Who This Helps
Founders and operators who see a key metric drop and need to know why—fast. This is for anyone tired of team debates and gut feelings. It’s a core move from the Market Intelligence & Positioning course.
Mini Case
Zaid’s startup saw a 15% dip in qualified leads last month. Instead of a week of meetings, he ran a 90-minute ‘Win-Loss Evidence Cut’ session with his sales lead. They reviewed 12 recent deals. They found 7 losses all cited the same missing feature—a competitor had launched it 45 days prior. That’s a market shift, not a sales problem. They had their root cause before lunch.
Do This Now (5 Steps)
- Block 90 minutes on your calendar for this week. No phones, no distractions.
- Grab your last 10-15 sales notes—wins and losses from the last 60 days.
- Read them aloud with one key teammate. Look for patterns in why you won or lost.
- Tally the reasons. Is it price? Features? Timing? Get the top 3 counts.
- Ask one question: If the top reason disappeared, would our metric bounce back? Your answer is your next move.
Avoid These Traps
- Don’t blame your team first. Look for market evidence.
- Don’t mix in data older than 90 days. Markets move fast.
- Don’t try to fix five things. Find the one lever that matters most.
- Don’t skip the ‘loss’ notes. The best clues are often there.
- Don’t overcomplicate it. You’re looking for a signal, not writing a thesis. Keep it simple, like a detective scanning for the obvious clue everyone missed.
Your Win by Friday
You’ll walk out of that 90-minute session with a single, evidence-backed reason for your KPI drop. No more guessing. You’ll have a clear next step—maybe it’s a quick product tweak, a messaging shift, or a competitive check. You’ll have turned noise into a decision. That’s the power of a focused diagnostic.