Episode Transcript
WEBVTT
1
00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:07.549
You were listening to be tob revenue
acceleration, a podcast dedicated to helping software
2
00:00:07.589 --> 00:00:11.789
executives stay on the cutting edge of
sales and marketing in their industry. Let's
3
00:00:11.789 --> 00:00:17.870
get into the show. Welcome to
a TB revenue acceleration. My name is
4
00:00:17.910 --> 00:00:21.780
Dan Saybrook and I have the pleasure
to welcome here today Chris guys it,
5
00:00:22.100 --> 00:00:26.339
who is CMO of Lock Path,
Chris hight how are you doing doing well,
6
00:00:26.379 --> 00:00:29.780
Daniel, pleasure to be here in
good morning, morning, good so
7
00:00:30.339 --> 00:00:34.420
the topic for today's episode is getting
to know your competition. But before we
8
00:00:34.500 --> 00:00:39.450
go into the conversation, Chris,
could you please introduce yourself the company and
9
00:00:39.609 --> 00:00:43.130
a bit about your role and background
a lock path? Yeah, absolutely.
10
00:00:43.250 --> 00:00:45.450
As you mentioned, my name is
Chris guys or. Good morning everyone.
11
00:00:45.490 --> 00:00:49.090
Measure mentioned on the CMO here at
Lock Path. We're a software company that
12
00:00:49.210 --> 00:00:53.200
helps any size company, really from
SMB to enterprise, bring order to the
13
00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:58.240
chaos of managing risk. It's been
called GARC, or integrated risk management.
14
00:00:58.399 --> 00:01:03.799
will take a straightforward approach to help
people identify, understand, manage and then
15
00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:07.950
report on their risk and then simplify
that entire process for our customers. Yes,
16
00:01:07.989 --> 00:01:11.870
a little bit about my background.
I've been in marketing for more than
17
00:01:11.030 --> 00:01:15.349
twenty five years. I started out
in the regional theme park industry here in
18
00:01:15.390 --> 00:01:21.579
the US and then I was director
of brand promotions and sponsorships for America Online
19
00:01:21.900 --> 00:01:25.140
back in the the late nine in
these in early two thousands, I've been
20
00:01:25.140 --> 00:01:27.219
on the agency side, I've been
on the corporate side, be to be
21
00:01:27.780 --> 00:01:32.969
business to consumer, large corporations and
even small startups. So you know,
22
00:01:33.049 --> 00:01:34.290
my wife says I just can't hold
a job, but you know, I
23
00:01:34.329 --> 00:01:38.650
feel like I've gotten good experience on
a number of sides of the table and
24
00:01:38.010 --> 00:01:42.010
have enjoyed it. So you know, here at Lock Path you asked about
25
00:01:42.049 --> 00:01:45.849
our marketing team. We've had a
team of nine folks and we're responsible for
26
00:01:45.890 --> 00:01:51.000
all legion efforts, content creation,
branding efforts. We also support all the
27
00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:53.840
other departments for any of our outward
facing materials. So you know, the
28
00:01:53.920 --> 00:01:57.480
competitive piece that we're going to talk
about today really will fit well, whether
29
00:01:57.519 --> 00:02:02.549
it's battle cards or research, it's
definitely a focus area for us. Absolutely
30
00:02:02.590 --> 00:02:07.989
and I think, drawing on that
experience that you've had from multiple rows,
31
00:02:07.150 --> 00:02:10.509
different sides of the marketing fence,
Otus on the agency that side the vend
32
00:02:10.550 --> 00:02:15.030
decide whether it's BC bet be.
