?? Salesforce adds 1,000 reps to challenge Microsoft

TODAY'S MENU

?? Salesforce adds 1,000 reps to challenge Microsoft

?? Lessons from ButterDocs competitive messaging

???New episodes: We're Not Marketers, C&C Pod,

??? More news & jobs

WHAT’S BREWING

Salesforce to Hire 1,000 New Reps as Benioff Escalates Microsoft AI Rivalry

Salesforce just announced plans to hire 1,000 new salespeople dedicated to pushing Agentforce, their AI agent technology.

The aggressive expansion comes as CEO Marc Benioff continues to publicly spar with Microsoft over AI dominance in the enterprise space.

The Bigger Story

We’re watching an intense game of corporate chess between two enterprise software giants, and the moves keep getting bolder.?

Here’s how the rivalry has escalated:

• Microsoft launches Copilot, which Benioff dismisses as a “glorified Clippy“
• Salesforce debuts Agentforce with a bold vision of 1 billion users by 2025
• Microsoft quickly counters by unveiling 10 new AI agents for enterprise tasks, showcasing Fortune 500 adoption
• Benioff immediately takes to X, saying Microsoft is in “panic mode”
• Salesforce announces its 1,000-person sales team expansion

Why Should You Care

First, watching how these rivals approach category definition and go-to-market strategy is fascinating. While Microsoft lead its annoucement with enterprise proof points and ROI focus, Salesforce is betting on aggressive competitor criticism, bold branding, and a biting tagline (“what AI was meant to be”).?

Second, Salesforce is breaking from its 25-year seat-based pricing model in favor of usage-based billing – a shift PMMs should find interesting. Kyle Poyer’s did a great breakdown on this here.

TODAY’S CUP OF WISDOM

What PMMs Can Learn From ButterDocs Competitive Messaging

For this week’s cup of wisdom, we’re turning our attention to ButterDocs – a startup that’s challenging Google Docs, and writing some seriously sharp website copy. Let’s unpack what they’re doing right.

Hard-Hitting Homepage

Their homepage leads with “The Google Docs Replacement for Writers Who Care” – not alternative, not competitor, but replacement.

That’s some spicy positioning that immediately tells you:

• Who it’s for (serious writers)
• What it replaces (Google Docs)
• The implicit problem (Google Docs doesn’t support writers who care about their work)

Smart Segmentation

Each buyer type is stated clearly and given their own colored button that leads to a dedicated URL on the site. No messy homepage trying to be everything to everyone – just clean, strategic segmentation.

A Comparison Table with a Punch

The heart of their positioning lives in their comparison table. They structure it as Google Docs problems vs ButterDocs solutions:

• Documents that get messier as you go → Distraction-free writing environment
• Breaking focus from writing to grab research → See your research and outline as you write

Each comparison tells a story about real writer pain points and how ButterDocs solves them.

Small Details, Big Impact

They own the “Google Docs alternative” narrative at every touchpoint – from search keywords to browser tab copy:

• Heavy bidding on “google docs alternative” keywords
• Browser tab reads “The Google Docs Replacement”
• SEO title tags emphasize the replacement angle

Why This All Works?

ButterDocs isn’t just building another doc editor. They’re making a clear statement: Google Docs is for everyone. ButterDocs is for writers who care

WEBINAR BY KLUE

How to Turn Lost Deals into Future Wins with 360° Win-Loss

More than half of all sellers are completely or partially incorrect about the reason they lose a deal. And that’s why we launched?360° Win-Loss – to help you capture and analyze objective feedback from your buyers to reveal the truth behind every deal.

Join us on Wednesday, November 20th?at 10:00 am PT/1:00 pm ET to get a first glimpse of Klue’s new 360° Win-Loss in action.

In this product showcase, we will:

• Discuss the evolution of Win-Loss
• Take a deep dive into the product, including core capabilities and workflows
• Show how Hollis Kool, PMM from Writer, is using 360° Win-Loss to get a complete view of their buyers

Sign up here ??

RESERVE YOUR SPOT

FROM THE NETWORK

New Episodes: Power (Half) Hour, C&C Pod

Coffee & Compete Pod | When a Rebrand BACKFIRES & Running Win-Loss Committee Meetings

The crew breaks down Beehiiv’s aggressive rip-and-replace campaign… and Hunter shares his first experience at a Win-Loss committee meeting.

Power Half Hour | Framing the Market for Your Buyer

Jon Itkin and Clara Smythe join forces to talk all things competitive positioning.?

We’re Not Marketers | The True Role of PMMs with Rahim Kaba

Hosts Zach, Gab, and Eric are joined by Rahim Kaba, Director and Research Analyst at Gartner, to dive into the evolving role of PMM in B2B SaaS.

UPCOMING LIVE Power (Half) Hour | How to Drive Action With Win-Loss Insights

Register for our next Power (Half) Hour on Friday, Dec 6, at 9:30 AM PST, where Hunter Sones will share a proven framework for distributing win-loss insights across your team.?

BONUS

?? Did You Miss the Biggest Compete Event of the Year?

Couldn’t make it to Compete Week 2024? No worries – you can now access (almost) every keynote and slide deck through our community.

This includes sessions like:

• Emma Stratton‘s keynote on crafting buyer-centric messaging?
• Anthony Pierri‘s masterclass on how to position in crowded markets
• Jason Smith‘s talk on the competitive blindspot costing companies millions
• Plus 14 other keynotes!

Get instant access to all recordings now ??

WATCH NOW

COMMUNITY

Shape the Future of Our Community!

??Calling all compete pros and PMMs?? We want to hear from you!

Tell us how the Compete Network Community can better support your professional growth in 2025 by answering our 2 min survey.?

Share your feedback by November 29 to receive a limited-edition Coffee & Compete mug + coffee bean

TAKE SURVEY

SIPS N' CLICKS

Other Compete News

Sour Patch Kids, Nutter Butter battle for Gen Alpha attention with increasingly bizarre social media strategies.

Apple’s M4 chip flexes its muscles in weightlifting-themed ad narrated by Johnny Weir

WordPress founder escalates bitter trademark war with WP Engine, blocks rival’s access to core platform.

Print-on-demand rivals Printful and Printify merge amid tough market conditions.

Compete Jobs

Senior Product Marketing Manager @ Unbounce

Sales Enablement Manager @ VIBE.CO

Product Marketing Manager @ Rippling

Director of Product Marketing @ Digibee

Craving more compete action?

Join?The Compete Network community.

• Connect with 5,000+ other product marketers and GTM leaders
• Binge hours of on-demand content
• Keep sharpening your compete skills

?Also, don’t forget to share this newsletter with a friend in need.

P.S. — all typos are intentional. It’s how we make sure your paying attention.?

?

?Stay caffeinated.

– Niko