What Are Sales Battlecards and How to Create Them?

What exactly are sales battlecards? And why should you care about creating them?

A recent survey by Crayon confirms that 66% of a business’ sales opportunities are competitive. 

Sales battlecards are your secret weapons to crush every sales call. They arm you with intel to engage prospects and close more deals.

In this post, we'll talk about:

• Battlecard basics - what they are and why they matter
• Types of sales battlecards
• Tips for writing killer battlecard content that converts
• Free sales battlecard templates

What is a sales battlecard?

Sales battlecards, also known as battle plan documents, are concise, one-page documents that cover all details about your offerings, customers, competitors, and more. 

A typical sales battlecard includes:

• Product/service overview: A quick summary of your offering's key features, benefits, and value proposition.
• Competitive intelligence: Information about your main competitors, including their strengths, weaknesses, and details on how your product stacks up against theirs.
• Positioning and messaging: Clear, concise messaging that effectively communicates your product's unique selling points and resonates with your target audience.
• Pricing and discounts: Up-to-date pricing information and any available discounts or promotions.
• Objection handling: Anticipated objections and concerns from potential customers, along with effective counter-arguments and defense strategies.
• Customer testimonials and case studies: Real-world examples of how your product has helped past customers succeed.

In essence, sales battlecards empower you to become more informed, data-driven, and persuasive.

Types of battlecards

There are 4 types of battlecards, each serving a tactical purpose—

• Competitor battlecards: provide intelligence on a specific competitor, highlighting their weaknesses and how your product compares favorably.
• Product battlecards: offer details on a particular product or product line’s features, benefits, and competitive edge.
• Value proposition battlecards: emphasize the unique value your products or services offer customers. 
• Objection handling battlecards: include pre-made responses to frequently faced sales objections.

How to create a sales battlecard?

Developing a sales battlecard requires thoughtful planning and preparation. Here are the five main steps you must follow to create a sales battlecard:

• Identify goals and target audience
• Gather information and resources
• Choose the right format and template
• Develop the content
• Get feedback and iterate

Identify goals and target audience

The most crucial foundation when creating a sales battlecard is identifying its purpose and intended usage. 

Carefully examine which specific sales scenarios, prospect profiles, and business objectives require this battlecard. For example, should the battlecard aim to counter pricing pressure from a key competitor during enterprise contract negotiations, or does it need to showcase unique product capabilities in the closing stages of complex deals?

With clear intent established upfront, you can easily customize the messaging and content of the battlecard.

Gather information and resources

Next, gather the necessary information to create a credible and persuasive battlecard. 

Conduct thorough research to identify your main competitors’ strengths, weaknesses, and pricing. Analyze this data against your internal win/loss reports, customer feedback, and sales rep insights. This will reveal where you differentiate and provide value drivers to reinforce with buyers. 

Additionally, collect compelling evidence around your product features and customer case studies that consolidate the benefits. 

Also, address the frequent customer objections so your battlecard can preemptively counter those concerns. 

Choose the right format and template

The battlecard’s design directly impacts its utility for sales teams. Prioritize skimmable, compelling presentation.

Evaluate what information must be presented and how your audience prefers consuming it.  Based on this, explore different battlecard templates available online and select the best format. 

You can also optimize its appeal through charts, graphics, and ample white space.

Develop the content

Once you fix the design, move on to develop the content for your sales battlecard.

Focusing on your target audience, tailor your key messages and value propositions. You can use bullet points, charts, and visuals to make information digestible. Also, include a concise competitor comparison, highlighting your product's advantages, possible objections, and counter-arguments.

Once done, proofread carefully to ensure its clarity and accuracy.

Get feedback and iterate

Finally, share the draft of the battlecard with your sales and marketing teams and product experts for feedback. You can then incorporate their suggestions and refine the content for clarity and effectiveness.

You can also test the battlecard with a small group of sales reps before a wider rollout.

Sales battlecard templates

Here are 3 ready-to-use battlecard templates:

1. A battlecard to showcase how you win against a key competitor.

2. A battlecard comparing the key features of your product/service with that of your competitors.

3. A battlecard to compare your product/service with multiple competitors.

Create sales battlecards faster with Fireflies.ai

Sales battlecards empower you with all the information needed for productive customer conversations. The key to developing an effective battlecard is gathering the right information and presenting it clearly and concisely.

This is where AI-powered solutions like Fireflies come in handy. 

Fireflies automatically captures and summarizes your internal strategy meetings, allowing you to extract key discussion points around competitive positioning, pricing, value props, and common objections. Once you've compiled this vital intel, select one of the battlecard templates provided in this article and input the information. 

With insightful battlecards powered by Fireflies, you can stand out against competitors and ultimately close more deals.

Up next, learn how to create the perfect sales playbook. Read: