I'm hoping that the extensive work you describe includes frequent "win/loss" calls (i.e. interviewing actual buyers about their decision). You want to incorporate this insight into your analysis because it ensures that you know the real reasons that buyers made their decision. In mature markets, it may be that the product itself isn't the biggest part of the buyer's criteria.

Don't be surprised if the decision is driven by attitudes about the company's capacity to innovate or maintain the product, implement the solution, or dedicate enough focus to a particular buyer's needs or market segment.

The common way to deliver competitive information, is in the form of rows of features and columns of competitors. We do not recommend this approach, as it focuses the sales people on a feature war that no one can sustain indefinitely. This is also one of the primary reasons that companies struggle to maintain their prices. Finally, the sales people usually share these documents with their prospects, the prospect gives it to the competitor, the competitor produces a different analysis, and your sales process devolves into an argument about whose matrix is correct. Not productive.

When you talk to actual buyers about why they chose your solution, and why they did not, you will be able to answer the only three questions that you need to analyze and communicate to your sales people:

• How does each competitor position itself to win?
• What are the strengths of this argument (please be willing to share this
• information)
• What are the weaknesses of this argument? (how can we overcome the competitors' position and strengths)

This information isn't likely to change very often, but when it does I'd simply send a bulletin to the reps, and then update this simple one- or two-page document on the intranet site.

Answered by Adele Revella