause the most deal losses?"
• "Which positioning messages and value props resonate most strongly with buyers?"

• "Where in our sales process do we excel or struggle according to prospect feedback?"
• "What sales behaviors and approaches correlate with higher win rates?"
• "How can we better align our sales process with buyer decision-making patterns?"

• "Do win/loss patterns differ across industries, company sizes, or use cases?"
• "Which market segments show our strongest competitive positioning?"
• "How do decision factors vary across different types of deals or buyers?"

FAQs

What's Next?