Voice of the customer
Win-loss interview guide
Win-loss interview guide is licensed CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Katafacts (katafacts.com).
Customise with AISkill file ↓1 · What it is
What it is
A win-loss interview happens after the decision is already made, while the reasoning is still fresh enough to be real rather than a polished, simplified retelling. This protocol drafts questions built around the decision process itself, what specifically tipped it, and what the competitive alternative actually looked like — for both wins and losses, since knowing exactly what got beaten matters as much as knowing why something was lost.
2 · When to use it
When to use it — and when not to
Use it when
- A deal has closed — won or lost — within the last two weeks, while the real reasoning is still accessible.
- You want the actual decision factors, not the polite, simplified version given at the time.
- You want to know specifically what the competitive alternative looked like, win or lose.
Not when
- The deal closed more than a few weeks ago — the real reasoning fades fast; a very late win-loss interview mostly recovers a rationalized account, not what actually happened.
- You're interviewing about an ongoing relationship or workflow, not a closed decision — that's a general discovery interview or a gemba protocol.
- You're not prepared to hear an honest account of a loss without getting defensive — the value of this interview depends on the buyer feeling safe giving you the real reasoning.
3 · How to fill it in
How to fill it in
- Research goal
- What do you actually want to understand about this decision? Naming the specific deal and outcome sharpens the guide more than a generic 'understand win-loss patterns.'
- Topics and questions
- Drafted from your research goal — covers the decision process, what tipped it, the competitive alternative, and what would have changed the outcome.
- Interview technique reminders
- Drafted for win-loss-specific technique — interviewing promptly, staying non-defensive on a loss.
- How to run this interview
- Drafted from the research goal — how to run this conversation and get past the polite version of the story.
4 · What good looks like
What good looks like
The example below is a Q1 enterprise win-loss guide: four topics from the decision process through to what would have changed the outcome, built to work for both wins and losses with the same question set, and reminders specific to interviewing promptly and without defensiveness.
Same example, as a downloadable xlsx workbook.
Download .xlsxInterview guide
Q1 enterprise win-loss interview guide
Jordan Ellis, Sales Manager · 2026-03-20
Team: Priya Anand, RevOps · Sponsor: Renee Okafor, VP Sales
Research goal
Understand the real decision factors behind recent enterprise outcomes — not the sanitized reason given at the time, but what actually tipped the decision and what the competitive alternative looked like.
Topics and questions
4 topics · 9 questions
Decision process
- Walk me through how the decision actually got made — who was involved, and in what order?
- What changed between when evaluation started and when the decision was final?
Why us, why not us
- What was the single biggest factor in the decision?
- Tell me more about that — what specifically tipped it?
- Was there a moment where it could have gone the other way?
Competitive alternatives
- Who else did you seriously evaluate, and what stood out about them?
- If you had to describe us compared to them in one sentence, what would it be?
What would have changed the outcome
- Is there anything that, if it had been different, would have changed the decision?
- Would you be open to a follow-up if something changes on your end?
Interview technique reminders
- Interview within two weeks of the decision — the real reasoning fades fast, and what's left tends toward the polite, simplified version.
- Ask before answering — if they ask what you think went wrong, turn it back first.
- Don't get defensive on a loss — the goal is understanding, not correcting their account of what happened.
- Ask for a specific moment, not a general impression — "was there a moment it could have gone the other way" surfaces more than "how did you feel about us."
How to run this interview
This guide works for both wins and losses with the same question set — the goal in either case is the real decision factors, not a flattering or face-saving account. The competitive-alternatives topic matters even on a win: knowing exactly what we beat, and why, is as valuable as knowing why we lost when we lose.
5 · Common mistakes
Common mistakes
Waiting too long after the decision to run the interview.
The real reasoning behind a decision fades fast — what's left after a few weeks tends toward the simplified, face-saving version rather than what actually happened.
Getting defensive or arguing the point on a loss.
The goal is understanding the buyer's real reasoning, not correcting their account of it — defensiveness ends the honest part of the conversation immediately.
Only running win-loss interviews on losses, never wins.
Knowing exactly what got beaten on a win is as valuable as knowing why something was lost — skipping wins loses half the competitive picture.
6 · What it connects to
What it connects to
upstream
Deal A3
A deal that's already been through root-cause analysis on a stalled or lost pattern is exactly the kind of deal worth a deeper win-loss follow-up.
downstream
VOC evidence log
Win-loss quotes are exactly the kind of raw material the evidence log tallies — log them as entries, source type 'win-loss.'
7 · Where AI helps
Where AI helps
Judgement — stays yours
- Deciding which competitive detail is worth following up on versus a one-off comment
- Staying non-defensive in the moment on a loss
Analysis — AI helps
- Drafting decision-process and competitive-alternative questions from a stated research goal
- Drafting win-loss-specific technique reminders
Drudgery — automated
- Counting topics and questions
- Exporting to xlsx in the house format
9 · Rate this kata