Manage Sales Competitors

As a sales administrator, you create and maintain information on sales competitors. After you set up the initial competitor record, sales teams can add competitors to opportunities and product revenue lines. Downstream analytics help teams see how well they competed.

Create a Competitor

Here's how you create a competitor:

1. Navigate to Sales > Competitors.

2. Click the Create icon.

3. In the Create Competitor page, enter or select values. Use the information in this table to guide you:

   Field	Description
   Organization Name	Name of the competitor.
   Name Suffix	Value appended to the name of the Organization Name for the competitor.
   Chief Executive Name	Name of the competitor company's chief executive officer or highest-level employee.
   Line of Business	Line of business of the competitor company's products.
   D-U-N-S Number	Dun & Bradstreet Corporation unique nine-digit identification number for the competitor company.
   Organization Size	Size of the competitor company.
   Year Established	Year the competitor company was first started.
   Threat Level	Perceived threat level of the competitor in closing deals, such as low, medium, and high.
   Year Incorporated	Year the competitor company was first incorporated.
   Stock Symbol	Stock symbol for the competitor company in the financial markets.
   Fiscal Year End Month	Month that the competitor company closes its fiscal year.
   Dun & Bradstreet Corporation Credit Rating	Credit rating of the competitor company with Dun & Bradstreet Corporation.
   Privately Owned	Indicates the competitor company is privately owned.
   Minority Owned	Indicates that the competitor company is minority owned.
   Small Business	Indicates that the competitor company is a small business.
   Status	Status of the competitor record, either active or inactive.

4. Save your changes.

   Note: Upon saving, if you get an error that a matching company has been found in the application, then respond to the dialog box by either merging this record with the existing one or creating a new organization in the application.

Enter SWOT for a Competitor

You can assign strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat (SWOT) levels for competitors. Recording and reviewing SWOT levels helps you understand, plan, and craft an effective competitive strategy when facing a competitive threat on a deal.

Here's how you enter SWOT information for a competitor:

Tip: You can edit SWOT values after you save them.

1. Navigate to Sales > Competitors.

2. In the list, select the name of the competitor.

3. In the Edit Competitor page, add a new row to the SWOT table by clicking the add icon or selecting Add Row from the Actions menu.

4. In the new table row, select or enter the SWOT information:

   Field	Description
   Type	Indicates the type of SWOT value, such as a threat or weakness.
   Description	Used to describe the type of SWOT.
   Comments	Additional comments for the SWOT value.

5. Save your changes.

View Competitor Opportunities

After salespeople associate a competitor with an opportunity while editing or closing it, the opportunities are automatically added to the competitor profile. The list of opportunities in a competitor's profile is a consolidated view of past and current opportunities where the competitor is present. The opportunity data provides you with useful insight to plan appropriate sales strategies.

Here's how you view competitor opportunities.

1. Navigate to Sales > Competitors.

2. In the list, select the name of the competitor.

3. In the Edit Competitor page, click the Opportunities tab. The Opportunities table shows all opportunities where the competitor is present.

Add Attachments to a Competitor

Attachments let you provide additional details about the competitor.

Here's how to attach files, text, or URLs to a competitor record:

1. Navigate to Sales > Competitors.

2. In the list, select the name of the competitor.

3. In the Edit Competitor page, click the Attachments tab.

4. In the Attachments table, add a new table row by clicking the add icon or selecting Add Row from the Actions menu.

5. In the new table row, select or enter the following values:

   Field	Description
   Type	Indicates the type of attachment, either a file, free-form text, or a URL.
   File Name or URL	If you selected File as the type, you can browse to the file on your computer. If you selected Text as the type, use to enter free-form text. If you selected URL as the type, use to enter the URL of the competitor's web site.
   Title	Title of the attachment.
   Description	Description of the attachment.

6. Save your changes.

Associate Internal Experts with a Competitor

Internal experts are people in your company who are experts on a competitor. They can help you work with the competitor to close deals.

Use the following procedure to associate internal experts with a competitor.

1. Navigate to Sales > Competitors.

2. In the list, select the name of the competitor.

3. In the Edit Competitor page, click the Internal Experts tab.

4. In the Internal Experts table, add a new table row by clicking the add icon or selecting Add Row from the Actions menu.

5. In the Search and Select: Internal Expert dialog window, search for and select the person.

6. In the search dialog window, click Apply and then Done.

7. Save your changes. The table displays the details of the internal expert, such as his e-mail address and phone number.

Associate Geographies or Industries with a Competitor

You can associate geographical locations, such as a country, with a competitor in order to record additional information about a competitor. The stored geographies are locations where the competitor is present. The available geographical locations are those that are defined in your application. You also can store the industries where the competitor competes with your company. The available industries are those that are defined in your application.

Use the following procedure to associate geographies or industries with a competitor.

1. Navigate to Sales > Competitors.

2. In the list, select the name of the competitor.

3. In the Edit Competitor page, click the Geographies tab. Or, if entering industries, click the Industries tab.

4. In the table, add a new table row by clicking the add icon or selecting Add Row from the Actions menu.

5. Search for and select the geographical location or industry.

6. In the search dialog window, click OK.

7. Save your changes.

Add Notes to a Competitor Profile

You can add free-form notes to a competitor profile. Here's how:

1. Navigate to Sales > Competitors.

2. In the list, select the name of the competitor.

3. In the Edit Competitor page, in the Notes area, click the create icon.

4. Enter the free-form note and save your changes.