I recently needed to give Apollo’s competitive battlecards a facelift, but just couldn’t figure out a format that looked clean in Notion (the content management tool we use).

So I asked Jason Oakley (Notion and PMM expert + good friend) and he sent me this template.

It was super helpful. I even got complimented by our Head of Sales Enablement on the format when I shared my finished draft! So naturally, I had to ask Jason if he was cool with me sharing with y’all here.

Give it a look if you need some battlecard inspiration. Even if you don’t use Notion, you can apply the same principles into other tools.

Q&A 👊

How Procore Does Competitive Intel

“How did you get into competitive intel?”

I started my career in Sales as a Solutions Engineer. It gave me the chance to see so much of our business, get to work with our costumers, and have my fingers on the pulse of the industry. I didn’t know it at the time, but this would lay the groundwork for developing a career in competitive intelligence.

“How do you describe what you do for work?”

My team helps to inform the business on market trends, potential threats, and the future of our industry. We enable the business to compete with anyone, anytime, anywhere.

Everyday I get to be an artist, a scientist, a teacher, and a student of everything construction technology. It is the most fulfilling work of my career.

“What are you working on that you're excited about?”

Less what I am working on and more who I get to work with and learn from. Competition has been ingrained in the culture of how we work as a business, and so much of our work has become more cross-collaborative.

“What's one thing you do now that you didn't do a year ago?”

Ask for more help. Its a small thing but competitive intelligence is not owned by one person or one team. It should be woven through the fabric of your organization. Everyone benefits and no one can do it alone.

“What resource has helped you the most in your career?”

Other professionals in my network have been so impactful to the growth of the competitive intelligence program and my growth as a professional in the space.

Competitive intelligence is an easy skill to learn but a difficult skill to master. There is no perfect or defined "right" way that applies to all organizations serving all industries.

That means the more intellectually curious you are about the means and methods your contemporaries deploy, the easier it is to define and refine YOUR way of driving competitive intelligence. 

“A new CI practitioner asks for a tip to getting started, what do you tell them?”

The three main characteristics that I think define exceptional Competitive Intelligence professionals is the ability to…

1. Learn

2. Unlearn

3. Relearn

If you are looking to get started, you have to show a willingness to learn a new skillset around how competitive enablement, research, and strategy can impact your organization.

You must unlearn assumptions and ways of working that may prevent you from seeing the entire chess board with an open mind.

Lastly, and most importantly, you must relearn the nature of being inquisitive and intellectually curious about your industry. The job of Competitive Intelligence is not to know everything about every competitor; it is to be the best at asking "what, how, and why" and having the tenacity to go find out!

JUICY SCOOPS 🧃

What’s happening now

• 🛍️ | Temu gained an edge on eBay; eyeing Amazon next [more]

• 👖 | Lululemon is standing strong against upstart competitors [more]

• 📈 | The Texas Stock Exchange is taking on the NYSE and Nasdaq [more]

• 🔐 | Apple’s recent launch spells trouble for 1Password and LastPass [more]

• 🙅 | Rippling banned former employees working for competitors from selling their stock [more]

• 🚗 | Ford’s stacking a team with talent from competitors like Rivian, Tesla, and Apple [more]

• 💩 | A tech CEO is answering the age old question: to shitpost, or not to shitpost? [more]

EXAMPLES 🍊

Your weekly dose of vitamin C(ompete)

Check out Cal.com’s newest competitive ad against Calendly—spotted in NYC.

COMPETE GEEKS ONLY 🛑✋

From the Community

Here are a couple threads that got folks talking this week.

“Wait, what’s the Healthy Competition Community again?”

It’s where 100+ Product Marketers and Competitive Intel practitioners connect and share tips to help each other win.

Stay Healthy, my friends.

💚Andy