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Lost pitch survey template

Learn why you lost the pitch, so the next one goes your way

Four questions for a week after the decision: what decided it, how your pitch rated on the brief, creativity, chemistry and value, whether they would consider you again and their honest advice. Usertick reads every written answer and files it under a category from your list.

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What this lost pitch survey tells you

A lost pitch survey asks the prospect who chose another agency what tipped the decision. This template asks four questions in just over a minute: what decided it, a grid on your understanding of the brief, creativity, chemistry with the team and value for money, whether they would consider you for future work, and one request for honest advice.

It is written for an email a week after you hear the decision, once the disappointment has passed on both sides. Usertick can send it with the first question inside the email, or you can paste its link into a short thank you note from the person who led the pitch. It also runs as a conversation, one question at a time.

Usertick reads each piece of advice as it arrives and files it under a category such as pricing and quotes, team and people or quality of work, with a type and an urgency. Results shows the share of each deciding reason with the typed Other answers listed, the grid as a heat map with row averages, and the share who would consider you again.

In an emailAs a linkOn your websiteAs a conversation
Questions
4
Time to answer
About a minute
Written for
Email to the prospect, a week after the decision
Plans
Every plan, the free plan included

See it on every channel

The same template on your website, behind a link, in an email and as a conversation.

In an email

Send it from Usertick to a contact list, with the first question inside the email. A tap on an answer opens the rest of the survey with that answer already kept. Usertick sends 50 emails a month on the free plan, or connect your own sender.

The 4 questions, one by one

What each question asks, why it is there, what it shows you and what to change.

Question 1 of 4 · Multiple choice

What decided it?

Why ask it
One deciding reason is easier for a prospect to give than a full critique, and the options cover the usual causes, from price to an existing relationship.
What you learn
A donut with the share and count for each reason, with every typed Other answer listed and stacked shares over time, so a rise in Price across lost pitches is clear.
Make it yours
Keep it first, since a multiple choice question sits inside the email and one tap starts the survey.
Question 2 of 4 · Matrix · Optional

How would you rate our pitch on the following?

Why ask it
The grid shows how the pitch came across on four points the prospect saw directly, even when the deciding reason was outside your control, such as timing.
What you learn
A heat map with one row per item and the average for each row. Select Price in the first question to see whether those prospects also rated Value for money low.
Make it yours
Add a row for the part of your pitch you are testing, such as the case studies or the strategy section.
Question 3 of 4 · Yes / No

Would you consider us for future work?

Why ask it
A lost pitch can still be a future client. A plain yes or no tells you whether to keep the door open.
What you learn
The share that said yes, compared with the period before. Select Yes to see what those prospects said decided it.
Make it yours
Add every Yes to your list for the next relevant mailing, and note in your CRM to get back in touch in six months.
Question 4 of 4 · Text · Optional

What honest advice would you give us?

Why ask it
The word honest invites the candid answer a prospect wouldn't give on the phone, and it is optional, so nobody feels cornered.
What you learn
Each answer with its sentiment and theme, filterable by theme, with up to 8 themes and their trends across lost pitches.
Make it yours
Read the advice with the pitch team, and agree on one change for the next pitch.

What the answers show

Results turns each question into numbers you can follow week by week.

What decided it?

The share of each answer with its count. Select an answer to narrow the whole page to those people and read what else they said.

How would you rate our pitch on the following?

Each row's answers side by side, so the part that needs work stands out.

Every written answer, read for you

Each answer arrives with its category, theme, type and urgency, so the urgent ones reach your team first.

Use this template in four steps

From the template to the first answers.

  1. 1

    Open the template

    Sign up free and pick After a lost pitch in the template gallery. It opens in a matching style, ready to change.

  2. 2

    Make the questions yours

    Reword any question, change the options, and add logic or more questions.

  3. 3

    Choose where it runs

    Show it on your website, send it by email, share its link and QR code, or switch it to a conversation.

  4. 4

    Publish and read the answers

    Answers arrive in Results and the inbox as people send them, each written one read and filed by Usertick.

Tips for this survey

Small choices that keep people answering and the answers useful.

  1. 01

    Wait a week after the decision

    A prospect asked the same day may feel pressed to justify the choice. A week later, the answer is calmer and more useful.

  2. 02

    Thank them first

    Open with thanks for the chance to pitch, and say the survey takes about a minute. Keep any sales message out of it.

  3. 03

    Ask after every lost pitch

    Send it after each pitch you lose, so the reasons build into a pattern across prospects instead of one memorable story.

  4. 04

    Ask the clients who chose you

    Send a short version to new clients asking what decided it, so you can compare the reasons on both sides.

Market research surveysClient feedback surveysEmail surveysProposals and renewals questions

More research templates and questions

Templates like this one, and single questions from the library to add to it.

Templates

Browse all templates
ResearchProposal feedbackFind out how clear your proposal was, where the prospect stands and what would move the decision. Send it a few days after the proposal goes out.
ResearchProduct-market fitTrack product-market fit with the Sean Ellis question: the share of users who would be very disappointed without you. Send it to people who used the product at least twice in the last two weeks.
ResearchRoadmap prioritiesLet users divide 100 points across what you could build next, so you see real trade-offs instead of a wish list. Send it to active users before you plan the next quarter.
ResearchPreference testAsk people to choose between two options at a time and see which way they lean. Useful before a redesign, a pricing change or naming something new.

Questions from the library

Browse the question library
  1. How clear was our proposal?Stars · Proposals and renewals
  2. What was missing from the proposal?Multiple choice · Proposals and renewals
  3. Split 100 points across what drives your decisionPoints allocation · Proposals and renewals
  4. Who chose this training for you?Multiple choice · Training at work
  5. How much of this training will you use in the next month?Big scale · Training at work
  6. Did your manager give you time to complete it?Yes / No · Training at work

Frequently asked questions

About a week after the prospect tells you the decision. Sooner can read as a challenge to the choice.

The person who led the pitch, or the agency lead if the prospect knew them. Paste the link into a short personal note, or let Usertick send it to the prospect's contact.

With HubSpot Professional or Enterprise, a HubSpot workflow can send the survey to each contact it enrolls, such as the contacts on a lost deal. On other plans, send it from Usertick or paste its link into your own email.

Review them with the pitch team after every few pitches. Look for a reason that keeps coming back, and change one part of the pitch at a time.

Three to five. This template asks four and takes just over a minute, and the grid and the advice question are optional.

Yes. Every template comes with every plan, the free plan included, and the free plan covers 150 responses a month across your surveys.

Yes. The template becomes your own survey, so reword any question, add or remove questions, and change the options and the logic. The gallery stays as it is.

Yes, from Starter. The template is written in US English. Add languages by hand or with AI translation, and each person sees the survey in their browser's language.

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