SWOT Analysis
Strategic position assessment for sales intelligence
The SWOT Analysis provides a comprehensive view of the company’s strategic position, helping you understand their competitive advantages, vulnerabilities, growth potential, and external challenges.
PG:AI’s SWOT Analysis is derived from available sources based on company type:
- Public Companies: Annual reports, SEC filings, analyst assessments, earnings calls, investor presentations, and web data
- Private Companies: Company websites, news articles, press releases, industry reports, job postings, and publicly available web content
- All Companies: Market research, competitive intelligence, industry analysis, and technology signals
Understanding SWOT Components
Internal capabilities that provide competitive advantage
Common strength categories:
- Market Position: Brand recognition, market share, customer loyalty
- Financial: Strong balance sheet, cash generation, profitability
- Operational: Efficiency, scale, quality, supply chain
- Technology: IP, platforms, digital capabilities, data assets
- People: Talent, culture, leadership, expertise
- Strategic: Partnerships, ecosystem, geographic presence
Internal capabilities that provide competitive advantage
Common strength categories:
- Market Position: Brand recognition, market share, customer loyalty
- Financial: Strong balance sheet, cash generation, profitability
- Operational: Efficiency, scale, quality, supply chain
- Technology: IP, platforms, digital capabilities, data assets
- People: Talent, culture, leadership, expertise
- Strategic: Partnerships, ecosystem, geographic presence
Internal limitations that hinder performance
Common weakness categories:
- Legacy Constraints: Outdated systems, technical debt, processes
- Financial: High debt, poor margins, limited resources
- Market Gaps: Product portfolio holes, geographic limitations
- Organizational: Silos, bureaucracy, slow decision-making
- Capability Gaps: Missing skills, technology, infrastructure
- Competitive: Loss of differentiation, pricing pressure
External factors that could drive growth
Common opportunity categories:
- Market Trends: New customer needs, behavior shifts
- Technology: Emerging tech enabling new solutions
- Geographic: Untapped markets, expansion potential
- M&A: Acquisition targets, consolidation plays
- Regulatory: Policy changes creating advantages
- Partnerships: Ecosystem development, strategic alliances
External factors that could impact negatively
Common threat categories:
- Competition: New entrants, aggressive competitors
- Disruption: Technology or business model threats
- Market: Demand shifts, customer churn risk
- Economic: Recession, inflation, currency risks
- Regulatory: Compliance costs, restrictions
- Operational: Supply chain, cybersecurity, climate
Using SWOT in Sales
Strategic Sales Positioning
Leverage Strengths
Align your solution to amplify their existing advantages
Address Weaknesses
Position as solving acknowledged limitations
Enable Opportunities
Show how you help capture growth potential
Mitigate Threats
Present your solution as risk reduction
SWOT-Based Messaging Framework
SWOT Analysis in Action
Discovery Questions from SWOT
Generate powerful discovery questions based on each element:
From Strengths:
- “How are you leveraging your [specific strength] to drive growth?”
- “What would enable you to extend your advantage in [strength area]?”
From Weaknesses:
- “How is [specific weakness] impacting your ability to compete?”
- “What’s your strategy for addressing [weakness area]?”
From Opportunities:
- “How are you positioned to capture [specific opportunity]?”
- “What capabilities do you need to pursue [opportunity]?”
From Threats:
- “How concerned are you about [specific threat]?”
- “What’s your mitigation plan for [threat area]?”
Business Case Development
Identify Critical Elements
Find 2-3 SWOT elements most relevant to your solution
Quantify Impact
Research financial impact of weaknesses or opportunity size
Build Narrative
Create story connecting SWOT elements to your value
Provide Evidence
Use case studies of similar SWOT situations
Advanced SWOT Applications
Competitive Differentiation
Use SWOT to position against competitors:
- Vs. Incumbents: Focus on weaknesses incumbents can’t address
- Vs. New Entrants: Emphasize how you reinforce existing strengths
- Vs. Alternatives: Show unique ability to capture specific opportunities
Stakeholder Alignment
Different stakeholders care about different SWOT elements:
- Focus on strategic opportunities and competitive threats
- Emphasize market position and growth potential
- Connect to investor concerns and board priorities
- Focus on strategic opportunities and competitive threats
- Emphasize market position and growth potential
- Connect to investor concerns and board priorities
- Highlight cost reduction for weakness areas
- Quantify opportunity capture potential
- Show risk mitigation value
- Address operational weaknesses
- Enable efficiency strengths
- Mitigate execution threats
- Solve technical debt weaknesses
- Enable digital opportunities
- Address security threats
Account Planning Integration
SWOT Analysis should be central to your account strategy, informing everything from messaging to solution positioning to relationship building priorities.
SWOT Evolution Tracking
Monitoring Changes
SWOT elements evolve over time:
- Strengths can erode without investment
- Weaknesses may be addressed through initiatives
- Opportunities have expiration dates
- Threats can materialize or dissipate
Update Triggers
Watch for these events that change SWOT dynamics:
- Leadership changes bringing new perspectives
- M&A activity altering capabilities
- Market shifts changing competitive position
- Technology developments enabling new approaches
- Regulatory changes creating opportunities/threats
Best Practices
Never directly tell a prospect about their weaknesses. Instead, ask discovery questions that help them articulate these challenges themselves.
- Be Diplomatic: Frame weaknesses as “areas for improvement” or “opportunities”
- Use Their Words: Reference weaknesses using their own terminology from reports
- Focus on External: Opportunities and threats are safer conversation starters
- Provide Hope: Always pair problems with potential solutions
- Stay Current: SWOT elements can change quickly - verify before using
- Think Holistically: Consider how SWOT elements interact and compound
SWOT Quick Reference
A snapshot for easy access:
- Top 3 Strengths: Core advantages to reinforce
- Critical Weaknesses: Must-address limitations
- Biggest Opportunities: Highest-potential growth areas
- Looming Threats: Urgent risks requiring action