Benchmark against real alternatives, including doing nothing. Use win‑loss insight and comparable metrics to see why the status quo wins and how to beat it.
Competitive alternatives include not only direct rivals but also ______.
the status quo/do‑nothing and workarounds
regulators
employees in other departments
VC investors
A practical way to benchmark the status quo is to track win rates against ______.
website traffic sources
company LinkedIn followers
specific competitors and no‑decision outcomes separately
press mentions
Win‑loss interviews should be conducted by ______ to reduce bias.
the CEO only
a neutral researcher or PMM, not the original seller
the account executive who worked the deal
an SDR from a different region
A strong analysis step is to tag interview insights by themes like ______.
font choices
slide count
pricing, product gaps, implementation risk, and champion fit
color preference
Which metric best signals a status‑quo problem rather than a competitive loss?
higher CPCs in search
more webinar signups
high ‘no decision’ rate with risk or timing cited
lower NPS among employees
To make comparisons fair, create a ______ before analysis.
list of recent hires
deal cohort with clear inclusion criteria and time window
random sample of social posts
all leads since founding
Benchmarking should use evidence from ______, not just internal opinions.
competitor rumors
weekly pipeline emails
ad hoc anecdotes
buyer interviews, surveys, and objective deal data
A useful deliverable for sales after benchmarking is ______.
more generic demo slides
a longer brand manifesto
a new logo
updated battlecards with quantified traps and counters
One early warning that the status quo will win is ______.
no clear champion with authority to change
the prospect using Slack
attendance at a webinar
a competitor’s new logo
A fair like‑for‑like comparison should normalise for ______.
implementation timeline and total cost to switch
social share of voice
press coverage sentiment
website theme
Starter
Good start—review definitions and basic diagnostics for this topic, then retake.
Solid
Nice grasp—tighten edge cases and trade‑offs; apply the tools to live scenarios.
Expert!
Excellent—you’re balancing judgment with evidence and can teach this topic to others.
