Lost Deal Analysis
What is Lost Deal Analysis?
Lost Deal Analysis refers to a structured review of deals marked as Closed-Lost in your CRM. It identifies:
- Common loss reasons (e.g. price, timing, no decision, competitor)
- Where deals are stalling (stage-level drop-offs)
- ICP or segmentation mismatches
- Rep-level or process-level breakdowns
Example: If 40% of your lost deals cite “No urgency,” you may need to revisit how you articulate time-sensitive value.
Some SaaS teams run monthly or quarterly win/loss analysis sessions, often involving sales, product, and marketing.
Why It Matters in B2B SaaS
- It improves win rate. You can’t fix what you don’t understand
- It aligns cross-functional teams. Product learns what’s missing; marketing learns what’s not resonating
- It sharpens targeting. Repeated loss to “not a good fit” suggests misaligned ICP or personas
- It strengthens sales coaching. Identify reps struggling with negotiation, positioning, or qualification
- It improves pipeline quality. Reduces time wasted on un-winnable opps
How to Conduct Lost Deal Analysis
Step 1: Use CRM data to pull deals closed as "Lost" over a timeframe
Step 2: Standardize and categorize loss reasons (custom CRM fields help here)
Step 3: Segment loss data by:
- Stage lost
- Product or pricing tier
- Buyer persona or segment
- Rep or team
Step 4: Identify trends and prioritize root causes
Step 5: Debrief cross-functionally (sales, product, marketing, CS)
Best Practices
- Use structured CRM fields. Free-text loss reasons are too hard to analyze at scale
- Add qualitative notes. Gong call snippets or AE notes add richness to the story
- Close the loop. Share themes with product, marketing, enablement, and leadership
- Track changes over time. Are you improving or repeating past mistakes?
- Pair with win analysis. Learn not just what went wrong, but what worked
Losing deals isn’t failure—it’s feedback. In SaaS, where long cycles and crowded categories are the norm, the difference between winning and losing often comes down to insight. Lost Deal Analysis gives your sales team the clarity to course-correct, the narrative to enable better conversations, and the edge to win the next one.