Definition: Closed-lost is a term used in sales and marketing to describe a sales opportunity that has been concluded without a successful transaction. It refers to a situation where a potential deal or client relationship is considered ‘closed’ but results in a ‘loss’ because the prospect decided not to purchase the product or service.
No further effort or time will be spent on the deal.
This outcome is often recorded in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems to track and analyze sales performance and to understand why the sale was not successful.
Closed-lost meaning a “dead” deal does not not mean that other deals for that same company are also lost. A well-implemented ABM funnel and relationship owners executing proper CRM hygiene should make it clear whether or not all communications with a particular company should stop or the focus should shift to an alternate product or service.
Use It In a Sentence: After several months of negotiations, the team marked the deal as closed-lost in the CRM system when the client decided to go with a competitor’s offering.
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Similar Definitions: Closed Won Definition, Deal Definition, Deal States Definition, Opportunity Definition, Closing Rate Definition, Gatekeeper Definition and Closing Rate