Naturally, that's giving you a lot of
33
00:02:15.069 --> 00:02:20.659
exposure into how we can attract customers, how you can influence organization businesses to
34
00:02:20.900 --> 00:02:24.379
essentially come closer to to your organization. So I guess, Chris, if
35
00:02:24.379 --> 00:02:30.569
we look at that and and know
that viewing competitive exclusively as adversaries is kind
36
00:02:30.569 --> 00:02:32.889
of short sighted, if you like, and often it can be damaging because
37
00:02:32.889 --> 00:02:37.810
a lot of the time competitives could
also be partners. But companies obviously need
38
00:02:37.889 --> 00:02:42.370
to be prepared to fight their competition
and marketing teams play an important role in
39
00:02:42.889 --> 00:02:47.159
identifying customers, or competitors, I
should say, building strategies to influences and
40
00:02:47.439 --> 00:02:52.120
ultimately win them as as business for
your organization. If we look at that,
41
00:02:52.240 --> 00:02:54.479
what are the aspects that you suggest
of your competition that you believe you
42
00:02:54.599 --> 00:02:59.629
need to be aware of or monitor
or or be able to, I guess,
43
00:02:59.870 --> 00:03:00.750
get ahead of the game, will
get ahead of the competition. What
44
00:03:00.949 --> 00:03:05.669
do you think's really important from that
perspective? You know, it's to make
45
00:03:05.830 --> 00:03:08.349
a great point in that you can't
just look at all of your competition as
46
00:03:08.349 --> 00:03:13.659
adversarial. There's always something to learn
from from everyone and you know we kind
47
00:03:13.659 --> 00:03:16.379
of take a stance that we never
mentioned competitors in any of our marketing,
48
00:03:16.419 --> 00:03:20.860
but it's always good to learn about
what they're saying and know what they're doing.
49
00:03:21.219 --> 00:03:23.699
He starts off as basic is.
You know, do you understand and
50
00:03:23.780 --> 00:03:25.740
do you know their core product offering? You know what are some of their
51
00:03:25.819 --> 00:03:30.090
key messages and how does that compare
to to our key messages? Who,
52
00:03:30.210 --> 00:03:34.289
I think, or who I believe, is their their target? What are
53
00:03:34.330 --> 00:03:37.250
some of their strengths and weaknesses?
You know that we've heard in the market
54
00:03:37.289 --> 00:03:39.530
places we win and lose deals to
our competitors. Who's going to happen?
55
00:03:39.530 --> 00:03:44.479
You're not going to win every deal
that you enter. So what can you
56
00:03:44.639 --> 00:03:47.599
take from that prospect of learning?
What did you like about our competitor?
57
00:03:47.759 --> 00:03:51.280
What did you not like about our
competitor? So you know, those are
58
00:03:51.319 --> 00:03:53.719
some of the just the high level
of basic things that I don't think you
59
00:03:53.759 --> 00:03:59.110
want to completely try and build your
marketing or your message off of someone else,
60
00:03:59.229 --> 00:04:01.469
but it's good to be at least
aware of what they're doing. Yeah,
61
00:04:01.710 --> 00:04:04.430
that makes sense and I think I
guess is well, it depends on
62
00:04:04.509 --> 00:04:08.710
the the maturity of the market.
If we look at some markets where they're
63
00:04:08.710 --> 00:04:11.939
extremely sat rated. Well, perhaps
you want to take guidance off the back
64
00:04:11.979 --> 00:04:15.659
of what vendors, or, sorry, competitors, may have tried and failed
65
00:04:15.740 --> 00:04:19.019
at. Likewise, on if you're
completely building market where there are no real
66
00:04:19.100 --> 00:04:23.379
competitors and you're probably going to be
the one that people are looking at in
67
00:04:23.500 --> 00:04:26.730
the future, I guess to do
the above. What really what you've just
68
00:04:26.810 --> 00:04:30.769
been describing? Their companies will often
build battle cards or play books or messaging
69
00:04:30.889 --> 00:04:34.689
and or scripts, however, whatever
you sort of content you want to utilize
70
00:04:34.850 --> 00:04:39.680
to outline the strengths and weaknesses of
each competitor also, of course, of
71
00:04:39.800 --> 00:04:44.000
each targets owner, each target account. It's grandly as that. But if
72
00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:46.720
you look at the competitive sort of
landscape for a second, you want to
73
00:04:46.800 --> 00:04:49.120
build bat cards to through outline and
strengths and weakness of each competitor so that
74
00:04:49.199 --> 00:04:54.110
your sales teams, you're marketing teams, you're inside sales, sales development reps,
75
00:04:54.149 --> 00:05:00.310
business development reps, can understand and
tailor the message when engaging with organizations
76
00:05:00.430 --> 00:05:02.750
that may be using a competitor or
indeed, of course, to try and
77
00:05:02.790 --> 00:05:06.699
influence that key targets owner that you
want to engage with. From your perspective,
78
00:05:08.220 --> 00:05:13.019
what's importance of being able to build
that sort of playbook or battle card
79
00:05:13.220 --> 00:05:16.500
and what do you think is really
important to cover in that for a for
80
00:05:16.579 --> 00:05:21.689
a sales and Marketing Organization to be
successful? Yeah, absolutely is. You
81
00:05:21.810 --> 00:05:25.850
said, it's a key tool for
those sales people out in the field.
