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These insights come from our webinar Winning When It’s Crowded, where Brian LaManna, Enterprise AE at Gong, joined Rory Sadler, CEO at trumpet, to discuss how to stand out in crowded enterprise deals. Watch the full webinar here.
The smartest way to compete is to compliment honestly
When competition comes up in enterprise deals, most sellers tense up.
In our latest trumpet webinar: How to Stand Out When Enterprise Deals Get Crowded with Rory Sadler (CEO of trumpet) and Brian LaManna (AE at Gong) , Brian discusses how he does something different. He compliments the competitor 0 strategically and truthfully. If he knows a competing platform is powerful but requires heavy time investment, he’ll say exactly that:
“Acme is a tremendous solution. If you have 30 hours a week to dedicate to it, you’ll see great results. They’re incredibly strong in X, Y, Z.”
The key is that it has to be true.
Reverse positioning only works when it’s grounded in reality. Credibility matters more than cleverness.
Context is everything
In Brian’s example, he knows the buyer is a lean digital marketing team with only a few hours a week to dedicate to SEO. By highlighting the competitor’s strength in a way that doesn’t align with that constraint, he allows the buyer to connect the dots themselves.
He’s not attacking. He’s clarifying.
Instead of saying “we’re better,” he reframes the evaluation around fit.
Invite transparency
Brian stresses that competition is the right moment to ask stronger questions:
What is absolutely most important to you in this decision?
Where do we need to excel?
What are you willing to compromise on?
When buyers put their criteria on the table, the conversation shifts from feature comparison to alignment.
Competing without trash-talking builds trust.
Competing without understanding criteria builds noise.
The smartest sellers win by being honest and aligned, not louder.
FAQ
Should you ever praise a competitor?
Yes, if it’s honest and relevant. Credibility builds trust, especially in competitive deals.
What is reverse positioning?
It’s highlighting a competitor’s strengths in a way that clarifies whether those strengths match the buyer’s actual constraints.
When should you ask about decision criteria?
As soon as competitors enter the conversation. It’s the right time to clarify what truly matters.
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See what your buyers are doing between meetings
Build a Pod, share it with the buying committee and watch the signals roll in. Free to start.
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