AMA: Clari VP, Solutions Marketing, April Rassa on Competitive Positioning

Here’s the structured process I’d use: 1. Direct & Indirect Sources * Publicly Available Pricing: Check competitor websites, pricing pages, FAQs, and help centers for any disclosed information. * Sales & Customer Conversations: Gather insights from sales teams who hear about competitor pricing during deal cycles. Collect customer feedback on pricing objections and comparisons. * Competitor Quotes & Proposals: Work with the sales team to collect and anonymize real competitor quotes shared by prospects or customers. * Review Sites & Forums: Analyze G2, TrustRadius, Reddit, and industry Slack groups where customers discuss pricing structures. * Analyst Reports: Leverage Gartner, Forrester, IDC, and CB Insights, which sometimes provide pricing insights. 2. Secret Shopping & Testing * Demo Requests & Trials: Engage as a prospective customer to assess published and negotiated pricing. * Partner & Channel Insights: If competitors have partner programs, partners may share general pricing structures. You'll want to maintain ethical industry relationships so you can surface useful trends. 3. Pattern Recognition & Market Benchmarking * Deal Desk Data: Collaborate with Sales Ops and RevOps to track competitor pricing trends in CRM records. (highly dependent on clean data and how your teams are organized to be able to pull the data if properly tracked) * Lost Deal Analysis: Identify price sensitivity and competitive pricing patterns in closed-lost deals. * Competitive Battlecards: Continuously update internal battlecards with pricing insights and discounting trends. 4. Validation & Cross-Checking * Customer Interviews: Conduct win-loss interviews to validate assumptions on pricing competitiveness. * Sales Enablement Training: Run periodic syncs with sales teams to refine understanding and detect shifts in pricing strategies.

Managing competitive intelligence (CI) effectively in a B2B scale-up—especially as the company enters new markets—requires a structured approach that ensures insights are actionable, accessible, and continuously updated. Here’s the most effective way to do it: 1. Establish a Centralized CI Hub * Use a dedicated competitive intelligence repository (e.g., Notion, Confluence, Highspot, Crayon, Klue) to store and organize insights. * Structure it by competitor profiles, pricing intelligence, win/loss data, customer objections, and regional market insights. * Ensure it’s searchable and easy to update—intelligence that isn’t accessible is useless. 2. Align Competitive Intel with Sales & GTM Teams * Battlecards: Build concise, dynamic battlecards that highlight competitor differentiation, pricing comparisons, objection handling, and real-world customer insights. * Enablement Training: Run regular sales enablement sessions to brief teams on the latest competitive moves and how to position effectively. * Deal Intelligence Loop: Create a system where sales reps can easily submit competitor intel from deals (e.g., a Slack channel or form integrated with CRM). 3. Leverage Market & Customer Insights * Conduct win/loss analysis regularly to identify why deals are won or lost against competitors. * Engage with customers & prospects to validate competitor strengths and weaknesses. * Monitor review sites (G2, TrustRadius), industry forums, and LinkedIn for firsthand user feedback on competitors. 4. Automate & Scale Intelligence Gathering * Use competitive intelligence tools (e.g., Crayon, Klue, CB Insights) to track competitor updates. * Set up Google Alerts, LinkedIn notifications, and job postings monitoring to catch competitor moves in real-time. * Monitor pricing changes, M&A activity, and market expansions to stay ahead of strategic shifts. 5. Create an Internal Intelligence Feedback Loop * Implement a bi-weekly or monthly digest to share competitor updates across Product, Marketing, and Sales. * Assign regional market leads to gather intelligence as the company scales into new geographies. * Maintain a dedicated Slack channel for real-time competitive discussions, deal insights, and breaking news.