82
00:05:25.970 --> 00:05:29.129
So first and foremost it's got to
be an a usable form out for the
83
00:05:29.170 --> 00:05:31.569
sales people, because if they don't
use it, doesn't matter how much they
84
00:05:31.889 --> 00:05:36.040
to information that I've pulled together.
If it's not in a usable format then
85
00:05:36.600 --> 00:05:42.800
it's wasted effort. Traditionally, for
us that's a clean one page, mostly
86
00:05:42.920 --> 00:05:46.079
bullets. High level salespeople are our
sales people for a reason. They know
87
00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:48.480
they have a short attention span and
they like to go, go, go,
88
00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:51.709
so you've got to talk to them
on their level. You got to
89
00:05:51.709 --> 00:05:57.550
keep things in short chunks and small
bites and not trying to say they're not
90
00:05:57.589 --> 00:06:00.589
intelligent, but we definitely want to
feed them the information that they need in
91
00:06:00.910 --> 00:06:04.060
a quick format. You know,
we'll try and put a table on there
92
00:06:04.180 --> 00:06:10.500
that will compare the base features and
benefits of ours to our competitors, you
93
00:06:10.579 --> 00:06:14.459
know, in an easier read,
check checkbox kind of list will give them
94
00:06:14.459 --> 00:06:18.449
a short, basic overview of that
competitive company and any noted customers that we
95
00:06:18.569 --> 00:06:23.449
may know of that they have,
maybe some key industries that they target,
96
00:06:23.689 --> 00:06:26.689
just in an effort, as I
said, to give that sales up the
97
00:06:26.810 --> 00:06:30.850
easiest and quickest high level overview of
what they're walking into. When do they
98
00:06:30.970 --> 00:06:35.879
when they go into pitch a prospect
and they know what competitor they're pitching against?
99
00:06:36.399 --> 00:06:40.240
And then, obviously something that I
think everybody would put on their battle
100
00:06:40.240 --> 00:06:44.399
card is that some form of Swat
analysis, you know, looking at the
101
00:06:44.720 --> 00:06:47.470
streaks and weaknesses of competitors, where
we have an opportunity against them and what
102
00:06:47.550 --> 00:06:50.949
are the threats where or they may
be stronger than us, and then highlight,
103
00:06:51.110 --> 00:06:55.790
if we can highlight, what features
are, what benefits, and offering
104
00:06:55.910 --> 00:06:59.589
things that we offer where we feel
like we're superior to our competitors. Make
105
00:06:59.629 --> 00:07:02.300
sure that we're seeding that conversation for
the sales up so that they go down
106
00:07:02.379 --> 00:07:06.420
that path early on. You know, I think they think the danger with
107
00:07:06.540 --> 00:07:11.019
a lot of these battle cards is
that marketers, you know, we want
108
00:07:11.019 --> 00:07:15.970
to give you as much information as
we can and we'll give them information overloading
109
00:07:15.290 --> 00:07:20.610
and they have so many volumes and
spreadsheets of these competitive analysis that it becomes
110
00:07:20.689 --> 00:07:25.730
something that's been unusable. So it's
really boiling it down to those main points
111
00:07:25.810 --> 00:07:29.370
and doing more marketers to and try
and communicate the message effectively and doing that
112
00:07:29.449 --> 00:07:30.800
for our silver ups because again,
at the end of the day, we
113
00:07:30.920 --> 00:07:34.199
everybody wants to the sales team to
be successful out there. That makes sense
114
00:07:34.240 --> 00:07:40.079
and I guess from that perspective as
well, again it's it's really important to
115
00:07:40.160 --> 00:07:44.709
have lots of information for the sales
team to enable them to be as fair,
116
00:07:44.750 --> 00:07:47.149
as effective and as efficient as possible
when in front of a prospect or
117
00:07:47.189 --> 00:07:51.389
engaging with the prospect. I guess
from a marketing standpoint, the information is
118
00:07:51.629 --> 00:07:55.910
is kind of high level. To
your point, I think it's it's information
119
00:07:55.990 --> 00:08:01.740
around specific competitors, specific competitive landscapes
as well, if you like. But
120
00:08:01.980 --> 00:08:05.220
how important do you be believe it
is to really oar and then break that
121
00:08:05.339 --> 00:08:07.220
down further and say, well,
this is a competitive landscape, this is
122
00:08:07.379 --> 00:08:11.259
the all are different competitors that we
may come up against, but how important
123
00:08:11.259 --> 00:08:13.370
do you think it is to take
it one step further and then tailor that
124
00:08:13.490 --> 00:08:18.730
to the individual prospects of targeting as
well. With that can competitive information.
