fbpx

KLUE’S 360° WIN-LOSS

You Lost the Deal.
Your Buyers Know ‘Why’.

Asset-2@2x-1.png

Learn More

LOGIN Get a demo
Compete Week 2024: Day Two Recap
Articles

Compete Week 2024: Day Two Recap

Woah… what a day.

After crushing it in Vancouver yesterday, hundreds from the compete community joined our virtual event and the ideas just kept flowing.

Feeling like you might have missed something big? (10+ value-packed talks will do that)

Don’t sweat it – we’ve got you covered.

Here are some top takeaways from Compete Week 2024 – Day Two 👇

How to Differentiate in a Crowded Market

SCR-20241030-tkpr

Anthony Pierri used his 20-min talk to challenge conventional wisdom about differentiation in B2B tech, arguing that many common tactics – like inventing product categories, leading with business outcomes, or slapping “AI” on everything – actually make companies blend in rather than stand out. Through real-world examples and frameworks, he broke down how true differentiation depends on market maturity and competitive context, offering a fresh perspective on how to actually stand out in crowded markets.

🌶️ Pipin’ Hot Takeaways:

  1. Your differentiation strategy should align with your market’s maturity – immature markets compete against things like manual processes and workarounds, while mature markets compete against established vendors
  2. There are only two paths to differentiation in a crowded market: create real product/business model differentiation, or move to an underserved market segment
  3. Though AI capabilities may be important for sales conversations, leading with AI is no longer a differentiator – it’s become table stakes that buyers are increasingly skeptical of

🎤 Mic Drop Moments:

  • On Finding Your Market: “Wait until your founder says ‘we’re so much more than [blank]’—whatever fills in that blank is what you actually are.”
  • On Business Outcomes: “Every marketer feels like they’re saying something really insightful and differentiated by leading with business outcomes, but the last 2,999 companies we worked with said the exact same thing.”
  • On Mental Availability: “Who gets remembered, gets purchased—simply the act of being remembered will make them get purchased, even if they’re not the best person for that exact job.”

How to Build Internal Consensus on Your Competitive Tone

SCR-20241030-tldg

Mara Konrad tackled one of competitive enablement’s trickiest challenges: getting everyone aligned on how to talk about competitors. Through practical examples – like Samsung’s subtle iPhone digs – she broke down four distinct competitive tones (ambiguous, indirect mention, direct mention sensitive, and direct mention bold) and provided a framework for getting organizational buy-in. The goal: stop the endless approval cycles and get competitive content moving faster without sacrificing legal compliance or brand standards.

🌶️ Pipin’ Hot Takeaways:

  1. Build tone recommendations into your standard content creation process – add competitive tone guidelines to landing page briefs, design docs, and content requirements.
  2. Match competitive tone to context. For example, keep your homepage ambiguous, but be more direct in late-stage sales materials where prospects are actively comparing options.
  3. Getting organizational buy-in requires showing the business impact of misalignment (delayed assets, stalled deals) and building clear frameworks for when to use each tone.

🎤 Mic Drop Moments:

  • On Ambiguous Messaging: “The problem is that’s our default as product marketers, as CI practitioners, sales, because it’s easy with our legal teams and with our leadership.”
  • On Mixed Messages Internally: “It’s really awkward when we’re not on the same page and then it becomes a game of telephone and we’re not saying the same message.”
  • On Team Alignment: “Everybody that has met me knows that I always lean into the gossip Girl piece of it… but we’re doing it in a way where we’re trying to find out what actually has value rather than being necessarily a complete rumor mill.”

How to Build a Deal-Winning Battlecard

SCR-20241030-tljp

Josh Gladstone broke down the anatomy of an effective battle card by introducing us to the COMP-ACT Framework (Comparison + Action.) He empashized the need to build battlecards that show how you stack up against competitors and give sellers specific actions they can take based on those comparisons. He also shared some seriously detailed best practices like optimizing screen real estate, minimizing scroll depth, limiting hidden content, removing duplicates, and maintaining consistent formatting across cards.

🌶️ Pipin’ Hot Takeaways:

  1. When it comes to battlecards, every comparison needs an action – pair competitive differentiators with specific talk tracks, trap-setting questions, or email templates sellers can use to bring them to life.
  2. Lead with what matters – put critical content like “Why We Win” and pricing at the front of battle cards, and limit scrolling to 2,000 characters per section to keep sellers engaged
  3. Avoid duplicate information across cards (like having the same points in “Why We Lose” and “Objection Handling”) and minimize clicks needed to access key information

🎤 Mic Drop Moments:

  • On Comparisons: “Our strengths only exist in the context of their weaknesses—it’s kind of like you can’t have light without darkness.”
  • On Battle Card Design: “When a seller comes to your battle card, they want the good stuff fast. You only have about five seconds to hook your audience.”
  • On Content Strategy: “We’re not just getting great content and putting it in awesome templates—we’re actually influencing the culture of compete. When you get everyone invested in your compete culture, that’s how you win deals.”

