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Winning is getting easier

Winning is getting easier: management describes the effort needed to land each new piece of business visibly falling, wi

Calls Tested
499
Answered YES
4
Hit Rate
0.8%
rare by design

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (AKBA) — this company's answers

NO on the Q3 2021 call 2021-11-09 C+
The model's full reasoning — Q3 2021 call → NOThe question asks whether management conveys that it has recently become easier for the company to win business than it used to be, grounded in real business won in the recent period, with the easing still in effect. Let me analyze the transcript carefully. Key points from the call: 1. The company is preparing for a potential launch of vadadustat, a drug for anemia due to CKD. 2. They discuss the market opportunity - $2 billion in the US alone. 3. They discuss their commercial preparation, including the Vifor distribution relationship for access to Fresenius dialysis providers. 4. They discuss Auryxia revenue growth - 7% increase in Q3 2021 vs Q3 2020. Now, the question is specifically about whether management conveys that winning business has become EASIER than it used to be for this company, with real recent wins demonstrating it, and the easing still in effect. Let me look for any language about: - Sales cycles getting shorter - Win rates improving - Customers arriving already convinced - Less selling required - Reputation doing the work Looking at the transcript: John Butler discusses the market opportunity and the potential for vadadustat. He mentions being first to market now (since roxadustat was not approved in the US), which is a change from expecting to be second. Dell Faulkingham discusses Auryxia growth: "Revenue for Auryxia continues to grow. We are encouraged with how the market views Auryxia’s strengths and applaud the commitment and tenacity of our team to find new ways to connect with customers and support patients." Dave Spellman: "For Auryxia net product revenue increased 7% to $36.8 million for the third quarter of 2021 compared with $34.4 million for the third quarter of 2020. The Akebia team is very proud of the performance, this is a challenging market where COVID has caused increased mortality in the patients we serve. The growth is reflective of a higher net revenue per pill than previously realized over the last three years and include some one-time true-ups that reflects what we believe is our current payer mix." So the Auryxia growth is attributed to higher net revenue per pill and one-time true-ups, not to easier winning of business. Regarding vadadustat, the company is preparing for launch but it's not yet approved. The discussion is about future potential, not current wins.

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Show the exact prompt the model was given
Using ONLY the supplied earnings call transcript and no outside information: On this call, does management convey that IT HAS RECENTLY BECOME EASIER FOR THE COMPANY TO WIN BUSINESS THAN IT USED TO BE — that landing a new customer, order, contract, or expansion now takes visibly less effort, time, persuasion, or concession than the company's own recent past required — and does management ground this in real business actually won in the recent period, with the easing described as still in effect now? Answer YES when management's own words convey, in whatever form fits the business, ONE coherent phenomenon: the resistance the company used to face when winning business has measurably dropped, and real recent wins demonstrate it. Any genuine expression of this counts, and the form varies widely across industries. For example — sales cycles, evaluations, negotiations, or approval processes that now close faster than they used to for this company; win rates or conversion of opportunities into actual business described as higher than the company's own prior experience; customers arriving already familiar, already convinced, or already referred by existing users, so less selling is required; repeat, renewal, or expansion business now coming with little or no re-selling effort; buyers who previously demanded trials, discounts, concessions, or lengthy proof now committing without them; the company's reputation, references, track record, or installed presence now doing work its salespeople used to do; doors that used to require months of effort now opening on approach; or management plainly contrasting how hard wins used to be with how they come now. Three things must come through in management's own voice. First, A COMPARISON AGAINST THE COMPANY'S OWN PAST — management conveys, directly or plainly in substance, that winning is easier NOW than it was BEFORE for this same company, not merely that demand is strong, the market is big, or the team is executing well. Second, REAL RECENT PROOF — the claim is anchored in actual business won in the recent period (orders, customers, contracts, renewals, expansions actually landed), described concretely enough that the easing is demonstrated by events rather than asserted as atmosphere. Third, STILL IN EFFECT — management conveys that the easing continues as they speak, with the reason attached to the company itself (its proven product, references, reputation, position, or track record) rather than to a temporary external condition, so that future business is expected to keep arriving on these easier terms. Answer NO if management describes strong demand, growth, or a good quarter without conveying that winning business has become easier than the company's own past experience. NO if the ease is attributed chiefly to a temporary condition — a competitor's stumble management expects to reverse, an industry shortage, a pre-buy, restocking, or a one-time event. NO if the claimed easing is only hoped for, projected, or expected from future initiatives rather than already being experienced. NO if the evidence is a single isolated deal or anecdote with no sense of a recurring pattern. NO if management describes winning as getting harder — longer cycles, more scrutiny, heavier discounting, tougher competition — anywhere as the dominant characterization. NO if the easing language is generic boilerplate ("our value proposition resonates," "customers love us") with no contrast against the company's own past and no recent wins behind it. NO if the idea appears only in an analyst's question or characterization that management does not itself affirm. Use only the supplied transcript. Answer only YES or NO.

Companies that answered YES

TickerCompanyCallDateCall grade
NICE NICE Ltd. Q4 2023 2024-02-22 B+
ACGL Arch Capital Group Ltd. Q4 2023 2024-02-15 B+
VRNS Varonis Systems, Inc. Q2 2016 2016-08-09 B+
ACCO ACCO Brands Corporation Q1 2016 2016-04-27 B+

How the model reasoned

ACCO · Q1 2016 → YESThe question is: Does management convey that IT HAS RECENTLY BECOME EASIER FOR THE COMPANY TO WIN BUSINESS THAN IT USED TO BE, based on real recent wins, and still in effect. YES The transcript shows management conveying that winning business has become easier than in the company's recent past. Boris Elisman states that customers have seen the value of the company's strong brands during the past couple of seasons, resulting in broader and deeper penetration in mass retailers and continued share gains.
NICE · Q4 2023 → YESThe question is: Does management convey that IT HAS RECENTLY BECOME EASIER FOR THE COMPANY TO WIN BUSINESS THAN IT USED TO BE, grounded in real business won recently, and still in effect.
VRNS · Q2 2016 → YESThe question is whether management conveys that it has recently become easier for the company to win business than it used to be, grounded in real recent wins, and still in effect.

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