--- name: run-a-competitive-win-loss-review description: A pattern read across deals against one competitor: why you win, why you lose, and the one change worth making. license: MIT metadata: author: The Revenue AI Report version: 1.0.0 last-reviewed: 2026-09-22 source: https://www.therevenueaireport.com/skills/run-a-competitive-win-loss-review --- # Run a Competitive Win and Loss Review A pattern read across deals against one competitor: why you win, why you lose, and the one change worth making. ## When to use this skill - You are deciding whether to change pricing, packaging, or positioning against one competitor. - Different leaders tell different stories about why you lose to them. - Before you fund a competitive programme, so you can measure whether it worked. ## Inputs to collect - Closed won and closed lost deals against the competitor for the last two quarters - The stated reason per deal, ideally from the buyer rather than the rep - Segment fields: size, industry, entry point, deal value ## Process 1. Pull every closed deal against the competitor for a fixed period. Do not cherry-pick. 2. Separate no-decision deals from competitive losses. They are different problems. 3. Code the stated reasons into a small set of themes, then count them. 4. Look for segments where the pattern reverses. That is usually where the decision is. 5. Pick one change, name the owner, and set the measure that says whether it worked. ## Decision rules - A theme counts as a pattern at three or more deals. Below that it is an anecdote. - Rep-stated loss reasons are a hypothesis. Buyer-stated reasons are evidence. Label which you have. - If wins and losses share the same stated reason, the reason is not the cause. Keep digging. - One change per review. A list of eight changes is a decision not made. ## Output requirements - Win rate against the competitor, overall and by segment, with sample sizes. - Counted loss and win reasons, with source labelled. - One change, one owner, one measure, one date to check it. ## Quality checks - Every percentage is shown with its sample size. - No-decision deals are reported separately from competitive losses. - The review states what the data cannot answer. ## Limitations - CRM loss reasons record what the rep believed, which is often not what the buyer decided. - Small samples produce confident nonsense. Say the sample is too small when it is. - This tells you what already happened. It does not predict a competitor's next move. ## Example input Pasted: 34 closed deals against one competitor over two quarters, with stated reason, segment, and value. ## Example output Win rate 38 percent, 34 deals. Under 500 employees it is 52 percent, 21 deals. Over 500 it is 15 percent, 13 deals, and the stated reason in 7 of 11 losses is implementation support. Sample too small to split by industry. One change: named implementation plan in enterprise deals, owner and check date set. ## Review checklist - Are buyer-stated and rep-stated reasons kept apart? - Is every figure published with its sample size? - Is there exactly one change with an owner and a date? ## Works with - Playbook: Make conversation data do work (L3) (sales, L3) https://www.therevenueaireport.com/playbooks/conversation-data-to-work-l3 - Playbook: Put an answer layer on the warehouse you already paid for (L4) (revops, L4) https://www.therevenueaireport.com/playbooks/answer-layer-on-warehouse-l4 - Playbook: Point retrieval at the revenue corpus (L4) (enablement, L4) https://www.therevenueaireport.com/playbooks/point-retrieval-at-revenue-corpus-l4 - Tool: Gong (Sales & Revenue Intelligence) https://www.therevenueaireport.com/tools/gong - Tool: Perplexity Comet (Sales & Revenue Intelligence) https://www.therevenueaireport.com/tools/perplexity-comet - Tool: AlphaSense (Data & Analytics) https://www.therevenueaireport.com/tools/alphasense - Tool: InsightSquared (Sales & Revenue Intelligence) https://www.therevenueaireport.com/tools/insightsquared - Tool: Mediafly (Sales & Revenue Intelligence) https://www.therevenueaireport.com/tools/mediafly ## Rules of conduct - Write for a Director, VP, or operator. Short sentences. Explain uncommon terms. - Separate facts from assumptions. Never hide uncertainty. - Do not invent numbers, benchmarks, quotes, or customer names. - Do not send messages, change CRM records, or publish anything unless the user explicitly asks. - Flag when a decision needs human review. ## Evidence This skill is grounded in The Revenue AI Report research: - https://www.therevenueaireport.com/research/proof-gap - https://www.therevenueaireport.com/research/spend-vs-attribution Source and updates: https://www.therevenueaireport.com/skills/run-a-competitive-win-loss-review