Here are some options that I've used: Customer & Market Research * Customer Interviews & Jobs-to-Be-Done (JTBD) Research * Conduct interviews with customers, prospects, and lost deals to uncover their key pain points and goals. * Use the JTBD framework to understand why they seek a solution: * It starts with "When I [situation], I want to [goal], so I can [desired outcome]." * Example: A revenue leader might say, "When I need to forecast my quarterly revenue, I want to aggregate pipeline data from multiple sources, so I can predict if my team will hit quota without relying on manual spreadsheets." * Win/Loss & Competitive Analysis * Review sales deal data to analyze which segments competitors win in and why. * Identify common objections and competitor strengths. * Industry Reports & Analyst Insights * Use Gartner, Forrester, IDC, and CB Insights to validate market demand and segment growth potential. * Assess budget allocation trends and adoption curves. * Firmographic & Technographic Data * Analyze customer CRM data, LinkedIn, Clearbit, and ZoomInfo to map out: * Company size, industry, and geographic concentration. * Common tech stacks and integration needs. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Product Usage & Data-Driven Insights * Product Telemetry & Feature Adoption (if you can) * Analyze in-app usage data to identify what customers use, ignore, or workaround. * Example: If 40% of users export data to spreadsheets, it signals a gap in built-in reporting—a potential build, buy, or partner opportunity. * Support Tickets & NPS Feedback * Identify recurring customer complaints that indicate missing capabilities. * Sales & Partner Feedback Loop * Use sales and partner teams to collect real-time feedback from deals on customer needs. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Deciding Whether to Build, Buy, or Partner Once you understand the segment needs, apply a decision-making framework: Build (Develop In-House) If: * It’s a core differentiator that strengthens competitive advantage. * Your team has the talent and resources to build it efficiently. * The segment’s need is urgent, and time-to-market is critical. Example: If forecasting accuracy is a key value driver for your platform, building an AI-powered forecasting engine makes sense. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Buy (Acquire a Solution) If: * The feature is not core to your value proposition but is still critical to customers. * A competitor already dominates the space, making it hard to build from scratch. * The market is mature, and buying accelerates your time to market. Example: If customers demand advanced security features but it’s not your core focus, acquiring a security company can quickly fill the gap. (naturally) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Partner (Integrate or Co-Sell) If: * Customers already use and trust another solution for this need. Co-marketing and joint sales motions give immediate credibility and market access. * You need speed to market without heavy R&D investment. * It augments your value proposition without diluting your core roadmap. * When core functionality is similar across vendors, a strong partner network can add unique value beyond product features. Example: If customers rely on Snowflake for data storage, a deep integration instead of building your own storage solution may be the best move. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Sharing & Operationalizing Insights To ensure insights drive action across teams: Stakeholder Reports & Briefings * Present findings in structured briefs for Product, Sales, and GTM teams (e.g., segment needs, competitive gaps, market trends). * Use data-backed recommendations with clear ROI implications for each decision path (build, buy, or partner). Live Strategy Discussions & Collaboration * Hold quarterly GTM & product strategy meetings to refine priorities based on research. * Maintain a shared dashboard or intelligence hub (e.g., Notion, Confluence, Klue) to keep insights accessible. Sales Enablement & Execution * Translate findings into battlecards, sales playbooks, and messaging frameworks aligned to segment opportunities. * Adjust marketing narratives and demand-gen focus based on validated customer pain points.

When thinking about competitive strategy in a Product-Led Growth (PLG) or self-serve model, the focus shifts from traditional sales-driven differentiation to user experience, product stickiness, and viral adoption. Instead of competing primarily on feature sets or enterprise sales tactics, you’re competing on: - Frictionless onboarding (How quickly can users get value?) - Adoption & retention (How easy is it for users to stay engaged?) - Monetization efficiency (Can free users convert at a high rate?) - Network effects & expansion (Can usage spread inside an org naturally?) PLG models thrive where individual users can adopt and later drive expansion. * If competitors require heavy onboarding, demos, or sales touchpoints, winning with a frictionless, easy-to-adopt model is a strong differentiator. * Example: Figma vs. Adobe → Figma’s self-serve, cloud-first model undercut Adobe’s enterprise-heavy approach and led to widespread adoption. PLG competition isn’t just about feature gaps—it’s about how fast users reach first value. Track: - Time to first activation (How long before a user engages with a core feature?) - Drop-off points in onboarding (Where do competitors make it easier or harder?) - Feature lock-in points (Where does retention naturally occur?) Example: If a competitor forces a credit card upfront while your product allows instant trial access, emphasize this in messaging.

Shift the Battleground: Compete on Outcomes, Not Just Features Competitors can copy what you build, but they can’t easily copy the results your product delivers. Reframe the Narrative Around Business Impact * Instead of “We have Feature X”, focus on how it solves the customer’s problem more effectively than any alternative. * Example: * Weak: “We offer threat intelligence feeds.” * Strong: “Organizations using our intelligence reduce threat detection times by 70%, preventing attacks before they escalate.” Align to Business Priorities, Not Just Feature Sets * If a competitor copies your feature, reposition it as part of a larger, more comprehensive solution. * Example: * Slack vs. Microsoft Teams: Microsoft copied Slack’s chat features, but Slack positioned itself as the "future of async work," differentiating on usability, integrations, and developer ecosystem. Build a Differentiation Moat That’s Hard to Copy Own the Workflow & Ecosystem * Instead of just selling a tool, embed into the customer's workflow in a way that makes switching difficult. * Example: Figma vs. Adobe XD → Adobe copied Figma’s UI, but Figma owned the collaborative design workflow, making it indispensable for modern design teams. Create a Proprietary Data Advantage Features can be copied, but proprietary data and intelligence cannot be easily replicated. * Recorded Future’s Competitive Moat: * Competitors may claim to offer similar threat intelligence, but Recorded Future spent years aggregating one of the world’s largest intelligence datasets, using machine learning to analyze trillions of data points across open web, dark web, and technical sources. * The historical dataset + AI-driven insights allow it to predict threats before they escalate—something that new entrants or copycats can’t instantly replicate. * Differentiation Angle: Recorded Future’s positioned its dataset and created an industry index to shine a light on real-time intelligence, historical threat context, or predictive analytics. How to Use This Against Copycats: * Reframe the value proposition: “Our intelligence isn’t just a feed—it’s a predictive model trained on decades of threat intelligence data that helps you act faster and reduce risk.” * Focus on long-term learning models: Competitors starting today won’t catch up overnight because they lack historical training data. Out-Execute: Speed, Community & Brand Loyalty Out-Iterate & Release Faster * If competitors copy, accelerate development cycles and keep moving forward. * Example: TikTok vs. Instagram Reels → Instagram cloned TikTok, but TikTok moved faster with new features, monetization, and algorithm improvements. Invest in Community & Thought Leadership * Building an industry reputation and loyal user base makes it difficult for competitors to overtake you. * Example: Recorded Future regularly publishes high-quality threat reports that position it as a leader, while competitors focus only on selling. Use GTM Strategy as a Differentiator Optimize for Buyer Experience * Even with feature parity, how you sell and position your product can be a major competitive advantage. * Example: Datadog vs. New Relic → New Relic had legacy enterprise sales, while Datadog won with developer-first self-serve adoption. Control the Pricing & Packaging Narrative * If competitors copy features, package them differently to force differentiation. * Example: AWS vs. Google Cloud → AWS had more features, but Google Cloud won over startups with simplified pricing and developer-friendly incentives. Companies that focus only on features will always be vulnerable to copycats. Instead: - Sell the outcome, not the feature. - Build deep integrations & workflow lock-in. - Use proprietary data & insights - Use GTM & pricing as a competitive edge.

Yes, dissecting competitors by industry makes sense when their strengths, weaknesses, and traction vary across verticals. Some competitors thrive in highly regulated industries like financial services or healthcare due to compliance and security advantages, while others gain momentum in AI-heavy sectors like retail and media because of their data processing capabilities. For example, Snowflake and Databricks compete broadly in data infrastructure, but Snowflake has a clear edge in financial services due to its governance and structured data capabilities. In contrast, Databricks leads in industries where unstructured data and machine learning drive business value, such as media and retail. If your company competes in both spaces, your sales and marketing approach should shift depending on the vertical. In financial services, you would emphasize compliance, security, and structured data, whereas in AI-driven industries, the focus should be on machine learning capabilities and flexibility. Another key factor is how industries influence buying cycles and decision-making. A cybersecurity vendor with FedRAMP certification will have a strong advantage in government deals, while in eCommerce, speed and scalability may matter more than compliance. Similarly, if a competitor has pre-built integrations with industry-specific tools—like a CRM deeply embedded in manufacturing workflows—that’s a major differentiator you need to address in competitive positioning. However, if your competitors are horizontal players that win across industries without major differentiation, breaking them down by vertical may not be useful. A company like Slack, for instance, competes more on ecosystem and usability rather than industry-specific features, so industry segmentation wouldn’t significantly change the competitive approach. Ultimately, dissecting competitors by industry is valuable when those verticals dictate product fit, customer requirements, and sales strategies. If industry nuances drive competitive positioning, sales teams need vertical-specific battlecards, marketing needs tailored messaging, and the GTM strategy should align with where the competition is strongest or weakest. If those differences don’t exist, it’s better to focus on broader, more universal competitive advantages.

Competitive positioning is neither just an output of features nor purely a marketing story—it’s the strategic intersection of product differentiation, customer perception, and GTM execution. Features Alone Don’t Create Positioning Problem: Features can be copied. Example: Webex and Microsoft Teams had more features than Zoom, but Zoom won by positioning itself as the fastest, easiest, and most reliable option. Marketing Alone Can’t Manufacture Differentiation Problem: If the product doesn’t deliver, the market will see through the narrative. Example: IBM Watson was hyped as an AI leader, but when it underdelivered, OpenAI and Google took the lead. The Right Approach: Positioning as a Strategic Input * Positioning should guide product development (what you build and why it matters). * Positioning should shape GTM execution (how you frame value and differentiate). * The most effective companies align product, marketing, and sales to tell a compelling, hard-to-copy story. I don't think positioning is just an output—it’s a strategy that shapes both product and marketing.

Market research isn’t a one-time activity—it should be embedded at every stage of your GTM process, from business case justification to launch readiness and post-launch adoption. Each stage requires different research inputs to ensure the product is positioned correctly, meets market needs, and gains traction. Business Case Justification (Validate the market & size the opportunity) At the earliest stage, you need research to validate whether a problem is worth solving, who the ideal customer is, and how big the market opportunity is. This can include: * Total Addressable Market (TAM), Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM), and Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM) analysis to quantify opportunity. * Competitive research to understand market gaps and differentiation levers. * Customer interviews, surveys, and win/loss analysis to assess unmet needs and willingness to pay. * Industry trend analysis (Gartner, Forrester, CB Insights) to identify macro shifts influencing demand. Pre-Launch (Positioning, Messaging, and GTM Strategy Development) As the product moves toward launch, market research ensures the messaging resonates and the GTM strategy is aligned. This includes: * Beta customer feedback and user testing to refine feature prioritization and onboarding experience. * Pricing research (competitive benchmarking, willingness-to-pay analysis) to determine pricing models. * Segment-based differentiation analysis to tailor messaging for key audiences. * Channel research to determine whether the GTM should be self-serve (PLG), enterprise sales-driven, or partner-led. Launch Readiness (Sales & Marketing Enablement, Competitive Positioning) At launch, research should focus on refining execution and equipping the field teams with intelligence to win deals. This includes: * Sales battlecards with competitive insights and objection handling. * Message testing (A/B testing, SEO research, paid ad performance) to ensure positioning resonates. * Early customer stories and case studies to validate social proof. * Analyst relations & PR insights to influence perception in the market. Post-Launch Adoption (Retention, Expansion, and Market Adaptation) After launch, research shifts toward adoption, growth, and refinement. This includes: * Product telemetry and usage analytics to understand adoption bottlenecks. * Churn analysis and renewal trends to identify friction points. * NPS and customer feedback loops to refine roadmap priorities. * Win/loss analysis to track competitive shifts and refine messaging. * Regional and vertical segmentation research to optimize expansion strategies. Remember, that market research is a continuous loop that informs every GTM decision from market entry to scale.

A few come to mind for me: Notion vs Confluence (Atlassian) & Google docs Notion has positioned itself as a modern, flexible, all-in-one workspace, subtly making Confluence and Google Docs look bloated and fragmented. Instead of directly attacking competitors, Notion uses clean, minimalist messaging like “One tool for your whole team” and “Goodbye, messy docs”, suggesting that traditional document tools create inefficiency. Their UI showcases elegant simplicity, while legacy competitors feel clunky in comparison. They also highlight real customer migrations from Confluence on social media, reinforcing that teams are leaving the old way behind. Takeaway: Frame competitors as outdated or clunky without explicitly saying it. Show the new, better way. Airtable vs Smartsheet vs Excel Airtable took on Excel and Smartsheet by redefining itself as a modern database for business teams, using language like “Beyond a spreadsheet” and “The power of a database, the simplicity of a spreadsheet.” Without saying, “Excel is outdated,” Airtable made it clear that traditional spreadsheets aren’t enough for today’s teams. They also showcased use cases that Excel and Smartsheet struggle with—like dynamic workflows and collaboration—without directly attacking competitors. Takeaway: Subtly highlight where competitors break down without making it about direct comparison. Rippling vs Workday vs ADP Rippling has taken on legacy HR and finance software like Workday and ADP by exposing the inefficiencies of old-school enterprise tools. Their messaging, “All your employee systems, unified”, immediately suggests that competitors require managing multiple disconnected systems. They lean heavily into speed and automation, making Workday and ADP feel cumbersome and slow without explicitly saying it. Their demos are lightning-fast, while competitors’ workflows look outdated by comparison. Takeaway: Make competitors look slow and inefficient by showing what modern speed and automation look like. I think what these companies do well is shift the conversation away from competitors and toward a new, better way of doing things.

One of the most common mistakes companies make when trying to differentiate their products is focusing too much on feature comparisons rather than customer outcomes. Companies often build messaging around why their feature set is better than a competitor’s, assuming buyers make decisions based on a checklist. In reality, customers care less about individual features and more about how a product solves their problem more effectively, with less friction, or at a better ROI. Simply having “more AI” or a longer list of integrations doesn’t create true differentiation if the customer can’t clearly see the impact on their business. Another mistake is positioning differentiation around internally defined advantages rather than what actually matters to the market. Just because a company believes it has the most scalable infrastructure, fastest processing speed, or the best UI doesn’t mean customers see those as decision-making factors. Instead of assuming what makes the product better, companies should anchor their differentiation in customer pain points, competitive weaknesses, and real market gaps. Some companies also fail to tell a compelling story around their differentiation. Instead of making a bold, clear claim about what sets them apart, they try to hedge by appealing to multiple audiences or over-explaining their capabilities. This results in generic messaging that sounds like every other competitor. The most effective differentiation is simple, specific, and unmistakable—it should be immediately clear to a buyer why a company is the better choice. Another common pitfall is ignoring the buyer experience as a differentiator. Some companies focus so much on product capabilities that they overlook differentiation in how the solution is sold, implemented, and adopted. A competitor may have similar features, but if their onboarding is cumbersome, pricing is complex, or their support is weak, those are opportunities for differentiation. Companies that win often differentiate not just on what they sell, but how they sell and deliver it—whether it’s through faster time-to-value, flexible contract models, or deeper industry expertise.

Oh I love this question ... lots you can do to pave the way. If there’s no Forrester Wave or Gartner Magic Quadrant (MQ) for your category, that doesn’t mean you’re at a disadvantage—it means you have an opportunity to shape the category narrative on your own terms. Rather than relying on analysts to validate your market, you can build credibility through alternative influence channels, customer proof, and category leadership. Own the Category Definition Yourself Without a Wave or MQ, analysts haven’t yet set the rules—so you can position yourself as the category leader by defining the space before others do. Develop a strong POV about why this category matters, who it serves, and why existing solutions are insufficient. One approach is to name the category and create a framework around it. Just as Drift introduced Conversational Marketing and Gainsight defined Customer Success Platforms, you can create a distinct identity for your category and publish content that positions your company as its leader. If you don’t name the category, someone else will. Leverage Alternative Analyst and Research Channels Even if Gartner or Forrester haven’t recognized the category yet, other industry voices can help validate your market. Firms like IDC, CB Insights, Constellation Research, GigaOm, Everest Group, and 451 Research may already be tracking adjacent trends. Engaging with them through briefings, reports, and thought leadership content can establish credibility and influence their eventual coverage of the category. Another option is to commission independent research through a third-party firm like ESG, TOPO, or an industry-specific analyst group. This allows you to create a “state of the industry” report that positions your company as the leading voice in the space—similar to how Clari established the concept of Revenue Leak before mainstream analysts started discussing it. Establish Peer-Driven Validation via G2, TrustRadius & Real-World Case Studies In the absence of a Wave or MQ, customer proof is the next-best way to show market traction. Platforms like G2, TrustRadius, and Capterra allow you to aggregate customer reviews, showcase ROI, and highlight competitive differentiation. If your company consistently ranks as the highest-rated solution in an emerging category, that credibility can replace traditional analyst validation in sales cycles. Beyond review sites, high-impact case studies featuring well-known logos and quantifiable results help establish credibility. If Gartner isn’t covering the category, let real customer outcomes shape the narrative. The goal is to create a critical mass of proof points that sales teams can reference instead of relying on analyst validation. Drive the Narrative Through Industry Thought Leadership One of the fastest ways to make a category real is to own the conversation in the market. Companies like Datadog and Snowflake built credibility through high-quality content, engineering-driven research, and strong event presence before analysts formally recognized them. Tactics to accelerate category adoption include: * Hosting roundtables or virtual events featuring customers and industry experts discussing the pain points your category solves. * Running a podcast or video series that regularly explores challenges in your space, positioning your company as the go-to voice. * Publishing a category manifesto—a definitive guide that outlines the problem, why existing solutions don’t work, and how your company solves it. Seed the Analyst Conversation Early Even if there’s no Wave or MQ yet, that doesn’t mean analysts aren’t interested. Engaging with firms like Gartner and Forrester through inquiry calls, briefings, and customer referrals can influence future reports. If analysts hear from enough vendors and customers that a new market is forming, they may start tracking it informally before launching a full Wave or MQ.

