Four Takeaways From How 300+ Revenue Leaders Are Competing

Ben Ronald

Deals are more competitive. You feel it, you see it, and you’re not alone. 

We surveyed 316 executives, VPs and director-level revenue leaders to find out what’s keeping them up at night in competitive market conditions — and what they’re doing about it.

Here are four key takeaways from our brand new research report, When the Pie Shrinks.

Competition is killing your efficiency

That feeling that your deals are getting more competitive this year? Not just a hunch.

91% of revenue leaders said that their deals are more competitive than last year. Deals and renewals are heating up. There are more people chasing less pie.

The impact of more competitive deals? More lost revenue. Worse efficiency. Targets become tougher to hit.

Revenue leaders say one in three deals lost to a competitor (33%) were winnable. And losing those winnable deals puts a huge strain on hitting targets, with 84% saying it has a negative impact on sales efficiency. 

Tipping winnable deals then has to become priority number one. And our respondents are already getting into action. Check out the full report to see what they’re doing in response.

The gap between high and low performers is growing

When it’s tougher to win business, what sellers do within a deal to close against competitors becomes even more critical.

And 76% of revenue leaders are noticing a greater disparity between the top and low performers on their teams. 

One factor contributing to this gap: poor execution when it comes to recognizing a competitor’s presence in a deal.

Just under half — 47% — said their reps don’t realize a competitor is in the deal until the negotiation stage or later. Plus, 13% said reps don’t know who they competed with even after a deal closes.

That’s no bueno when nearly every single deal is competitive.

If you’re reading this and leading your businesses’ Compete program, getting every seller up to a base level of competence to identify competitors and sell accordingly within deals is a surefire way to increase those wins.

Retention, retention, retention

Customer churn is the stuff of nightmares.

As markets tighten, businesses go after where there is already budget. Your customer base.

That’s why revenue leaders are increasing Competitive Enablement support for their Customer Success teams. To protect your existing customer base.

You’ll never stop grinding for new accounts. But investing in retaining existing customers is just as important. 

Those churns to a competitor are a double blow — they line your competitor’s pockets and become their biggest win stories.

Win-loss insights win business

Three-in-four revenue leaders (76%) surveyed said they’re actively using win-loss analysis to surface competitive insights to beat the competition — 86% of which saying they review these insights on a quarterly cadence. 

Executives, investors and founders are increasingly turning to the win-loss to make better decisions and grow their businesses. For many senior leaders, the power of win-loss is no secret.

“I’ve never come across any executive that doesn’t see the value in win-loss analysis. But it’s a situation where you have to invest before you harvest,” says Vijay Gupta, Chief Growth Officer at Emplifi. 

The secret is out on win-loss analysis. And revenue leaders are prioritizing it as a strategy for hitting revenue targets.

Read the report and learn from the leaders

The directors, VPs and executives we talked to in our report are the ones that hold the keys to your success. 

Whether it’s internally aligning your strategies to support your leader’s goals, or deeply understanding what they’re looking for in order to better sell to them, you need a grasp on this more than ever. 

Read the full report and understand what they need now.

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