The short answer
A competitor research template is a structured profile of one rival: who they target, how they position and price, their key messages, their real strengths and weaknesses, how they sell against you and where you win. Each fact carries a source and a date, so the profile stays credible and can be turned into a battle card for reps.
On this page
- The Competitor Research Template
- Where to Source Each Section
- How to Profile a Competitor in 2 Hours
- Competitor Research Template Example: Tarnwick Quote
- Finding Real Strengths and Weaknesses
- Spotting Which Competitor a Prospect Uses
- From Profile to Battle Card (and Keeping It Current)
- Write competitive outreach for any prospect in three steps
- FAQ
Key takeaways
Research from their side: Start with their website, pricing page and reviews. Describe them as their happiest customer would, then find the gaps.
Source and date everything: Competitor facts go stale fast. A fact with no source or date shouldn't reach a rep.
Strengths are real too: Admit what they do well. Reps who pretend a rival is weak get caught out in front of buyers.
Feed the battle card: The profile is research; the battle card is the one page reps use live. Build the second from the first.
The Competitor Research Template
One profile per competitor, nine sections, every fact sourced and dated. Copy it into a shared doc your whole team can read.
COMPETITOR PROFILE: [Competitor] / [Owner] / [Last reviewed]
1. WHO THEY TARGET
Segments: [industry, company size, region]
Buyer: [title they sell to]
2. POSITIONING
Homepage headline: '[exact words]' ([date captured])
Category they claim: [how they describe themselves]
3. PRICING
Model: [per seat, usage, flat, custom] + [source]
Public price points: [if listed] / [not public]
4. KEY MESSAGES
[Message 1], [Message 2], [Message 3] + [sources]
5. STRENGTHS (be honest)
[Strength] + [evidence]
6. WEAKNESSES AND GAPS
[Gap] + [evidence: reviews, docs, lost-deal notes]
7. HOW THEY SELL
Motion: [self-serve, sales-led, partner]
What they say about us: [claim] + [where heard]
8. WIN/LOSS PATTERNS
We win when: [situation]
We lose when: [situation]
9. RECENT CHANGES
[Date]: [launch, pricing change, funding, leadership] + [source]
Quote, don't paraphrase. Capture their headline and key claims word for word, with the date. When their message shifts, you'll see it, and that shift often tells you who they're chasing next.
Where to Source Each Section
Most competitor facts are public if you know where to look. This table shows the best source for each section and how often it changes.
| Section | Best sources | Refresh |
|---|---|---|
| Target and positioning | Homepage, customer stories, ads, events they sponsor | Quarterly |
| Pricing | Pricing page, public plan comparisons, what prospects share | Quarterly or on change |
| Key messages | Homepage, product pages, webinars, sales decks prospects show you | Quarterly |
| Strengths and gaps | Review sites, product docs, changelog, support forums | Quarterly |
| How they sell | Job posts for sales roles, prospect conversations | Twice a year |
| Win/loss patterns | Your CRM, win/loss interviews, rep debriefs | Monthly |
| Recent changes | Newsroom, LinkedIn, changelog, funding announcements | Ongoing |
Win/loss notes beat everything else. Public sources tell you what a competitor says. Your own deal history tells you what buyers actually believe. Five honest loss interviews are worth more than a week of browsing their website.
How to Profile a Competitor in 2 Hours
A first profile doesn't need a week. Two focused hours gets you a sourced, useful draft that you improve with every deal.
- Website and pricing (20 minutes). Capture the homepage headline, target customers and pricing model, word for word, with the date.
- Docs, changelog and integrations (25 minutes). List what the product really does today and what shipped recently.
- Review sites (25 minutes). Read recent reviews from companies like your buyers. Note complaints that repeat, not one-offs.
- Your CRM (20 minutes). Pull every deal where they showed up. Sort by won and lost, and read the notes.
- Two rep conversations (20 minutes). Ask the reps who meet them most: "What do prospects say about them, in their words?"
- Write it up (10 minutes). Fill sections 8 and 9, date the profile and share it with the team.
Stop at two hours. The gaps in your first draft show you what to ask on the next five calls where this rival comes up.
Competitor Research Template Example: Tarnwick Quote
Here's a condensed profile for a fictional competitor. Northwind sells freight quoting software and often meets Tarnwick Quote, also fictional, in mid-market deals.
COMPETITOR PROFILE: Tarnwick Quote / Sam Ortiz / reviewed October
1. WHO THEY TARGET
Segments: large brokers, 200+ staff, US
Buyer: VP Pricing or CIO
2. POSITIONING
Homepage headline: 'Enterprise pricing intelligence' (captured October)
3. PRICING
Model: annual contract, custom quote; no public price list
4. KEY MESSAGES
Market rate data, deep TMS integrations, enterprise security
5. STRENGTHS
Large market-rate dataset (their docs; confirmed by two prospects)
Mature integrations with major TMS platforms
6. WEAKNESSES AND GAPS
Setup reported as long in several reviews; needs IT involvement
Less suited to small pricing desks (our lost-deal notes, 3 of 4)
7. HOW THEY SELL
Sales-led, long evaluations, proof-of-concept common
What they say about us: 'fine for small teams' (two prospects)
8. WIN/LOSS
We win: mid-market, small pricing desk, need value fast
We lose: large brokers wanting market-rate data in one tool
9. RECENT CHANGES
Launched a 'mid-market' plan this summer (their newsroom)
Notice section 9. A new mid-market plan means Tarnwick is moving into Northwind's best segment. That one line should trigger an update to the battle card template and a heads-up to the team.
