Discover the 9 essential Sales Battlecards every sales team needs, with examples and tips on using ChatGPT to gather the information you'll need.
As more and more brands and products scramble for attention, sales leaders and product marketing managers are eager to equip their teams with the right tools to gain any possible advantage. One of those must-have sales enablement tools is the sales Battlecard.
Battlecards are powerful playbooks that guide a salesperson through even the trickiest of sales processes, helping them successfully position your brand, counter objections, and outshine the competition.
But we're guessing you'd never settle for the bare minimum with just ONE kind of Battlecard. So, let’s dig into the power of diversifying your arsenal with 9 essential Sales Battlecards, complete with real-life examples to help your sales team tackle any challenge head-on.
We’ve also provided ChatGPT prompts (look for the 🤖) to make the initial creation quick and painless. Just remember that ChatGPT data collection stopped in September 2021, so some information may be outdated or just plain wrong. Always double check important insights.
Especially when you use AI to generate your first draft, resist the temptation to copy, paste, and move on. AI should be your assistant, not your replacement.
Useful for call prep as well as a reference for sales calls, the competitor Battlecard is the OG of Battlecards and as the name suggests, you’ll want one for each of your competitors (and one for yourself).
Competitor Overview - company name, logo, and description
🤖 "Can you give me a brief company overview for <competitor> ? I'd like to see :
Pricing and Packaging
🤖 What should a sales rep working at <my brand> know about <competitor> pricing to win more deals?
Materials - resources we use against this client - could be sales decks, integration guides as well as sales resources they might use
🤖 What are the top resources to sell <competitor>?
Product overview
🤖 What should a sales rep working at <my product> should know about <competitor> product features and functionality to win more deals?
Feature comparison
🤖 Can you create a product comparison table for <competitor> vs. <my brand>?
Positioning
🤖 Can you tell me briefly how <competitor> positions itself in the market?
Why we lose/strengths
🤖 As part of a sales Battlecard, what are the 5 main strengths that <competitor> has vs <my brand>?
Why we win/Weaknesses
🤖 As part of a sales Battlecard, what are the 5 main weaknesses that <competitor> has vs <my brand>?
Objections
🤖 Write the 6 main objections a sales rep working at <my brand> will have to face when discussing with potential customers who are considering <competitor>, also write the responses and make sure they are short, concise, and sound natural.
Kill Shots
🤖 Write 5 kill shots a sales rep working at <my brand> can use to win more deals from <competitor> leveraging <competitor> weaknesses and <my brand> strengths, be short, concise, and direct.
Reviews
🤖 What are some of <competitor> customer reviews? Overall what do their customers like and dislike about the product?
Landmines
🤖 Write 3 landmines a sales rep working at <my brand> can use during a demo to increase the chances win a deal vs <competitor>, be subtle but aggressive against <competitor>, and don't mention <competitor>.
There’s much more you could include, but this is a good place to start, and it’s important to find that balance between creating an all-in-one reference and building something that is so complicated that no one will want to use it.
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Never be caught off guard by common objections! This one is a must for call prep, but it's also handy for when you’re on a call.
Common Objections and How to overcome them
🤖 Write the 6 main objections a sales rep working at <my brand> will have to face when discussing with potential customers who are considering <competitor>, also write the responses and make sure they are short, concise, and sound natural.
That’s it! This information could be included on Battlecards, but when you’re on a call, you’ll be glad for this targeted playbook! Typically, you’ll only need one of these rather than one for every competitor. Though if you have several distinct products, you might want one for each of them.
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This is the one that you’ll want to have pulled up during calls so you never hang up only to think - “Ahhhh! I forgot to mention (insert key message here)!”
You can think of it as a roadmap for the conversation. You may take a detour here or there to answer an objection or feature question, but this will be your guide.
Elevator pitch - a 30-second description of your product or service
🤖 Please write a 30-second elevator pitch for <your brand>
Unique selling propositions - your most important feature or benefit differentiators
🤖 What are the unique selling propositions for <my company or URL>?
Customer pain points and how your product addresses each
🤖 What pain points lead someone to want to start using a <your product type>? and how does <my brand or product> address each one?
