CS: the defense play
Read this first
One of your customers is talking to a competitor. You found out while you can still do something about it, which is the whole point.
Check the account first, then run a check-in. Not a confrontation. The goal is to get them to tell you what's wrong before the renewal conversation starts.
The one rule
Never mention the competitor, and never hint that you know. This is a customer who trusts you. "We noticed you've been talking to [competitor]" turns a relationship into a surveillance problem, and you'll never get an honest answer out of them again.
Use it to decide who to call this week. Never say it out loud.
Step 1: read the account before you reach out
Ten minutes of homework changes what you say. Look at:
- Usage trends. Flat or declining, and since when?
- Who’s still logging in. Did your champion stop?
- Last meaningful conversation. Not a support ticket. A real one.
- Time since the last QBR, and whether anything you promised in it actually happened.
- Open tickets, especially anything that’s been dragging.
- Renewal date. How much runway do you have?
Step 2: read the combination
The signal on its own doesn’t tell you how worried to be. The signal plus account health does.
| What you’re seeing | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Quiet or declining usage + competitor activity | Genuine churn risk. They’re shopping because something isn’t working. | Treat as a save. Move this week, and loop your manager in now rather than later. |
| Healthy usage + competitor activity | Probably diligence, a board ask, or procurement doing its job. Still worth a touch. | Normal check-in. Don’t panic, don’t ignore it. |
| Champion recently left or changed roles + competitor activity | The relationship is being rebuilt by someone with no loyalty to you. | Get in front of the new person fast. Assume nothing carries over. |
Step 3: the check-in
Book it like a normal touchpoint, because that’s what it needs to look like.
Booking it
"Hey [Name], it's been a while since we properly caught up. Free for 20 minutes this week or next? Want to hear how [the thing they're using you for] is actually going, and make sure you're getting what you need out of it."
No agenda doc, no "urgent". Anything that looks like an escalation makes them close ranks.
Once you’re in the room, your job is to make it safe for them to complain. Most customers won’t volunteer dissatisfaction to the person who’d be embarrassed by it. You have to ask for it directly and mean it.
The question that actually works
"Straight question: is this doing what you hoped it would? If anything isn't working the way you want, I'd genuinely rather hear it now so we can fix it head-on. I'd much rather have the awkward conversation than find out at renewal."
Then be quiet. The pause is uncomfortable and that's what makes it work. Don't fill it.
If you get “yeah, all good” and you don’t believe it, go more specific. Vague questions get vague answers.
If they're being polite
"What's the one thing you'd change about it if you could? And if [their leadership] asked you today whether this was worth renewing, what would you say?"
The second question is the one that gets the real answer. It lets them tell you someone else's doubts instead of owning them.
If they bring up the competitor themselves
Fine. They raised it, not you. Don’t get defensive and don’t confirm you knew.
Say this
"Makes sense to look around, honestly. What's got your attention about them? Good to know. Where we'd normally hold up better is [where you win]. But more useful to me is what's making you look in the first place."
Get them off the competitor and back onto the gap. The gap is the thing you can actually fix.
Step 4: if something is wrong, it’s a save motion now
Don’t sit on it. The moment real dissatisfaction surfaces:
- Say it back to them so they know you heard it. “So the real issue is [X], and it’s been going on since [when].”
- Escalate internally the same day. Your manager, and whoever owns the fix.
- Come back with a plan and a date, not an apology. Customers forgive problems. They don’t forgive drift.
- Put leadership on it if the account or the relationship warrants it. An exec showing up matters more than another discount.
- Set the follow-up before you leave the call. An unscheduled fix plan is a fix plan that dies.
| Don't | Do |
|---|---|
| Mention the competitor or the signal | Ask open questions and listen |
| Lead with a discount | Fix the actual problem first |
| Make it feel like an escalation | Book it as a normal catch-up |
| Accept "all good" when you don't buy it | Ask the renewal question |
| Wait for the renewal to raise it | Move this week |
Related: Who works what