That deal? We lost it. Not because our product was inferior. Not because of price. We lost because when it mattered most, our rep didn’t have the competitive intelligence he needed at his fingertips.
After more than a decade in B2B sales, I saw the same painful pattern repeat: talented reps losing winnable deals — not because of price or product, but because they froze when a competitor came up.
That’s why I built Playwise HQ.
1. I Was Tired of Watching Great Reps Lose Deals They Should Have Won
Picture this: You’ve invested months nurturing a prospect. Your solution perfectly addresses their pain points. The budget is approved. Everyone’s excited about moving forward.
Then a competitor gets mentioned, and suddenly your star salesperson sounds like they’re reading from a script for the first time.
“I’ve seen too many deals slip away in those crucial moments,” reflects Paul Towers, founder of Playwise HQ. “The most frustrating part wasn’t losing to a better product—it was losing because our team didn’t have the right information when the prospect needed it most.”
The numbers tell a sobering story. 68% of sales opportunities are competitive, yet most sales teams enter these battles essentially unarmed. They rely on outdated PowerPoints, fragmented tribal knowledge, or worse—they wing it entirely.
Every lost deal represented more than just missed revenue. It demoralized teams. It reinforced the dangerous belief that selling is about luck rather than preparation.
2. Critical Intel Was Always Buried Where No One Could Find It
The intelligence existed. That was the maddening part.
Somewhere in our Slack channels, a customer success manager had shared insights about why we lost to a specific competitor. Buried in a shared drive, product marketing had created detailed competitive analysis. Hidden in email threads, our best reps had documented objection-handling techniques that consistently worked.
The intel they needed was buried in Slack, locked in static docs, or simply didn’t exist.
“We had this incredible collective intelligence about our competitive landscape,” says Towers. “The problem was accessibility. When you’re on a live call with a prospect and they ask about Competitor Y’s new feature, you can’t pause the conversation to dig through months of Slack history.”
The disconnect was staggering:
- Enablement teams spent weeks creating competitive battlecards that sales teams never used
- Top performers hoarded competitive insights instead of sharing them
- Critical intelligence lived in formats that were impossible to access during live selling situations
- By the time information reached the sales floor, competitive landscapes had already shifted
This wasn’t just inefficiency—it was strategic negligence. Companies were investing heavily in competitive intelligence while their frontline teams remained completely disconnected from these insights.
3. The Battlecard Problem Was Industry-Wide (And Getting Worse)
The deeper I researched, the more I realized this wasn’t just our problem. The entire industry was struggling with the same fundamental issues.
A large number of professionals struggle with keeping battle cards updated, according to research from leading sales enablement experts. Even when companies invested in competitive intelligence, very few had a program to insure that aligned with what their sales team actually needed.
This revealed a massive gap between intelligence gathering and intelligence application.
“I started talking to other sales leaders, and everyone had the same stories,” Towers recalls. “Expensive competitive intelligence platforms that only the marketing team used. Battlecards that were outdated before they were distributed. Sales reps creating their own informal cheat sheets because the official resources were too complex or irrelevant.”
The traditional approach was fundamentally broken:
- Creation was too slow: Building comprehensive battlecards took weeks or months
- Distribution was ineffective: Static documents couldn’t adapt to dynamic conversations
- Updates were impossible: By the time new intelligence was incorporated, competitive landscapes had shifted again
- Adoption was terrible: Complex, lengthy documents didn’t match the fast-paced reality of modern selling
4. I’d Built Solutions Before – This Problem Hit Different
As a serial entrepreneur with companies like Task Pigeon and Oqire under my belt, I understood the mechanics of building software that teams actually adopt. I’d seen plenty of “solutions” that looked impressive in demos while gathering dust in real-world environments.
This problem felt different. Personal.
“When I was building previous companies, I was solving interesting market opportunities,” explains Towers. “With Playwise HQ, I was solving a problem that had cost me personally—deals I’d lost, team members I’d seen struggle, revenue that slipped away because of information gaps.”
My background as a 6x entrepreneur with expertise in business, marketing, and product development gave me a unique perspective on the solution requirements:
- Simplicity over comprehensiveness: Sales reps needed quick answers, not academic research
- Real-time accessibility: Information had to be available during live conversations
- Continuous updates: Competitive intelligence couldn’t be a quarterly exercise
- Actual adoption: The solution had to integrate seamlessly into existing sales workflows
The entrepreneurial experience taught me that the best solutions don’t just solve problems—they solve problems so elegantly that users can’t imagine working without them.
