Not the Lowest Price
This is one of the biggest reasons why someone goes to a different service provider. If you are not able to provide the lowest price for similar quality services, the individual or business will likely go with what is less expensive. Unless you can make a better offer next time, isn’t much you can do.
Didn’t Understand the Work
If you are meeting a potential client for the first time you need to know them, know their goals and what they strive to do. Of course, as an outsider you will be forced to make a few assumptions, although the more research you put into it the better. If you fail to completely understand what the individual or business you are pitching to is going after, they will go with a different service provider.
Not Compliant With the Account Holder
This is another one you don’t have full control over, but you can reduce problems with through company research. The company you propose your pitch to may have very specific formatting requirements and other organizational styling that you do not fit into. You’d be surprised how often an account is picked because the formatting is better suited. This is also why proper research is a must.
Solutions For a Problem That Doesn’t Exist
When you pitch for a new account, you often pitch ways to fix a problem the company likely has. However, what if they don’t have that problem you’re discussing? They have no reason to go with you. Again, research into this company and knowing it inside and out can help you discover problems the company likely has so you can pitch ways to fix them.
A Major Mistake
Sometimes you are not given a direct answer to why you didn’t land the account. However, you may receive an answer saying your pitch didn’t make it into an evaluation committee. This means they just did not like your pitch at all. When this is the case, they either just don’t like you and your company, or you made a rather substantial error during the pitch. These errors can be anything from substantial typos, missing documents, confusing the company for another. If you don’t make the evaluation committee you probably made a big mistake. Sometimes with these it is better to look it over, see if you can find out what you did wrong and move on.
Marginally Qualified
If the account says you were marginally qualified it means you didn’t pitch your qualifications well enough. Next time around, emphasize your qualifications and why you can do something better than the competition.
The Other Company Was Recommended
This is something you can’t do much about either. Your competition may have simply been recommended by an associate or a business partner. Unless your pitch completely wows them, the potential account holder will be more likely to take the recommendation from someone who has worked with the company for years instead of take a risk on you. Nothing you can do about that but provide quality services to your current accounts and hope they recommend you.
“Satisfactory References”
So what exactly does this mean? It means you provided a list of references to the potential account holder but did not get in touch with the references to coach them into what to say. Now, you should never feed words into the mouths of your current contracts and account holders, but if the account holder is caught off guard with someone asking questions about you, they may not give the best off the cuff answers. So, always notify your references ahead of time.
Don’t Have the Experience
Just keep chugging along. You’ll get the experience. However, sometimes if the account holder wants extensive experience and that is their main buying point, you can’t do much (outside of hiring on new professionals into the company to increase experience years).
Risk
Sometimes someone you pitch to sees a potential risk going with your service. Maybe you are not as large or maybe you don’t have the experience. They want to feel comfortable with the lesser qualities of your company. To do this, turn your risks into an advantage. Pitch as a smaller company with fewer clients you can spend more time on their individual needs and without aged individuals bringing experience you can keep costs down with lower salaries. There is a way to spin just about everything to make you look better.
Ineffective Message
Your pitch may just have not connected with the account holder. Look over your pitch, go through it and see what you can change. Feel free to ask what they didn’t like about your pitch. You may discover what you need to change right off the bat.
Executive Problems
When pitching a service you need to understand the other company not by sheer numbers, but by how its executive or manager sees the company. Look at it from their perspective. It will make it easier to pitch in the future as you understand what they are looking for.
Beating the Incumbent
The incumbent always has the advantage. People know the incumbent, they understand what they receive and there are fewer risks involved. It is why a president is more likely to receive a second term. Because people know what to expect. It is difficult to beat the incumbent, so you need to make your best pitch to do so.
Connection With Them
You need to connect with the account holder. This might be as easy as taking them to the right restaurant for lunch or dressing a certain way. There are little connections you need to make when making a pitch. It often is the little things that count when making a connection.