SWOT Cheat Sheet
Tis the season for QBRs, and in many cases, the slide template will include a SWOT. I’ve asked for them from most of my sales teams. So, here is a cheat sheet - a template that works for every seller or sales manager in every territory/situation. If you’re short on time, just copy and make a few revisions. It will look like 90% of the ones I’ve seen in my 30 years of QBRs.
Which begs the question - if they are almost always the same, why do we keep asking for them? My reasoning is that doing them should require critical thinking and deliver insights that would otherwise be missed. And those insights will then generate a better level of discussion and problem-solving in the QBR session.
Rather than being lazy about it, here's an approach that I can’t do for you. It requires harder thinking but is immensely valuable to you and your leadership team.
Typically, we start inside and work out - internal first, then external, and what we do great first before what we could do better
Instead, make it outside in - do the external first. And start with the negative, then the positive. Do TOWS instead of SWOT.
Think in two time horizons - 2024, and 2025 and beyond. A lot of the “MSFT enters our space” category of external things would not actually affect 2024, but would 2025+.
Focus solely on things IN YOUR CONTROL. The global economy is the water everyone is swimming in. You will be judged versus everyone else - focus on how to beat them right now.
Some starter questions:
Threats
What is specifically happening in our markets, customers, and partners that could adversely affect us?
What are likely moves by competitors that we will have to react to?
Are there any industry-specific trends we need to consider?
Opportunities
What weaknesses/gaps in competitors or our advantages can we press on in the near future?
What high-priority needs in our customers can we take advantage of?
Are there strategies to short-cut gaps in our solution or meet market needs - services to implement product functionality manually, changes in pricing/packaging, add-on services?
Weaknesses
What gaps in the sales process and customer buying experience are hurting us?
What tools, content, roles, and capabilities will increase conversion and win rates?
Where are the cross-functional interactions between sales and other departments creating friction or poor customer experience?
Strengths
What has been working, and should we do more of it? How?
Where have other parts of the company made unique contributions to success, and how can that be leveraged at scale?
By filtering the analysis through things in our control and problems before solutions, the identified opportunities and strengths are more practical and actionable.
Good selling!
