How do you disseminate competitive positioning to your sales team?

It really depends on the current understanding of that competitive positioning within my sales team. I usually work with Sales Enablement or frontline Sales Managers to create a bill of materials that would help inform the team on competitive positioning. 

Usually this includes but it varies on who I'm tryin to enable (Account executives, leadership, customer success, technical sales engineers, etc..)

• Competitive battlecards
• Why we win/why we lose messaging + customer stories
• Product differentiation deep dive (in partnership with a Sales/Solutions Engineer)
• A competitive training session hosted by the enablement team

The key with sharing information with the sales team is always around "how much do they need to know right now and what is actually actionable?" Think framing building collateral and education around those two dimensions is helpful in focusing on the right things in the short, medium and long term. As a PMM, you don't want to get in the business of being just a service organization, especially with competitive work. You want to be seen as a consultant/advisor helping the sales team focusing on real signals vs. the noise in the market. 

For distribution, I usually leverage tools like Highspot, Slack and Loom. 

I've seen this done a number of different ways. Typically we have dedicated time with the field to train them on the positioning. You can get buy-in from the head of sales and enablement (if you have one) to schedule a standalone session that you run to help train the field on the positioning. 

If your company already has a standing enablement session (e.g., a monthly sales training time slot), you can use that time, or dedicate a portion of the agenda to this in a Sales All-Hands. 

I've also seen internal email newsletters for sharing key updates or assets with the field. I'd encourage some kind of internal sales wiki where all of this information can live so that once you share the initial positioning, the team knows where they can go to access relevant documents when they need them. At my former company, we used go/links to make it easy to remember where to find the sales wiki and competitive intelligence info. 

You'll want to create materials that you can package up and disseminate via a central hub like Highspot, Seismic, Showpad, Confluence etc. When you roll this out make sure you lead with "what's it in for them?" (faster deal cycles, higher ACV, etc) 

It depends on who you're trying to enable (AEs, AMs, technical sales engineering) but typical effective competitive positioning materials include:

1. Battlecards

2. Swords and Shields (offensive/defensive plays) supported by customer stories and proof points

3. Product differentiation deep dive (but be careful not to turn this into a feature comparison as we don't want reps to feel like they need to get down into individual feature wars) 

4. Enablement session that also highlights a handful of reps who have had success closing deals against key competitors 

Also, make sure you instill a regular cadence around disseminating competitive positioning and intel. Creating a slack channel can also help crowdsource reps who are closing competitive deals and elevating their talk tracks and best practices to the rest of the team. 

This requires a few different tactics depending on the size of your sales team. YMMV based on culture, sales leadership, enablement structure, but it's a good place to start. 

One thing that's constant, though. Establish a one-stop shop for all competitive materials (Folder in sales portal, intranet page, doc, etc.) and relentlessly point people to it. Publicly, privately, etc. Wear out your Cmd-C/Cmd-V keys to paste this everywhere. Ultimately, you're building trust in your team that you know what's up, what's changing, and they should trust YOU before they trust the internet. 

1. Small, focused teams (early stage startup, vertical overlay, etc.)

In the early days (say 1-10 closing reps), or when working with highly focused vertical or segment teams, it's critical to work directly with the reps. Set a twice-monthly meeting to answer questions, discuss intel, share new information, and ASK QUESTIONS. You'll be learning as much as they are, and the trust you'll build in this is key. 

2. Medium-to-large, or fast-growing sales team

When you get above a few dozen reps, and up to a few hundred, your tactics need to change. That central location for intel becomes richer and more of a source of truth/system of record. Your challenge now becomes establishing the baseline for every new field employee (sales, cs, marketing) who comes through the door. Onboarding and sales boot camp is your most effective way of doing this.

Make sure you have a full, dedicated session on compete in the first week. If you don't have it, agitate unti you get it. And yes, this means you'll have to be the one delivering the session. Your last slide: Go here for more (point to your one-stop shop). And then make sure the enablement team includes critical compete info in the checkout/certification process at the end of rep ramp. 

3. Large, established or channel-driven sales

Here's where it gets a little more complex and you'll need to partner with your enablement and channel enablement teams to make it effective. You're now in a distribution game. You likely have all the content you need - the challenge is getting it to people and reminding them where the content is. Find those sales newsletters, partner webinars, and more that drive awareness. Insert yourself into them and again, promote that link to the repository. 

