There’s no such thing as a direct competitor.

In my previous career, we lost a lot against SAP and Oracle. 

I vividly remember the heated discussions around this time of the year around ‘How much discount do we need to give to win.’

Obviously, we all knew discounting was terrible, but when the heat is on to make or break your year, what’s the alternative?

But then we repositioned…. and things changed… dramatically…

Win rates started to increase – in some regions to +80%. The word discount started to disappear. Our biggest competitors started to qualify out once they realized we were considered in the shortlist

The odd thing:

• We still had the same solution
• We were still selling in the same regions
• We were still competing with the same vendors

It wasn’t about that. 

Key takeaway: There’s no such thing as a direct competitor. 

No competitor is created equal. If you’d put two competitors in the same building, even in the same room – with the exact requirements – each will develop a solution with a different approach and, as such, a different outcome. That’s where the opportunity lies. 

It can be nerve-wracking for a SaaS business to compete with vendors 100x your size. But just because they’re 100x bigger than you, it doesn’t mean they’re 100x better than you.

What’s better is in the eyes of the buyer, not your competitor. Leverage that. Find what makes you remarkable – and who’s prepared to pay a premium for that.

Then take position – and become unbeatable – right there.

Question for you to reflect upon

What makes your SaaS business remarkable in the eyes of your ideal customers?  What if you’d find more customers like them – that believe and care about exactly that?

Be Remarkable

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