Value proposition - what is the value to your customer? Cost savings? Efficiency? Be specific.
🤖 What is the value of <my brand> for their customers?
Success stories and case studies - examples of customers who have benefited from your product or service, including specific results. What you’ll include in a Battlecard will be a condensed version with just a few bullet points.
🤖 Can you condense this case study into a few compelling sound bytes? Here is the text: <paste text of the full case study>
Product features
🤖 What are the key product features of <my brand>?
Frequently asked questions
🤖 What are some frequently asked questions about <my brand> and the answers to those questions?
Calls-to-action - what you want your prospect to do after the call and what you will do
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While this is likely covered in your competitor Battlecards, you may wish to have a dedicated Battlecard comparing features across all competitors as prospects often have questions about this.
Feature Comparison Chart
🤖 Can you create a product comparison table for <competitor> vs. <my product>?
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You likely encounter specific opportunities and challenges when engaging with certain industries.
Medical, financial, or governmental prospects will naturally have different concerns than pet supply companies, for example. If you frequently encounter industry-specific questions, concerns, or needs, consider making industry-specific Battlecards.
Specific pain points and needs - based on research and your conversations with the prospect
🤖 What pain points lead <company type> to want to start using a <your product type> and how does <my brand or product> address each one?
Unique selling proposition: USPs that are particularly relevant to the needs of this industry.
🤖 My product is <your brand>. What should I include as a unique selling proposition for a <prospect company industry> company?
Success Stories and Testimonials
🤖 Can you condense this case study into a few compelling sound bytes? Here is the text: <paste text of the full case study>
Key features and benefits most relevant to this prospect.
🤖 My product is <your brand>. What are the key features and benefits of <your brand> for a <your prospect’s industry>?
Objections & Reframes
🤖 Write the 3 main objections a sales rep working at <my brand> will have to face when discussing with <prospect name> who are considering <competitor>, also write the responses and make sure they are short, concise, and sound natural.
Pricing and Packaging - Prepare for pricing questions by anticipating the plan they might need and line up any discounts in advance.
Next Steps and Call to Action - what you want your prospect to do after the call and what you will do.
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Think of it as your morning briefing, your coffee companion, the thought leadership/industry news Battlecard can be completely automated with competitive intelligence software and will help you stay up to date on current events in your niche.
If you’re still collecting intelligence manually, you can use a Google News alert or similar service to get industry news via email and then add it to a Battlecard for distribution.
What to include in your Industry News Battlecard:
🤖 ChatGPT prompt to help you identify sources to track:
What are some news sources I should monitor for industry news about <my product category>?
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When preparing for a call during which you plan to offer your existing customer any kind of upsell, the Upsell/ABM (account-based marketing) Battlecard will be your guide.
Their current activity and how that supports the case for an upsell. Example: “We noticed you tend to send a lot of one-off emails. Our email automation upgrade can likely save you X hours per week.”
Upsell offer: Provide a clear and compelling offer for the customer to upgrade or expand their use of your product, including details on pricing, features, and benefits.
🤖 I'm trying to convince a current <my brand> customer to upgrade their plan to include email automation. I think it could save them about <X> hours per week. What are some features and benefits I should highlight?
Objection handling: Anticipate potential objections that the customer may have and provide concise and convincing responses to address them.
🤖 I'm trying to convince a current <my brand> customer to upgrade their plan to include email automation. What are 3 objections I might face and how can I overcome each?
Call to action: Clearly communicate the next steps for the customer to take to move forward with the upsell offer.
If you have a wide variety of products to sell, or your products span several distinct lines, you’ll likely encounter different competitors, objections, and questions for each. You’ll also have specific messaging and positioning and maybe even a sales team for each. A Battlecard for a product or line of products can make your call prep so much easier.
The structure is identical to the Competitor Battlecard, but we’ll be creating a resource specific to one product or product line.
Competitor Overview - company name, logo, and description
🤖 "Can you give me a brief company overview for <competitor> ? I'd like to see
Pricing and packaging
🤖 What should a sales rep working at <my brand> know about <competitor> <product line or product name> pricing to win more deals?
Materials - resources we use against this client - could be sales decks, integration guides as well as sales resources they might use
🤖 What are the top resources to sell <competitor> <product line or product name>?
