EPISODE 42

The Truth About Making Competitive Content Sales Reps Love | Brock Everett, Shopify

The Sparknotes

Competitive content viewed through a sales lens is the kind of competitive content reps love

“I think it’s just developing a sense of like, what really flies with with prospects, what kinds of talk tracks can you actually use?”

Shopify’s Competitive Intelligence Ambassador Brock Everett spent 10 years in sales — and it shows.

Now on the compete team at Shopify, Brock emphasizes creating content in a way that sales reps can actually use.

“Someone told me that sales reps are the best BS detectors. You can tell when messaging doesn’t pass the sniff test. Is this really going to be used in the field…when talking to a prospect?”

That’s why one of Brock’s first action items as competitive intelligence ambassador was to collect talk-tracks his reps were already using in competitive deals.

Using Gong, Brock recorded conversations with prospects and merchants. Then, he curated the best, most-effective clips from reps and built them into his competitive content.

Reps could then hear how their colleagues were winning deals, and adjust the tracks as needed.

competitive battlecards

Battlecard content should focus on tactical strategies, not background info

“There seemed to be a lot of focus on the background of the company. I’m pretty sure sales reps are just skipping through all this.”

When Brock joined the competitive intelligence team at Shopify, it turned a team of one into a mighty team of two.

As every one-person show knows, the first instinct is to hit the ground running. And in the world of competitive enablement, it usually entails building as many battlecards as possible.

While battlecards like company and market overview have foundational value, it’s not the kind of competitive content that helps win more deals.

“What reps want to know is, what is their pricing? How does it work when we win deals against them? What are our differentiators? More practical content.”

Brock goes on to say that even deep dives on product, while valuable in their own way, aren’t as useful in closing deals as having an understanding about product differentiators.

It’s a delicate balance between getting in the weeds when necessary and simplifying your messaging around the solution your company provides.

But the important things for reps to know right off the bat are:

Prioritizing practical content from the start will yield good results.

Sales reps love a boomerang story

“It’s now a cautionary tale for anybody who’s considering going with that competitor.

A large client leaving your company for a competitor is cause for reflection.

That same large client coming back to you because they didn’t have a good experience with your competitor — that is cause for celebration.

It also serves as some of the best competitive content your reps will love.

When they find themselves up against that same competitor in a deal, reps can relay the details around why that client boomeranged back.

This plants some series seeds of doubt in the prospect’s mind.

Drill down into the details of why that client’s expectations weren’t met.

And use those details to support the narrative that your solution is the right one.

And the other guy’s solution…well…it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.

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