Have you ever lost a deal and wondered, "What if our sales team had known just a little bit more about the competition?" 

If so, you're not alone, today having a slight edge can make all the difference between winning and losing a deal.

I'm Benedikt Parstorfer, Senior Manager of Global Revenue Enablement at Riskified. We're in the business of e-commerce growth, helping online merchants boost their revenue by tackling fraud and policy challenges with our AI-powered platform.

But in this article, I want to talk about something that's become a game-changer for us and could be for you too: competitive enablement.

In this article, I'm going to walk you through what I call the ABC approach to competitive enablement – Align, Build, and Communicate. This method has revolutionized how we equip our sales team to win deals in a market where product differentiation is becoming increasingly challenging.

Whether you're struggling with declining win rates, reps missing quotas, or just looking to sharpen your competitive edge, this guide is for you. I'll share real-world examples, practical tips, and even a few hard-learned lessons from our journey at Riskified.

So, are you ready to transform your competitive enablement strategy and give your sales team the upper hand they need? 

Let's dive in and explore the ABCs that could be the key to your next big win.

Why competitive enablement?

We've been seeing some concerning trends in the sales world. 

Win rates are dropping for many companies, and we're hearing a lot about reps struggling to hit their quotas. It's putting real pressure on sales teams and the enablement professionals supporting them.

Now, if you're lucky enough to have a product that's light-years ahead of the competition and everyone knows it, congratulations! But for most of us, that's not the case. 

The reality is, it's getting harder and harder to differentiate purely based on product or service offerings.

So, what's the secret? I'd argue it's the buyer experience, and where does that experience primarily happen? In the sales conversation. 

That's where we, as enablement professionals, can make a real difference.

If we can help our sellers understand why we win and lose deals, how our competitors run their sales processes, and how prospects experience the buying journey, then we can equip them to have better conversations. 

Better conversations lead to better buyer experiences, which ultimately drive more wins.

Now, let's break down the ABC of competitive enablement.