Also, highlight those competitive wins and get those winning AEs to call out the competitive tools they used. Nothing like a little word of mouth marketing. 

Keep it simple and practical. We use a simple battle card format to pull together the most essential details you need at your fingertips to enable competitive conversations. We host it on Seismic so it is easy to search for keywords and find the battle cards. We also do specific training sessions for tier 1 and tier 2 competitors (described above). I’ve also used slack channels to create a conversation around competition and tackle fringe situations effectively with group input. Again, those people on the frontlines are often the best source of insights.

Put in a place that's easy for them to find, and be consistent. While that's oversimplified, it really comes down to that.

Sales will look for competitive positioning as they need it, so having the materials in a place they can easily access and consistently get updates is the central part of ensuring it's used.

There are of course a whole bunch of things we can layer on-top of this -- internal competitive newsletter, closed won/loss data sharing, and more. The internal newsletter can be a great way to provide regular updates and build that consistency of directing folks back to the same resources.

One last thing to mention -- in some highly competitive environments, focusing on a particular competitor (per month, or per quarter, or whichever frequency works for your org) can be helpful. You can hold a "deep dive" session on that competitor, especially if there's been a big refresh of intelligence or updates on that competitor it can be a good way to reset and disseminate key information.

There are two directions to answering this question:

1. Frequency of delivery
2. Content

Frequency is important because Sales is constantly bombarded with info. You have to get in front of them consistently with different materials like presentations, documents, customer-facing assets, etc. to really get them to latch onto competitive positioning.

And then there's the content piece. I try to think of competitive assets like a website and my sales team like its visitors. If you get too granular and use jargon-filled statements, they're gonna drop off and go somewhere else. 

• Use words that they and your customers use. 
• Read the sentences out loud—could you actually see someone saying the sentences out loud or do you sound like a robot?
• Use visuals to help describe complex concepts

If you nail these two, your Sales team will be unstoppable against competitors.

In the traditional B2B Tech world, my experience has been that you need several ways to disseminate your competitive positioning:

• Sales battle cards for your field sales teams and channel partners easily reference;

• Training sessions to go over key competitive differentiation and review your value prop;

• Self-service short videos where you go over competitors and how you win;

• Create a dedicated competitive channel in Slack or MS Teams where field teams can come for information and ask questions;

• Regular enablement sessions where you give field teams a refresher on your competitive positioning;

• Share via email, Slack/Teams, new competitive win stories highlighting customer quotes that reinforce your positioning.

Disseminating competitive positioning to our sales team is a strategic and ongoing process--as you likely know, there are new things popping up every day with competitors (product releases, acquisitions, partnership announcements, etc.). While I leverage a combination of comprehensive training sessions, regular updates, and interactive resources to ensure our sales team is well-versed in our product's unique value propositions, key differentiators, and competitive advantages, I also do a couple things consistently:

1. First and foremost, a #Competition Slack channel. Comp intel is a team sport, make sure everyone has a forum to share what they see in the news!

2. Provide clear and concise messaging to reps that they can literally copy and paste to respond to notable competitor updates (i.e. an acquisition)

3. If you dont have a CI tool like Klue, get one! And take advantage of all of the integrations that come with that (including Klue). Train your reps how to use this tool themselves (I recommend rolling it out in phases!)

4. Consider a monthly/quarterly competitive newsletter. Share round ups from Slack + any new resources including updated battlecards, etc.

5. Ongoing enablement - quick updates/decks on what has happened, how to respond (copy and paste format), and what has changed with the company if anything (i.e. messaging, kill points, differentiators)

6. Update battlecards quarterly. I have a great template I can share if anyone is interested, but shout it from the rooftops when these are updated! And encourage sales to print them out and keep them at their desk to use during calls if/when

7. Plug and play slides for sales to use that show you vs. your competitor at a high level. Showcase 5 key differences (i.e. flexibility, agility, scalability) and why your product/company is better.
   
   As a general rule, competitive intel is a team sport, so make sure you have a solid feedback loop and are collecting this information from all sources and have a plan in place to disseminate that information in the best ways possible!

1. Develop a Competitive Playbook: Create a comprehensive competitive playbook that outlines key information about each competitor, their offerings, strengths, weaknesses, and positioning. This playbook should serve as a go-to resource for your sales team, providing them with the necessary insights to understand the competitive landscape.