Finding Real Strengths and Weaknesses
Fair research finds real strengths, and real weaknesses come from patterns, not one angry review. Use three tests before a claim goes in the profile.
- Seen in more than one place. A weakness mentioned in reviews, in a lost-deal note and by a prospect is real. One mention is a rumor.
- Recent. A two-year-old complaint may have been fixed. Check their changelog before you repeat it.
- Relevant to your buyers. A gap that only matters to enterprise teams doesn't help you sell to mid-market.
Write strengths as a customer would. "Large market-rate dataset" is what their happiest customer says. Acknowledging it makes your reps credible when a prospect brings it up.
Spotting Which Competitor a Prospect Uses
Knowing the incumbent before the first call changes your angle. You can often find it in public before you ask.
- Job postings. "Experience with [tool] required" is the clearest tell.
- Integrations and partner pages. Some companies list the tools they connect.
- Case studies. Competitors publish their customers. Your prospect may be one.
- Review sites. Reviewers sometimes name their employer.
- Ask directly. "What are you using for quoting today?" is a normal discovery question.
Treat it as a buying signal. A competitor's renewal date or a public complaint about them can be a timely reason to reach out. Our guide to buying signals covers how to read them.
From Profile to Battle Card (and Keeping It Current)
The profile is the research; reps need a one-page summary they can scan mid-call. Build that from sections 5 to 8 and keep both in sync.
- One owner per competitor. Usually product marketing or a senior rep who meets them often.
- A quarterly review. Recheck positioning, pricing and recent changes against the sources.
- A trigger for urgent updates. Pricing changes, big launches and acquisitions get same-week updates.
- A buyer-facing version. When prospects ask for a comparison, a fair competitive comparison template is safer than a slide that trashes a rival.
Prepare for the objection, too. "We already use Tarnwick" deserves a practiced reply; our objection handling script shows the acknowledge, respond, ask pattern.
When a prospect runs a competitor, the outreach has to say why switching is worth it, for that account. Edithly's buying signals research reads the prospect's site and public signals, and when you note the competitor in Notes, the emails and call script are written around that angle using the differentiators already in your playbook.
How Edithly does it
Write competitive outreach for any prospect in three steps
Edithly keeps your differentiators and proof points in your playbook, pulled from your own website. When you know a prospect runs a competitor, add it to Notes and Edithly writes the email angles around it, with a do-not-say list.
- 1
Click the Email Outreach tile
Open Home and pick Email Outreach. Check that your differentiators and proof points in Details are current.
- 2
Add the prospect and competitor
Enter the company name and website. In Notes, add what you know, such as 'uses Tarnwick Quote today, renewal in Q1, lead with setup time'.
- 3
Generate and review the angles
Click Generate email outreach. Check each angle against your competitor profile, then copy the one you'll use into your own inbox or sequencer.
Website
Ready
- Personalization basis
- Fact + source link
- Recent move
- Hiring signal
- Do not say
- By hand
- 20 to 30 minutes per account to tailor a competitive angle
- With Edithly
- A couple of minutes per account
Frequently asked questions
What should a competitor research template include?
Target customers, positioning, pricing model, key messages, product strengths, product gaps, how they sell (and what they say about you), where you win and lose against them, and recent changes. Every fact should carry a source and a date. Keep a separate one-page battle card for live calls, built from the full profile.
How do you research competitors for sales?
Start with public sources: their website, pricing page, product docs, changelog, case studies, review sites and job postings. Then add sales-specific sources: your win and loss notes, what prospects tell you on calls, and interviews with customers who switched in either direction. Look for patterns across several sources, not single complaints.
How often should competitor research be updated?
Review the full profile quarterly, and update it whenever something big happens: a pricing change, a major launch, an acquisition or a new message on their homepage. Assign one owner per competitor, and date every fact so reps can see what's fresh. Facts older than a year should be rechecked or removed.
Is it ethical to research competitors?
Yes, when you use public and legitimately shared information: their website, reviews, public filings, what prospects choose to tell you and win/loss interviews. Don't misrepresent yourself to get demos or pricing, don't ask prospects for confidential documents, and don't use information an ex-employee is bound to keep private. Honest research is also more credible with buyers.
Can Edithly research my competitors?
Not as a standalone competitor profile. Edithly researches your prospects, not your rivals. It stores your differentiators and proof points from your website, and when you note that a prospect uses a competitor, it writes the email or call script around that angle, with objection replies in the script. Your competitor profile remains your team's work.