Competitive Selling and Market Positioning Training Course

Participants can prioritise market segments and opportunities using customer need and commercial value criteria.

• Segmentation variables: industry, use case, maturity, risk and buying model
• Ideal customer profile built from need, fit and profitability indicators
• Total addressable market, serviceable market and obtainable market estimates
• Segment attractiveness scored using growth, margin, access and competitive intensity
• Buying triggers identified through operational, financial and regulatory change
• Priority opportunity selection using explicit pursuit and disqualification criteria

Participants can uncover buyer motivations and translate them into commercially relevant sales hypotheses.

• Jobs to Be Done interviews reveal functional, emotional and social progress
• Buyer pains separated from symptoms, constraints and stated requirements
• Desired outcomes expressed as speed, cost, risk or revenue measures
• Purchasing criteria mapped against user, economic buyer and procurement priorities
• Customer journey stages expose moments of change and intervention
• Discovery hypotheses prepared before stakeholder conversations and account research

Participants can formulate a credible market position for a defined target segment.

• Positioning statement defines target customer, category, benefit and reason-to-believe
• Category choice shapes the competitors customers consider during evaluation
• Perceptual maps compare customer priorities with competitor market claims
• Points of parity establish minimum credibility within the chosen category
• Points of difference selected for importance, distinctiveness and substantiation
• Positioning risks tested against buyer evidence and competitor responses

Participants can create value propositions that connect their offer to quantified customer outcomes.

• Value proposition canvas links customer jobs, pains, gains and offer elements
• Benefits translated into operational, financial, strategic and risk outcomes
• Value drivers quantified through baseline measures, assumptions and calculation logic
• Cost of inaction estimates the commercial consequence of delayed decisions
• Proof points selected from evidence, references, benchmarks and demonstrations
• Buyer-specific value messages adapted without weakening the core position

Participants can develop evidence-based competitor assessments and usable sales battlecards.

• Competitor profiles cover strategy, offer, customers, channels and commercial model
• Public sources include annual reports, tenders, websites and hiring patterns
• Win-loss interviews capture decision criteria, perceptions and competitive turning points
• Battlecards compare strengths, vulnerabilities, claims, traps and response messages
• Competitor claims challenged through evidence requests and diagnostic questions
• Intelligence confidence rated by source quality, recency and corroboration

Participants can build consistent messages for target buyers, sales stages and competitive conditions.

• Message house aligns central promise, supporting pillars and proof points
• Elevator pitch structured around buyer problem, differentiated outcome and evidence
• Commercial narratives connect strategic priorities to operational consequences and action
• Message hierarchy prevents feature overload during early customer conversations
• Competitive contrast uses factual distinction without unsupported disparagement claims
• Sales scripts adapted for email, meetings, proposals and executive briefings

Participants can run discovery conversations that test opportunity quality and competitive position.

• SPIN questioning uncovers situation, problem, implication and need-payoff evidence
• MEDDICC qualification assesses metrics, economic buyer, criteria and competition
• Decision process mapped from problem recognition through approval and contracting
• Compelling event identified with deadline, consequence and executive ownership
• Qualification gaps converted into targeted research and stakeholder actions
• Opportunity scorecards support pursue, pause, reshape or exit decisions

Participants can map stakeholder roles and plan influence actions across a buying committee.

• Buying committee roles distinguish users, champions, blockers and decision authorities
• Stakeholder maps plot influence, attitude, access and information needs
• Power-interest analysis prioritises engagement with high-impact stakeholders first
• Champion development tests credibility, motivation, access and internal influence
• Executive sponsor conversations focus on strategic outcomes and decision risk
• Multi-threading plans reduce dependency on one contact or informal supporter

Participants can create account plans that integrate growth priorities, relationships and competitive threats.

• Account plans connect customer strategy, revenue objectives and relationship actions
• White-space analysis identifies underserved units, use cases and stakeholder groups
• Account economics examine revenue concentration, margin, renewal and expansion potential
• Competitive footprint maps incumbent suppliers, contract dates and influence routes
• Mutual action plans define milestones, owners, evidence and decision dates
• Account risks tracked across relationships, delivery, pricing and competitor activity

Participants can respond to competitor comparisons and commercial objections without defensive selling.

• Objection types separated into concerns, conditions, stalls and competitive tactics
• Feel-Felt-Found reframed for credible, evidence-based commercial conversations
• Clarifying questions expose assumptions behind price, risk and capability objections
• Comparison requests redirected toward agreed decision criteria and business outcomes
• Proof responses combine customer evidence, data, demonstrations and contractual commitments
• Objection-response libraries organised by buyer role, sales stage and competitor

Participants can defend value-based pricing and identify acceptable commercial trade-offs.

• Price architecture distinguishes list price, discount, terms and total cost
• Value-based pricing links customer economics to willingness-to-pay and differentiation
• Price objections diagnosed as affordability, value doubt, comparison or negotiation tactics
• Total cost of ownership includes implementation, operating, risk and switching costs
• Discount guardrails protect margin, precedent and future renewal economics
• Commercial options trade scope, timing, risk or commitment before price

Participants can prepare and conduct competitive negotiations using planned positions and concessions.

• BATNA assessment establishes alternatives, walk-away points and negotiation confidence
• Negotiation issues ranked by value, flexibility and customer importance
• Concession plans exchange value rather than granting unilateral price reductions
• Package proposals combine commercial terms, service levels and implementation commitments
• Procurement tactics identified: anchoring, deadline pressure, auction and split awards
• Negotiation records capture agreements, conditions, owners and unresolved issues

Participants can structure persuasive proposals and presentations around the customer decision process.

• Proposal storyline follows customer priorities, evidence, solution and commercial case
• Executive summaries state decision, outcomes, differentiation and implementation confidence
• Compliance matrices distinguish mandatory requirements from scored differentiators
• Proof plans assign evidence to claims, evaluators and evaluation criteria
• Presentation design prioritises decision clarity over product chronology and detail
• Red-team reviews test gaps, competitor advantage and evaluator objections

Participants can convert competitive insight into repeatable sales plays and improvement measures.

• Sales plays define target trigger, buyer, message, proof and action
• Competitive playbooks align marketing assets, seller actions and manager coaching
• Win-rate analysis separates segment, competitor, channel and deal-size patterns
• Leading indicators track access, discovery quality, champions and mutual plans
• Loss reviews identify controllable causes, evidence gaps and process failures
• Quarterly review cadence refreshes battlecards, messages and account priorities

Participants can build, review and present a complete competitive selling and market positioning plan for a priority opportunity or account.

• Target segment, account context and commercial objective stated precisely
• Buyer-value map links stakeholder priorities, outcomes and quantified value drivers
• Market position statement tested against competitor claims and customer evidence
• Battlecard identifies competitive risks, response messages and required proof
• Account action plan sequences access, discovery, proposal and negotiation milestones
• Peer review challenges assumptions, evidence quality, differentiation and commercial choices