5. The “I Didn’t Know” Moments Were Costing Teams Everything
Every sales leader has heard these phrases more times than they care to count:
“I didn’t know they had launched that feature.” “I need to check with our product team.” “Let me circle back with more information.” “I wasn’t aware of that capability.”
Each phrase represents a missed opportunity. A moment where competitive intelligence could have shifted the conversation in your favor.
Eliminate the “I didn’t know” moments that lose deals became more than just a product feature—it became a mission.
“The ripple effects go far beyond individual deals,” notes Towers. “When reps consistently find themselves unprepared for competitive questions, it erodes their confidence. They start avoiding competitive deals altogether. Top performers leave for companies where they feel more supported. The entire sales culture suffers.”
The business impact was quantifiable:
- Longer sales cycles: Competitive confusion extended decision timelines
- Lower win rates: Unprepared teams lost deals they should have captured
- Reduced deal sizes: Lack of differentiation led to price-based competition
- Higher turnover: Frustrated reps sought environments where they felt more equipped to succeed
6. Real-Time Intelligence Couldn’t Wait for Weekly Sales Meetings
Traditional competitive intelligence operated on outdated rhythms. Monthly updates. Quarterly strategy sessions. Annual competitive reviews.
Meanwhile, competitors were launching features, adjusting pricing, and shifting messaging daily.
“The half-life of competitive intelligence keeps shrinking,” observes Towers. “By the time information made its way through traditional enablement channels, competitive realities had already changed. We needed intelligence that moved at the speed of actual business.”
The vision became clear: Live Sales Intel – Capture and scale rep insights straight from the field so every rep knows how to win — not just your top 5%.
This required a fundamental shift in thinking:
- From periodic to continuous: Intelligence gathering couldn’t be a scheduled activity
- From centralized to distributed: Every customer-facing team member could contribute insights
- From static to dynamic: Information had to adapt to evolving competitive landscapes
- From complex to accessible: Intelligence had to be consumable during live selling situations
7. I Knew AI Could Finally Make This Vision Reality
The technology landscape had finally evolved to support the solution I envisioned. Artificial intelligence wasn’t just a buzzword—it was a practical tool for transforming competitive chaos into actionable intelligence.
AI and real-time sales intel to build battlecards that actually get used — from first call to closed deal represented more than technological capability. It represented possibility.
“For years, we’d been trying to solve this problem with human-powered processes,” explains Towers. “AI changed everything. Suddenly, we could generate professional-grade competitive intelligence in minutes instead of weeks. We could keep information current automatically. We could personalize insights for specific selling situations.”
The AI advantage was multifaceted:
- Speed: Generate comprehensive competitor profiles instantly
- Accuracy: Process vast amounts of competitive data without human error
- Personalization: Adapt insights for specific prospects and selling scenarios
- Scalability: Serve unlimited users without proportional resource increases
Most importantly, AI could bridge the gap between competitive intelligence and competitive enablement. Information could be both comprehensive and consumable.
Building the Tool I Wish I’d Had
Looking back on my B2B sales career, I can count dozens of deals we should have won. Prospects who chose competitors not because of superior products, pricing, or service—they chose competitors because those sales teams had better competitive intelligence at crucial moments.
Sales teams deserve better tools to compete — fast, reliable, and built for live deal execution.
Playwise HQ isn’t just another sales enablement platform. It’s the solution to a problem that frustrated me for over a decade. It’s designed for the salesperson who’s tired of losing winnable deals. For the sales leader who knows their team has the best product if they could just communicate it effectively. For the company that’s investing in competitive intelligence while watching deals slip away due to information gaps.
The mission remains simple: Turn competitive chaos into sales clarity — built in minutes, not weeks.
Every feature reflects lessons learned from real competitive situations. Every interface decision prioritizes accessibility during high-pressure selling moments. Every update incorporates feedback from sales teams who understand the difference between having information and having the right information at the right time.
“I built Playwise HQ because I was tired of watching great salespeople lose deals they should have won,” concludes Towers. “If you’ve ever experienced that frustration—if you’ve ever lost a competitive deal because your team didn’t have the right intelligence at the crucial moment—you understand why this solution had to exist.”
The competitive landscape will continue evolving. New players will emerge. Existing competitors will launch new features. Pricing strategies will shift.
Sales teams equipped with real-time competitive intelligence will adapt and win. Teams relying on outdated battlecards and tribal knowledge will continue losing deals they should capture.
The choice is clear. The solution is here.
If you’ve ever lost a deal because your team didn’t have the right competitive intelligence at the right moment, you understand why I built Playwise HQ. Let’s make sure it never happens again.