125
00:08:18.290 --> 00:08:22.209
So from a masting standpoint, would
you take your step further and say,
126
00:08:22.250 --> 00:08:24.410
well, this is a competitive infat
that we have and this is how we'd
127
00:08:24.449 --> 00:08:30.759
oughticulate it to a map to an
in your industry achieving schief security officer of
128
00:08:30.839 --> 00:08:33.159
someone else with in the business?
Yeah, I think it depends on where
129
00:08:33.159 --> 00:08:35.840
you're at the sales funnel. You
know. I think early on you know
130
00:08:35.879 --> 00:08:39.039
if you're an outside team or an
inside team that is sourcing leads, I
131
00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:41.470
don't think it makes sense to go
to that level of detail. But if
132
00:08:41.509 --> 00:08:46.070
you're in an RFP or if you've
been selected or narrowed down to the final
133
00:08:46.110 --> 00:08:50.429
two or three in a buying process, absolutely I think it makes sense to
134
00:08:52.029 --> 00:08:54.629
break down and look at those other
people that you know, if you can
135
00:08:54.710 --> 00:08:58.899
know who you're pitching against, to
break down their strengths weaknesses, arm the
136
00:08:58.940 --> 00:09:03.539
sales team with who they're going up
against, give them maybe a bit more
137
00:09:03.740 --> 00:09:07.539
information or a deeper level of information
than what you may just put on a
138
00:09:07.620 --> 00:09:11.769
standard battle card that is there in
a marketing repository for either the inside or
139
00:09:11.889 --> 00:09:16.970
outside sales reps to reference. So
yeah, I think if you're far enough
140
00:09:16.009 --> 00:09:20.850
along in the sales process, it
absolutely makes sense to tailor how the two
141
00:09:20.970 --> 00:09:26.200
competitors, US and our competitor,
compare for that prospect. You know,
142
00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:31.159
taking the use case that the prospect
has laid out for us, that taking
143
00:09:31.440 --> 00:09:33.759
what they want to accomplish as their
goal, and knowing what we know about
144
00:09:33.759 --> 00:09:37.399
our competitor, how do we tell
that story in a way that you know,
145
00:09:37.990 --> 00:09:41.870
first and foremost, gives the the
prospect the best solution? Because obviously
146
00:09:41.870 --> 00:09:45.629
you want a happy customer. You
don't need to miss will lead them and
147
00:09:45.669 --> 00:09:50.509
end up with a with a bad
sale, but show them we're, hopefully
148
00:09:50.669 --> 00:09:54.019
you're, stronger than your competitor and
where it makes more sense to choose your
149
00:09:54.059 --> 00:09:56.620
product persons the competitors. Yeah,
that makes sense, I think as well.
150
00:09:56.659 --> 00:10:01.340
If you look at the sort of
technology landscape, it's always evolving.
151
00:10:01.419 --> 00:10:05.899
So there's you and have every battle
card against every single competitor I'm sure you
152
00:10:05.980 --> 00:10:11.970
compete against every single day. Simply
because the technology world is evolving so quickly.
