What you are really comparing
Competitor comparison is not mainly about one total against another total. Two big numbers can look close while the job underneath is different.
You are comparing structure and coverage: which lines exist on each side, how the work is split, where their prices sit next to yours, and whether they are cheaper across the whole job or only on a few visible lines.
The point is to see where you are stronger, where you are softer, and what would happen to margin if you moved to match them on only part of the quote. That is the read you want in your head before you speak.
What a competitor quote can hide
A competitor quote can look cheaper for ordinary reasons that have nothing to do with you “being wrong”. The job is to notice them before you react.
Watch for:
- Missing lines or thinner scope: work you priced in that they left out or folded into a vague line.
- Different assumptions: materials grade, time on site, exclusions, or risk they are not carrying the same way you are.
- A sharp price on one headline line while the rest of the job is vague or stacked in their favour.
- Lower protection or lower specification that would cost you later if you matched their number without matching their content.
None of this says you should ignore a real price gap. It says you should read the quote properly before you treat a single figure as proof.
How to read the comparison properly
Start by asking where the real gap is. Is pressure spread across the job, or concentrated on a few lines that carry most of the customer’s attention?
Work through questions like:
- Are they cheaper everywhere that matters, or only in certain sections?
- Which of your lines are carrying the most risk if you discount?
- If you move on one line, where does the damage land on the whole quote?
- Is the right response price, or explanation of scope, or a change to how the quote is structured?
Exact on-screen layout can change between app versions, but the logic stays the same: line-by-line context beats a single headline when you are deciding what you are actually answering.
Using it in a live customer conversation
Most pressure arrives in plain language: “They are cheaper”, “Can you match?”, “What can you do on price?” The comparison exists so you know what “they” refers to before you answer.
In the room or on the phone, you want to separate three things: what the customer believes, what the competitor quote actually shows, and what you are willing to move. The tool helps you separate those things so you do not react before you understand what is really in front of you.
It helps you avoid gut-feel discounting, reacting to one line while the rest of the quote bleeds, or giving margin away without knowing which line paid for it. You still decide what to say. You just decide with the picture in front of you.
Useful internal questions sound like: what exactly am I responding to? Do I need to move at all? Where can I move safely? Where should I explain a difference instead of matching?
What to do next
After you have read the comparison, pick a path that matches what you saw. Sometimes that means a small move on a line where pressure is real. Sometimes it means holding and walking the customer through scope. Sometimes it means restructuring so the quote tells a clearer story in customer view.
Use Internal view when you need to see how a discount or change hits the live deal, not just one line in isolation. Use Deal intelligence when you want the wider read on the job. Use Customer view when you are shaping what they actually see while you keep the sharper detail internal.
If the competitor quote is not truly equivalent, say so calmly and point at the difference. If it is equivalent and you still need the work, you at least know what matching would cost before you open your mouth.