Making competitive research actionable requires more than just gathering intelligence—it needs to be prioritized, surfaced at the right moments, and directly tied to revenue-driving decisions. If research sits in a document or is lost in a Slack thread, it won’t influence deals or strategy. The key is ensuring insights are consumable, embedded into workflows, and continuously refined based on usage and impact. One way to make research actionable is to deliver it in the right format for the right audience. Sales teams don’t need a 20-page competitive analysis; they need concise, deal-ready responses. Instead of producing long reports, create simple, focused outputs such as “Three questions to expose gaps in [Competitor X]” or “What to say when a prospect asks about [Competitor Y]’s automation claims”. These should be built into enablement tools like email templates, call scripts, and objection-handling guides rather than living in a standalone deck that few people reference. Competitive insights should also be directly tied to active deals. Instead of passively documenting competitor strengths and weaknesses, embed insights into CRM deal workflows so that when a rep marks a competitor as active in an opportunity, they immediately get surfaced with relevant battlecards and talk tracks. This ensures that competitive intelligence isn’t something they have to search for—it’s delivered contextually when they need it. Another way to ensure research drives action is to focus only on competitors that influence deals the most. Not every competitor needs deep monitoring, and time spent analyzing low-impact players takes away from refining intelligence that could actually change outcomes. Competitive prioritization should be guided by win/loss data, sales feedback, and trends in deal cycles, so research efforts remain focused on the highest-impact threats. Making competitive insights a living part of GTM strategy also means avoiding static battlecards that go stale. Rather than setting a rigid update schedule, create a feedback loop between sales and marketing to refine messaging based on what’s actually working in competitive deals. If a competitor shifts pricing or introduces a new feature that’s affecting win rates, the response should be quickly captured and integrated into sales positioning—not just documented in a deck that won’t be revisited. The last piece is measuring whether research is actually making an impact. If competitive insights aren’t helping close deals, the approach needs to change. Tracking metrics like win rates against key competitors, usage of battlecards, and rep adoption of competitive messaging helps ensure research isn’t just an internal exercise but a key driver of execution. Competitive intelligence is only as useful as its ability to shift positioning, refine sales plays, and strengthen GTM motions—keeping it embedded, timely, and deal-focused ensures it doesn’t get lost in the noise.

When competitors claim to have the same functionality, the best response isn’t to debate features—it’s to reframe the conversation around business outcomes, execution, and customer impact. Instead of engaging in a checklist war, sales needs to position the solution in a way that makes the competitor’s claims irrelevant. The focus should be on who solves the customer’s problem better, scales with their needs, and delivers measurable value. Rather than responding with "We do it better", sales teams should guide customers to uncover the gaps themselves. Asking diagnostic questions like, "How does their platform handle real-time data across distributed teams?" or "What’s required to configure their system for your specific workflow?" forces prospects to consider execution—not just feature parity. If a competitor claims to offer automation, visibility, or integrations, the key is demonstrating how your solution actually delivers on those promises with less friction, higher accuracy, or a more scalable approach. Customer proof is a critical differentiator. Rather than just making claims, sales should use real-world examples of companies that switched from a competitor after realizing that "feature parity" didn’t translate into efficiency, scalability, or ease of use. This shifts the discussion from functionality to why businesses actually succeed with your solution. For skeptical buyers, seeing is believing. A side-by-side demo or a proof-of-concept exercise that highlights where competitors fall short in real execution is far more powerful than a sales pitch. If a competitor claims to have deep security analytics, showing how their platform misses critical risk signals compared to yours makes the difference undeniable. The ultimate solution framing is moving beyond a feature-by-feature discussion and reinforcing why your platform is the right choice for their business, both now and as they scale. Instead of reacting to competitive claims, sales should be leading the conversation: "This isn’t just about having a feature. It’s about whether the solution actually delivers the outcomes you need, with speed, accuracy, and reliability." The best response to “They have the same functionality” isn’t to disprove it—it’s to make it clear why it doesn’t matter.

A strong positioning statement today isn’t just a formulaic sentence—it’s a clear, compelling, and defensible stance on what makes your product the best choice for your audience. It should be sharp, specific, and differentiated in a way that frames competitors as the wrong choice—without directly calling them out.