SKILL.md
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Layer 1: Competitor Identification
Direct competitors: Same ICP, same problem, comparable solution, similar price point.
Indirect competitors: Same budget, different solution (including "do nothing" and "build in-house").
Future competitors: Well-funded startups in adjacent space; large incumbents with stated roadmap overlap.
The 2x2 Threat Matrix:
Same ICP
Different ICP
Same problem
Direct threat
Adjacent (watch)
Different problem
Displacement risk
Ignore for now
Update this quarterly. Who's moved quadrants?
Layer 2: Tracking Dimensions
Track these 8 dimensions per competitor:
Dimension
Sources
Cadence
Product moves
Changelog, G2/Capterra reviews, Twitter/LinkedIn
Monthly
Pricing changes
Pricing page, sales call intel, customer feedback
Triggered
Funding
Crunchbase, TechCrunch, LinkedIn
Triggered
Hiring signals
LinkedIn job postings, Indeed
Monthly
Partnerships
Press releases, co-marketing
Triggered
Customer wins
Case studies, review sites, LinkedIn
Monthly
Customer losses
Win/loss interviews, churned accounts
Ongoing
Messaging shifts
Homepage, ads (Facebook/Google Ad Library)
Quarterly
Layer 3: Analysis Frameworks
SWOT per Competitor:
- Strengths: What do they do well? Where do they win?
- Weaknesses: Where do they lose? What do customers complain about?
- Opportunities: What could they do that would threaten you?
- Threats: What's their existential risk?
Competitive Positioning Map (2 axis):
Choose axes that matter for your buyers:
- Common: Price vs Feature Depth; Enterprise-ready vs SMB-ready; Easy to implement vs Configurable
- Pick axes that show YOUR differentiation clearly
Feature Gap Analysis:
Feature
You
Competitor A
Competitor B
Gap status
[Feature]
✅
✅
❌
Your advantage
[Feature]
❌
✅
✅
Gap — roadmap?
[Feature]
✅
❌
❌
Moat
[Feature]
❌
❌
✅
Competitor B only
Layer 4: Output Formats
For Sales (CRO): Battlecards — one page per competitor, designed for pre-call prep.
See templates/battlecard-template.md
For Marketing (CMO): Positioning update — message shifts, new differentiators, claims to stop or start making.
For Product (CPO): Feature gap summary — what customers ask for that we don't have, what competitors ship, what to reprioritize.
For CEO/Board: Monthly competitive summary — 1-page: who moved, what it means, recommended responses.
Layer 5: Intelligence Cadence
Monthly (scheduled):
- Review all tier-1 competitors (direct threats, top 3)
- Update battlecards with new intel
- Publish 1-page summary to leadership
Triggered (event-based):
- Competitor raises funding → assess implications within 48 hours
- Competitor launches major feature → product + sales response within 1 week
- Competitor poaches key customer → win/loss interview within 2 weeks
- Competitor changes pricing → analyze and respond within 1 week
Quarterly:
- Full competitive landscape review
- Update positioning map
- Refresh ICP competitive threat assessment
- Add/remove companies from tracking list
Win/Loss Analysis
This is the highest-signal competitive data you have. Most companies do it too rarely.
When to interview:
- Every lost deal >$50K ACV
- Every churn >6 months tenure
- Every competitive win (learn why — it may not be what you think)
Who conducts it:
- NOT the AE who worked the deal (too close, prospect won't be candid)
- Customer success, product team, or external researcher
Question structure:
- "Walk me through your evaluation process"
- "Who else were you considering?"
- "What were the top 3 criteria in your decision?"
- "Where did [our product] fall short?"
- "What was the deciding factor?"
- "What would have changed your decision?"
Aggregate findings monthly:
- Win reasons (rank by frequency)
- Loss reasons (rank by frequency)
- Competitor win rates (by competitor, by segment)
- Patterns over time
The Balance: Intelligence Without Obsession
Signs you're over-tracking competitors:
- Roadmap decisions are primarily driven by "they just shipped X"
- Team morale drops when competitors fundraise
- You're shipping features you don't believe in to match their checklist
- Pricing discussions always start with "well, they charge X"
Signs you're under-tracking:
- Your AEs get blindsided on calls
- Prospects know more about competitors than your team does
- You missed a major product launch until customers told you
- Your positioning hasn't changed in 12+ months despite market moves
The right posture:
- Know competitors well enough to win against them
- Don't let them set your agenda
- Your roadmap is led by customer problems, informed by competitive gaps
Distributing Intelligence
Audience
Format
Cadence
Owner
AEs + SDRs
Updated battlecards in CRM
Monthly + triggered
CRO
Product
Feature gap analysis
Quarterly
CPO
Marketing
Positioning brief
Quarterly
CMO
Leadership
1-page competitive summary
Monthly
CEO/COO
Board
Competitive landscape slide
Quarterly
CEO
One source of truth: All competitive intel lives in one place (Notion, Confluence, Salesforce). Avoid Slack-only distribution — it disappears.
Red Flags in Competitive Intelligence
Signal
What it means
Competitor's win rate >50% in your core segment
Fundamental positioning problem, not sales problem
Same objection from 5+ deals: "competitor has X"
Feature gap that's real, not just optics
Competitor hired 10 engineers in your domain
Major product investment incoming
Competitor raised >$20M and targets your ICP
12-month runway for them to compete hard
Prospects evaluate you to justify competitor decision
You're the "check box" — fix perception or segment
Integration with C-Suite Roles
Intelligence Type
Feeds To
Output Format
Product moves
CPO
Roadmap input, feature gap analysis
Pricing changes
CRO, CFO
Pricing response recommendations
Funding rounds
CEO, CFO
Strategic positioning update
Hiring signals
CHRO, CTO
Talent market intelligence
Customer wins/losses
CRO, CMO
Battlecard updates, positioning shifts
Marketing campaigns
CMO
Counter-positioning, channel intelligence
References
references/ci-playbook.md— OSINT sources, win/loss framework, positioning map construction
templates/battlecard-template.md— sales battlecard template