Product overview
🤖 What should a sales rep working at <my product> should know about <competitor>’s <product line or product name> product features and functionality to win more deals?
Feature comparison
🤖 Can you create a product comparison table for <competitor>’s <product line or product name> vs. <my brand>’s <product line or product name>? Note: Try including proprietary names for these products, if applicable (example: Salesforce’s Service Cloud vs. HubSpot’s Service Hub).
Positioning
🤖 Can you tell me briefly how <competitor> positions its <product line or product name> product in the market?
Why we lose/strengths
🤖 As part of a sales Battlecard, what are the 5 main strengths that <competitor>’s <product line or product name> product has vs <my brand>’s <product line or product name> ?
Why we win/Weaknesses
🤖 As part of a sales Battlecard, what are the 5 main weaknesses that <competitor>’s <product line or product name> product has vs <my brand>’s <product line or product name> ?
Objections
🤖 Write the 6 main objections a sales rep working at <my brand> will have to face when discussing with potential customers who are considering <competitor>’s <product line or product name> product and write the responses and make sure they are short, concise, and sound natural
Kill Shots
🤖 Write 5 kill shots a sales rep working at <my brand> can use to win more deals from leveraging <competitor>’s <product line or product name> product weaknesses and <my brand>’s <product line or product name> product strengths, be short, concise, and direct
Reviews
🤖 What are some of <competitor>’s <product line or product name> customer reviews? Overall what do their customers like and dislike about the product?
Landmines
🤖 Write 3 landmines a sales rep selling <my brand>’s <product line or product name> can use during a demo to increase the chances win a deal vs <competitor>’s <product line or product name>, be subtle but aggressive against <competitor>’s <product line or product name, and don't mention <competitor>.
As with the original Competitor Battlecard, include only as much information as you need - you want to guide and support your sales team - not overwhelm them.
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Have a call coming up with a high-dollar prospect? Spend a little extra time and create a Battlecard for your conversation.
Prospect overview - basic information about the prospect including
Specific pain points and needs - based on research and your conversations with the prospect
🤖 What pain points lead <prospect brand or company type> to want to start using a <your product type>? and how does <my brand or product> address each one?
Competitive landscape - which other solutions might your prospect consider? Highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each compared with your product.
🤖 My company is <name>. What other competitors might a <prospect industry> like <prospect company> consider when looking for a CRM?
🤖 Follow-up ChatGPT prompt: Can you share the strengths and weaknesses of each of these competitors when compared with <my brand>?
Unique selling proposition: USPs that are particularly relevant to the needs of this prospect.
🤖 My product is <your brand>. What should I include as a unique selling proposition for a <prospect company industry> like <prospect name>?
Success Stories and Testimonials
🤖 Can you condense this case study into a few compelling sound bytes? Here is the text: <paste text of the full case study>
Key features and benefits most relevant to this prospect.
🤖 My product is <your brand>. What are the key features and benefits of <your brand> for a <your prospect’s industry> like <prospect name>?
Objections
🤖 Write the 3 main objections a sales rep working at <my product> will have to face when discussing with <prospect name> who are considering <competitor>, also write the responses and make sure they are short, concise, and sound natural.
Pricing and Packaging: Prepare for pricing questions by anticipating the plan they might need and line up any discounts in advance.
Next Steps and Call to Action - what you want your prospect to do after the call and what you will do.
Equipping your team with every chance to close winnable deals is a huge step in securing a competitive advantage. Which Battlecards will you add to your arsenal?
But, markets change, competitors adapt, and your sales team needs help to maintain that competitive edge.
Outdated Battlecards can lead to missed opportunities, while well-maintained Battlecards can be a decisive factor in closing a deal.
This is where Kompyte comes in. With real-time competitive intelligence and sales enablement features, Kompyte enables you to maintain accurate, relevant, effective Battlecards that are easily accessible in the sales tools your team already uses. 🏆
Don't let outdated Battlecards hamper your sales success. Experience the power of Kompyte and stay ahead of the competition by signing up for a demo today. With a well-equipped and well-informed sales team, there's no limit to what you can achieve.
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