2. Conduct Competitive Training Sessions: Organize regular training sessions to educate your sales team on competitive positioning. These sessions should cover information from the competitive playbook and emphasize the unique value propositions, differentiators, and messaging that set your product apart.

3. Provide Battle Cards: Prepare concise battle cards or cheat sheets that highlight the key points of differentiation for each competitor. These cards should include common objections raised by customers and suggested responses or counterpoints to address them. T

4. Provide Regular Competitive Updates: Keep your sales team informed about changes in the competitive landscape. Share regular updates on competitor product releases, new features, pricing changes, or market trends that may impact the positioning of your product. This can be done through email newsletters, internal communications, or dedicated meetings.

5. Organize Competitor Battle Workshops: Conduct workshops or collaborative sessions where the sales team collectively strategizes on how to tackle specific competitors. Encourage the team to share their experiences, best practices, and success stories in dealing with different competitors. These workshops foster a sense of camaraderie and provide a platform for knowledge exchange among the sales team.

6. Gather Feedback from the Sales Team: Actively seek feedback from your sales team regarding their experiences in competitive situations. Listen to their challenges, understand their needs, and address any gaps in the competitive positioning materials or training.

I use a standard product marketing brief for launches that includes competitive positioning. I'll include a section for where we win along with key value props and differentiators. Another way I do this is via regular team enablement syncs, dedicated slack channels, and guru cards. The key is making sure the content is visible, searchable, and referenceable in centralized place that sales uses.

It depends of course on your market position. But assuming you are in a competitive market, your sales team should be very aware of your competitive positioning. I would certainly include competitive positioning in the following training opportunities:

• New hire onboarding - make sure to show new hires where they can find resources like competitive battlecards, training decks, one pagers, analyst reports etc. You should also spend some time reviewing the overall competitive landscape and the top competitors at a high level.

• Individual competitor training - build out short training classes that reps can take on their own time. Include a review of the competitor battlecard, why you win/why they win, any FUD they should expect to hear, how to handle objections, pricing, and reviews of any recent deals you have taken from them. You could also show a recorded demo of the competitor's solution if you have it. Update this training at least 2x a year.

• Competitor deep dives - take the opportunity at sales all hands meetings or dedicated training sessions to choose a competitor to do a deep dive on. You could rotate through your top competitors so you are hitting all of them at least once per year.

• Trainings after an analyst evaluation is published - after every analyst eval (MQ, Wave etc) is released, I always recommend putting together a sales response document that outlines the key talking points sales will need to both tout your position on the eval and answer questions about competitor's positions. Include the strengths and weaknesses the analyst has published about your competitors with ways the reps can combat those points. Hold a live session around the publication date to alert the sales team of these evals and show them how to use your sales response doc.

Another way to get information out or gather questions from sales is to create tiger teams for your top competitors. These can take the form of Slack channels, email aliases, and/or bi-weekly or monthly standing office hours for reps to bring up questions and talk through deals. These tiger teams can function as places for time sensitive info sharing. You can also set up a general competitive Slack channel for overall questions and to capture questions on lesser known competitors.

Short answer: however works!

Longer answer: Work with your Sales Enablement team (if you have one) and Sales leadership to come up with a plan. There are a few nuances that I think make roll outs more effective:

1. Interactive group exercises: Positioning isn't meant to be read off a screen, it needs to come alive in context. Make sure any trainings you run include lots of group exercises, role play, situational awareness, etc.

2. DIY (really): build credibility with sales counterparts (and conviction in your positioning!) by delivering the positioning yourself on customer or prospect calls.

3. Celebrate others: Shine the spotlight on reps who are successful. Have them evangelize the positioning and materials on your behalf - it will go much, much farther.

Competitive positioning is worthless if you can't explain and train your sales and customer success teams. That's why partnering closely with your enablement team and front-line managers is essential to getting the right information to the team AND for them to retain the information. Here's how I've done it (with significant help from my enablement partners):

• Trainings: Provide live and recorded training sessions to ensure everyone understands the competitive landscape. Live sessions allow for real-time Q&A, while recorded sessions (often with quizzes) offer flexibility for reps to learn at their own pace.

• Slide Deck: Create specific slide decks for specific competitors. Each should have a "how to use" section at the start, competitive differentiators, and strategic insights. This deck should be easy to update and accessible for quick refreshers before important calls or meetings. You will be updating these quarterly.

• Wiki Card: Develop a detailed wiki card with talk tracks, objection handling, and expected FUD. Ensure it's easily accessible through your sales enablement platform so reps can reference it during sales calls.

