competitive-strategist
Expert competitive intelligence and strategy guidance for B2B/SaaS companies. Use when conducting competitive research, creating battlecards, analyzing win/loss data, building market landscape maps, positioning against alternatives, handling competitive objections, writing comparison pages, or developing sales enablement for competitive situations. Use for competitive monitoring, feature comparisons, and market intelligence gathering.
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Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/ncklrs/startup-os-skills --skill competitive-strategist- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads competitive-strategist automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
Competitive Strategist
Expert competitive intelligence and positioning guidance for winning in crowded markets — from research methodologies to sales enablement and everything in between.
Philosophy
Competitive strategy isn't about copying competitors or tearing them down:
- Know yourself first — You can't position against others until you know your own strengths
- Focus on customers, not competitors — What they need matters more than what rivals do
- Be honest — Lies and FUD destroy credibility faster than any competitor
- Stay current — Markets move fast; stale intel costs deals
How This Skill Works
When invoked, apply the guidelines in rules/ organized by:
research-*— Competitive research methodologies and intelligence gatheringanalysis-*— Win/loss analysis and market landscape mappingbattlecard-*— Battlecard creation, structure, and maintenancepositioning-*— Positioning against alternatives and differentiationmessaging-*— Competitive messaging and objection handlingenablement-*— Sales enablement for competitive situationsmonitoring-*— Competitive monitoring systems and alerts
Core Frameworks
The Competitive Intelligence Cycle
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ │
│ │ GATHER │───▶│ ANALYZE │───▶│ SHARE │ │
│ │ (Intel) │ │ (Insight)│ │ (Enable) │ │
│ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ │
│ ▲ │ │
│ │ ┌──────────┐ │ │
│ └──────────│ UPDATE │◀─────────┘ │
│ │ (Iterate)│ │
│ └──────────┘ │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Competitive Positioning Matrix
| Positioning Type | When to Use | Key Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Head-to-head | You're stronger on key dimensions | Direct comparison |
| Niche down | Competitor owns general category | Own a specific segment |
| Reframe | Competitor's strength is irrelevant | Change the criteria |
| Leapfrog | New capability they can't match | Future-oriented vision |
| Coexist | Different jobs to be done | Complement, don't compete |
Competitor Tiers
| Tier | Description | Monitoring Frequency | Depth of Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary | Direct competitors, same ICP | Weekly | Deep battlecards |
| Secondary | Adjacent solutions, partial overlap | Monthly | Overview cards |
| Emerging | Startups, potential disruptors | Quarterly | Watch list |
| Alternatives | Status quo, DIY, spreadsheets | Ongoing | Pain point mapping |
Win/Loss Analysis Framework
Deal Outcome
│
├── Won Against Competitor
│ ├── What differentiated us?
│ ├── What did they say about competitor?
│ └── What would have changed their mind?
│
└── Lost to Competitor
├── What was the deciding factor?
├── Where did we fall short?
└── What could we have done differently?
The Battlecard Structure
| Section | Purpose | Update Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | Quick context, what they do | Quarterly |
| Positioning | How we win, key differentiators | Monthly |
| Landmines | Questions to ask that expose weaknesses | As discovered |
| Objection Handling | Responses to "Why not [competitor]?" | As encountered |
| Proof Points | Customer quotes, case studies | As available |
| Pricing Intel | Known pricing, packaging | As discovered |
Competitive Response Spectrum
| Situation | Response | Example |
|---|---|---|
| They launch feature you have | Emphasize experience, depth | "We've had this for 2 years, here's what we've learned" |
| They launch feature you don't | Roadmap or reframe | "We're focused on X because customers told us Y matters more" |
| They cut price | Hold on value | "You get what you pay for — here's the TCO comparison" |
| They spread FUD | Correct with facts | "That's not accurate — here's the truth with proof" |
| They announce funding | Ignore or pivot to stability | "We've been profitable since 2019" |
Intelligence Sources (Ranked by Value)
- Win/loss interviews — First-party, high signal
- Sales call recordings — Real objections, real context
- Customer feedback — Why they chose you (and considered others)
- G2/Capterra reviews — Volume of sentiment data
- LinkedIn activity — Hiring, messaging, customer posts
- Job postings — Strategic direction signals
- Press/funding news — Major moves, positioning shifts
- Product trials — Hands-on intel (respect ToS)
Anti-Patterns
- FUD tactics — Spreading fear, uncertainty, doubt backfires
- Obsessing over competitors — Customer needs > competitor moves
- Stale battlecards — Outdated intel loses deals
- One-size-fits-all — Different competitors need different strategies
- Ignoring the real competitor — Often it's "do nothing" or spreadsheets
- Attacking instead of differentiating — Negative selling repels buyers
- Hoarding intel — Unshared intelligence is worthless
- Copying competitors — You become undifferentiated
FAQ
What does the competitive-strategist skill do?
Expert competitive intelligence and strategy guidance for B2B/SaaS companies. Use when conducting competitive research, creating battlecards, analyzing win/loss data, building market landscape maps, positioning against alternatives, handling competitive objections, writing comparison pages, or developing sales enablement for competitive situations. Use for competitive monitoring, feature comparisons, and market intelligence gathering.
How do I install competitive-strategist?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/ncklrs/startup-os-skills --skill competitive-strategist in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/competitive-strategist/ (personal) or .claude/skills/competitive-strategist/ (project).
Which AI agents can use competitive-strategist?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is competitive-strategist safe to install?
No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.
Who maintains competitive-strategist?
It is published by ncklrs in ncklrs/startup-os-skills. It has 154 recorded installs.
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