153
00:10:11.129 --> 00:10:16.169
Organizations are coming out with more funding
every single day, creating new products
154
00:10:16.210 --> 00:10:20.009
every day and creating new markets every
day, I guess now, of course
155
00:10:20.049 --> 00:10:22.279
it's I think you made the point
earlier on in the conversation that, yes,
156
00:10:22.320 --> 00:10:24.919
it's important to know about your competition, but at some point you've just
157
00:10:24.919 --> 00:10:28.840
got to focus on yourselves as well. That being said, you can't completely
158
00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:31.720
lose sight of what others may be
doing and and with the pace of of
159
00:10:33.039 --> 00:10:37.389
transformation and evolution in the technology world, how often do you think, when
160
00:10:37.389 --> 00:10:39.149
you consider that, how often do
you think you should be reviewing the battle
161
00:10:39.230 --> 00:10:43.149
cards, and perhaps not the individual
content within the battle cards, but I
162
00:10:43.230 --> 00:10:46.070
guess how often do you think you
should be getting a field for the for
163
00:10:46.190 --> 00:10:48.149
the for the landscape? Is it
a case that staying in your own lane,
164
00:10:48.190 --> 00:10:52.220
focusing on yourselves and and others will
come and and new? Periodically Review
165
00:10:52.299 --> 00:10:56.740
that? Is it a case that
every time you come up against another organization
166
00:10:56.779 --> 00:11:00.659
in the cell process, you think
what actually we need to start building playbooks
167
00:11:00.740 --> 00:11:03.610
and messaging and battle cards against that
business? Could will probably see them more
168
00:11:03.610 --> 00:11:07.570
and more often. What do you
think the process should be if, in
169
00:11:07.610 --> 00:11:09.610
date, there is one around that? Yeah, and I think you're right.
170
00:11:09.730 --> 00:11:13.929
First and foremost, you need to
stick to your own knitting. As
171
00:11:13.970 --> 00:11:16.730
my grandmother would say, and focus
on what you do best and go out
172
00:11:16.850 --> 00:11:20.080
and pitch every day in your own
lane. As you've got these battle cards,
173
00:11:20.159 --> 00:11:24.919
though, I think you can.
You're going to have differing levels of
174
00:11:24.080 --> 00:11:26.440
competitors. You're going to have,
you know, people that you see in
175
00:11:26.519 --> 00:11:30.879
most every pitch and you're going to
have folks that you see rarely or on
176
00:11:30.960 --> 00:11:35.190
occasion. For those big three or
four that they're always up against. You
177
00:11:35.269 --> 00:11:37.269
know, I think you pull information
from every pitch that you're in with them
178
00:11:37.350 --> 00:11:41.309
and try and enhance that battle card. You probably set up some kind of
179
00:11:41.350 --> 00:11:45.389
Google alert to know what they're doing
just so that if there's some new product,
180
00:11:45.470 --> 00:11:48.899
new feature, some market move that
they're making, you can note it
181
00:11:48.019 --> 00:11:52.940
on the battle card. If there
are any other news worthy events of mergers,
182
00:11:52.980 --> 00:11:56.860
even if it's of those smaller competitors, you can. You can update
183
00:11:56.860 --> 00:12:00.740
the battle card then, I think
annually. I think you take all the
184
00:12:00.820 --> 00:12:03.370
battle cards and you go through them
and you double check them and make sure
185
00:12:03.370 --> 00:12:07.049
that there's as current as possible.
So if you haven't touched one for a
186
00:12:07.129 --> 00:12:11.929
year, you may considers this one. We need to keep updated, but
187
00:12:11.289 --> 00:12:15.289
I think if you haven't touched it
at least annually. You need to go
188
00:12:15.490 --> 00:12:18.480
through those but, as you said, in the in the security and the
189
00:12:18.559 --> 00:12:22.000
software space, it's rare that we
would go along and not touch a battle
190
00:12:22.039 --> 00:12:26.360
card of one of our competitors.
