analyzing-competitorslisted

# Analyzing Competitors Run a Black Hat competitive assessment: figure out who else will bid, how each of them will bid, and what to do about it. The core technique is perspective — stop thinking about the team's own proposal and instead bid the job *as each competitor would*. A competitive assessment that only lists competitors and their revenue is a directory. A Black Hat predicts their offers. ## When to use this skill Use this skill during capture, once an opportunity is being pursued, to assess the competitive field. It supports the bid/no-bid decision, the price-to-win analysis, and (most importantly) the win strategy, which needs to know what it is differentiating *against*. Re-run it as intelligence improves, especially after a draft RFP clarifies scope and after customer engagement sharpens the read on the incumbent. This skill does not set the team's win themes (`developing-win-strategy`) or estimate the price target (`estimating-price-to-win`) — but both depend on it, so run this first. ## Inputs **Preferred upstream artifacts:** - `00-opportunity-profile.md`: the opportunity facts, including any known incumbent and competitors. - `02-capture-plan.md`: customer intelligence that informs how competitors are positioned with this customer. **Without them**, run the intake below. Read `../../shared/glossary.md` and `../../shared/pursuit-workspace.md` if not already read this session. Read `references/competitive-intelligence-ethics.md` before gathering any