How to Recruit and Run a Win-Loss Interview

SCR-20241030-tllv

Jen Doyle and Aldona Dye broke down the art of conducting effective win-loss interviews using Klue’s DEPTH model (Details, Engaged, Personal, Trust, High-impact). Through practical examples and techniques, they emphasized how proper buyer targeting and interviewing skills can uncover crucial competitive insights that move beyond surface-level feedback like “we lost on price.”

🌶️ Pipin’ Hot Takeaways:

  1. Build target lists with three key criteria: clear learning objectives (if we knew X, we could do Y), proper CRM segmentation (90-day window, late-stage losses), and enough volume (50-60 qualified deals for 10-12 interviews)
  2. Apply the DEPTH framework—stay Detail-oriented with follow-ups, stay Engaged with empathy, keep it Personal with role context, establish Trust as a neutral party, and maintain High-impact alignment with program goals
  3. Focus on quality over quantity—aim for 10-15 excellent questions in a 30-minute interview, using open-ended prompts like “That’s interesting, tell me more about that” to uncover deeper insights

🎤 Mic Drop Moments:

  • On Details: “It’s not enough for them to say ‘there were some features we liked.’ What features were those? What was that use case? We really want to follow up.”
  • On Building Trust: “Using a third party is very helpful in building trust. They know we’re an unbiased party, and that’s one of the benefits of the Klue interviews.”
  • On Roles: “Be conscious if you’re speaking to an end user or a decision maker buying for end users—it’s a very important and distinct role that you need to adjust your questions for.”

How to Bring Buyer Insights into Your Competitive Strategy

SCR-20241030-tmeu

In what felt like a real “steal the playbook” session, Hunter Sones shared his personal system for turning win-loss data into organizational action. This practical talk was loaded with insights as Hunter broke down the five different ways he distributes win-loss intelligence at Klue: from a unique Voice of the Market Board, to monthly Win-Loss Committee meetings, to Executive Summary Read-Outs, Functional Team updates, and Action Planning sessions.

🌶️ Pipin’ Hot Takeaways:

  1. Create a self-serve “Voice of the Market Board” where sales teams can quickly access win-loss stories, complete with video snippets of buyer feedback and key quotes organized by competitor and product line
  2. Form a Win-Loss Committee with representatives from research, customer success, product, sales, and marketing to review monthly findings and drive action items
  3. Incorporate video snippets of buyer feedback in executive presentations – seeing and hearing real customers discuss their decisions dramatically increases engagement and drives home key insights

🎤 Mic Drop Moments:

  • On Video Impact: “We started incorporating video in a much more meaningful way in our last few win-loss executive summaries, and holy smokes—the engagement was insane. It added a whole new dimension to these interviews.”
  • On Sales Adoption: “We’ve had sellers saying they’re using insights from the Voice of the Market Board to inform how they’re responding to RFPs. The SDRs say whenever there’s a new story, that’s the first thing they want to review.”
  • On Distribution: “Most win-loss programs stop at collecting insights. The key is creating a system for taking action on what you learn.”

Must Read

How to Do a Competitive Landscape Analysis: Guide + Frameworks (2024)

Competitive Enablement

Product Marketing

Oct 31st 2024

How to Do a Competitive Landscape Analysis: Guide + Frameworks (2024)

10 min

Steal Klue's step-by-step process for creating a competitive landscape analysis. Plus, learn definitions, best practices, and frameworks.

Compete Week 2024: Day Two Recap

Competitive Enablement

Product Marketing

Oct 30th 2024

Compete Week 2024: Day Two Recap

6 min

Get the recap on Day Two of Compete Week 2024! Dive into our top takeaways and standout quotes from key sessions.

Competitive strategies in five minutes or less. Delivered straight to your inbox.

Once a week our newsletter dives into the competitive strategies of some of the biggest brands and provide tactical advice to help you beat your competition. Subscribe

Want to see Klue in action?

Let’s do it. Tell us a bit about yourself and we’ll set up a time to wow you.

Klue-Logo-white.svg

Status Media Kit Privacy | © 2024 Klue Labs Vancouver, BC