Hosted by: Adam McQueen

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Adam is joined by JFrog’s Competitive Intelligence Lead Gal Toren and Autodesk’s Competitive Intelligence Manager Dylan D’Urso to answer all your (no longer) confidential questions in this edition of the Competitive Enablement Show LIVE. Here’s a look at a few of the questions asked and answered.

Question 1: How do I get updated competitive Intel from the field? How do you keep that connection and remind teams in the field to pass along anything and everything that they’re hearing?

Dylan D’Urso, Competitive Intelligence Manager at AutoDesk:

There’s no magic bullet. It all starts with asking and demonstrating why they should share information. Applaud and reward those who contribute. Establish a cadence for communication and provide a platform for them to share information.

Gal Toren, Competitive Intelligence lead at JFrog:

We have a competitive ambassador program where passionate individuals from different departments bring in intel. We also do periodic listening tours to gather the most up-to-date intel. Rewarding people and creating a direct channel of communication with them has been helpful.

Question 2: How do you communicate your intel with the product and executive teams, and how do you adapt that content for sales teams?

Dylan

Customizing the communication for different teams is important. For the product team, focus on win-loss reports and how the intel is being used by others. For executives, create reports like Landscape Reports that provide strategic insights. Sales teams benefit from battle cards and concise information that improves seller confidence.

Gal

We have a competitor scorecard that ranks competitors based on win-loss data, mentions in customer calls, and overall impact on revenue. Transparent communication is key, and combining qualitative and quantitative analysis helps in understanding the pain points and strengths of competitors.

Question 3: How do you get execs engaged with your win-loss memos and research?

Dylan

Involve executives in the scoping of the win-loss project and demonstrate value by sharing specific findings that address their priority questions. Look for opportunities to present win-loss insights in existing executive meetings or arrange guest speaking sessions.

Gal

Utilize win-loss findings to show the impact on revenue and prioritize competitors based on their influence. Demonstrating dollar amounts and statistics can catch the attention of executives and help them recognize the value of competitive intelligence.

Question 4: How do you prioritize your time and effort in a compete program?

Dylan

Prioritize competitors based on their impact on revenue and align the compete program with the company’s goals. Focus on the competitors that are most frequently encountered to maximize resources and crowdsource information for niche competitors.

Gal

Involve sales reps in identifying top competitors and prioritize the ones with the most impact. Don’t spend excessive time on deep dives for each competitor, and focus on broad insights that provide quick wins for the field teams.

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Question 5: How do you establish a clear outline of what you will and won’t do as a compete team?

Dylan

Prioritize competitors based on their impact on revenue. If resources are limited, focus on the ones that have the highest influence. Be transparent about the limitations and encourage crowd-sourcing of information for niche competitors.

Gal

Set boundaries and expectations with the sales team regarding the depth of competitor knowledge expected from them. Ethically engage with competitors’ resources and adopt a transparent approach to collecting information.

Question 6: How do you get your exec team on board with the value of compete and engage them for the long term?

Dylan

Link the value of compete to revenue and showcase the potential revenue increase through competitive intelligence. Back up your claims with statistics and dollar amounts. Find opportunities to present to a wider audience and communicate the benefits tailored to their priorities.

Gal

Create a competitor scorecard to demonstrate the impact of competitors on revenue. Present clear facts and figures to show the importance of competitive intelligence. Highlight the value of compete in enhancing seller confidence and winning more deals.