Yeah, yeah, I think that's a
191
00:12:26.440 --> 00:12:30.190
fat point. I mean from all
perspective. If there's, I think if
192
00:12:30.230 --> 00:12:33.389
we look at a business at from
advantage point, particularly doing so much work
193
00:12:33.429 --> 00:12:37.190
in the security space, since there's
different parts of the software world and different
194
00:12:37.230 --> 00:12:39.509
parts of the security world. I
think if you look at certain market says
195
00:12:39.629 --> 00:12:43.899
a lot of very established organizations.
It's can be seen somewhat commodit size and
196
00:12:45.259 --> 00:12:48.220
saturated, and in that sense I
don't think the competitive landscape is going to
197
00:12:48.259 --> 00:12:52.139
change dramatically. If you're in a
space like you guys are a lot part
198
00:12:52.220 --> 00:12:56.379
I think perhaps that may evolve more
and more speed over the coming years,
199
00:12:56.419 --> 00:13:01.649
as risk as compliance with different regulations
like GDP are coming into force more and
200
00:13:01.730 --> 00:13:05.889
more. Of course, that may
involve slightly quickly than other markets, like
201
00:13:05.049 --> 00:13:09.610
say, an anti virus market for
free. Yeah, absolutely, and we
202
00:13:09.730 --> 00:13:13.399
see new platforms and new products coming
into the space. We see consolidation of
203
00:13:13.639 --> 00:13:18.120
players that are in the space.
So, yeah, our market is changing,
204
00:13:18.200 --> 00:13:22.279
eving and flowing much more quickly than
to maybe a consumer package, a
205
00:13:22.360 --> 00:13:24.679
good company or something like that.
Yeah, yeah, that makes sense,
206
00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:28.549
Chris. So that your Internet has
been really useful and I think I speak
207
00:13:28.549 --> 00:13:31.870
for everyone here, I appreciate that
you took the time to speak with us
208
00:13:31.909 --> 00:13:35.309
and share your knowledge and it's a
very background. I think that's that's the
209
00:13:35.389 --> 00:13:37.190
interesting point for me, because you're
obviously coming at this from a from a
210
00:13:37.269 --> 00:13:41.940
sort of vantage point that you've seen
different markets, different organizations, different industries,
211
00:13:43.019 --> 00:13:46.179
and that obviously brings a lot of
valuable experience to the your current role
212
00:13:46.460 --> 00:13:48.860
and as in a software company.
For anyone that's listening that would want to
213
00:13:48.940 --> 00:13:52.620
get in touch, no more about
what we've discussed today, learn more about
214
00:13:52.620 --> 00:13:56.090
your company or your road up.
What would be the best way for them
215
00:13:56.129 --> 00:14:00.129
to get in touch with yeah,
yeah, they can always check out lockpath
216
00:14:00.370 --> 00:14:05.009
online at lockpathcom. Are you feel
free to email me? Just my name,
217
00:14:05.049 --> 00:14:13.360
Chris HRIS Dot Geysert, Gei,
se are t is and Thomas at
218
00:14:13.519 --> 00:14:18.200
lockpathcom. Great, right, Chris. Well again, appreciate your time and
219
00:14:18.600 --> 00:14:20.559
and thank you very much. It's
been my pleasure great talking to you this
220
00:14:20.639 --> 00:14:24.470
morning. Good luck to everybody out
there. Marketing is is fun. It's
221
00:14:24.509 --> 00:14:31.269
always changing, so I hope everybody
has some great success. operatics has redefined
222
00:14:31.429 --> 00:14:37.509
the meaning of revenue generation for technology
companies worldwide. While the traditional concepts of
223
00:14:37.659 --> 00:14:43.019
building and managing inside sales teams inhouse
has existed for many years, companies are
224
00:14:43.100 --> 00:14:48.299
struggling with a lack of focus,
agility and scale required in today's fast and
225
00:14:48.460 --> 00:14:56.009
complex world of enterprise technology sales.
See How operatics can help your company accelerate
226
00:14:56.090 --> 00:15:01.570
pipeline at operatics dotnet. You've been
listening to be tob revenue acceleration. To
227
00:15:01.649 --> 00:15:05.169
ensure that you never miss an episode, subscribe to the show in your favorite
228
00:15:05.210 --> 00:15:09.840
podcast player. Thank you so much
for listening. Until next time.