Additionally, work closely with sales or customer success managers to refine the message, so they can effectively train their front-line teams. This collaboration ensures the competitive positioning is consistently communicated and reinforced when you aren't in the room.

Here are my top 3 go-to's for this one...

1. Recruit a top salesperson to record some sound bites leveraging your positioning. Take the recording and make it available on your sales enablement database. Email the link with a blurb to salespeople. You could also include this in any internal monthly emails that go out to salespeople. 

2. Present your positioning at sales kick-off event (typically at the start of the fiscal year).

3. Hold a meeting where you present it to salespeople and invite them to attend. Pro-Tip! Get buy-in and support from sales leaders who make it mandatory for salespeople to attend.

When it comes to sharing competitive info with your sales team, it’s key to think about where they’re already active and how they get their updates. It’s also smart to chat with sales leadership to figure out the best timing and methods so that the info is useful, not overwhelming.

Here are some practical tips that have worked for me:

Communication Channels: Keep your team in the loop with a variety of communication methods. Set up regular meetings or briefings, like monthly community calls, lunch-and-learns, or even competitive podcasts—just remember to record them! Send out newsletters that highlight key updates and strategic tips. For major changes or events, email alerts can be really effective. Use tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams to create channels for real-time updates and strategy discussions. These platforms are great for crowd-sourcing knowledge and staying connected.

Enablement Channels: Regular training sessions on competitive intel can help everyone use the info effectively. Create bite-sized learning materials that your sales team can access on their own time. Add competitive insights to sales playbooks or guides for easy reference during pitches. Quick executive summaries and infographics can also help make complex information more digestible.

Tools & Resources: Set up an online portal or intranet site where your team can find the latest reports and analysis. Integrate competitive data into the sales tools they already use so they can access it in real time. Share battle cards with key details about competitors and use comparison charts to show how your product stacks up. Some tools companies I have been have used are Highspot, Klue, Crayon, Seismic.

Track Impact: Monitor what’s working and refine your approach based on feedback. Set up systems where your team can share what’s useful, what’s not, and where there might still be gaps. Make sure reps can easily share their experiences and insights. Use this feedback to adjust your strategies—stop what’s not effective and double down on what’s making a difference.

Remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for sharing information. Think about your organization’s needs, where your team currently gets their info, and don’t be afraid to test and tweak your approach.

Yeah that's a really important step. Nothing is more frustrating than putting together a great battlecard and competitor deep dive that then goes unused. Your sales enablement counterpart and sales leader will be your best friends in this area.

• Sales Training Sessions: Goes without saying, but live training sessions are the first step. Beyond just sharing your findings, you should include role-playing exercises where sales reps have the chance to practice pitching against competitors, handling objections, and using tactics from your battlecard. I've also found hosting a roundtable with your best reps and how they've won head to head deals is great for engagement.

• Ongoing practice: This can't be a one-and-done thing. Sales managers should be making time to help reps role play and get competitive positioning into their day-to-day rhythms.

• Up to date CMS resources: Sometimes sales people don't use your resources anymore because they don't trust that it's up to date. Ensure battlecards, objection handling, competitor profiles, etc. are all timestamped and that you're updating them regularly. For Tier 1 competitors that should be quarterly. For lower tier competitors, perhaps twice a year, depending on how fast your industry moves.

• Regular Updates and Newsletters: Provide ongoing updates to the sales team through a dedicated Slack channel or newsletters. These updates should include any new competitive insights, announcements, product launches, and/or updates to positioning and how they should respond to them. Encourage your sales partners to also put anything they learn about competitors into the Slack channel so knowledge isn't siloed among teams.

• Actionable Battlecards: A common pitfall with battlecards is providing way too much detail. Your sales partners will sometimes only get 20-30 seconds to deposition a competitor. Give them a 20-second sound bite, a couple offensive themes, some landmines, common objections & responses, and customer proof. Not to say you can't point those who are interested towards larger documents that include all the great info you've found and synthesized. But focus on the "so what" and offering a quick reference.

• Videos: Develop short videos or recorded training sessions that walk through your competitive positioning materials. I've found this is especially important to scale your time as you onboard new sales team members.

• Feedback loop: Finally, invite the sales team to provide feedback on what's working and what's not. Get their input on who to prioritize next. Involve them and they'll be more likely to consume what you create.