Competitive Battlecards: The Key To Winning More Deals
Competitive battlecards give your sales team the edge they need to beat their competition.
According to Crayon, 47% of sales opportunities are now competitive.
With a rise in competitors entering your sales deals, it’s’ essential to understanding what sets your product apart and how you can be most effective against their competitors.
Communicating a clear strategy effectively will help you win more deals. But what do you include in a competitive battlecard? And where can you uncover all this information about your biggest rivals?
This blog post will give you a crash course on competitive battlecards so you can start using them in your sales process today. Stay ahead of the curve and learn the tactics and tools to win every sales deal.
What is a competitive battlecard?
A competitive battlecard is a resource sales teams use to understand what makes their company different from the competition. It outlines how they can be most effective when selling against a specific competitor.
For example, if you’re’ selling Apple iPhones, you should have a Samsung competitive battlecard that outlines vital information you need to win a customer against them.
Typically, sales teams will have multiple competitive battlecards for each competitor.
They provide analysis of the competitive landscape and help sales teams prepare for and win competitive deals. By providing an overview of each competitor, battle cards enable sales reps to develop strategies that will give them the edge.
As a result, competitive battlecards are a valuable tool for sales teams looking to win competitive deals.
A well-crafted competitive battlecard spells out your competitor’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It also provides information on how you plan to tackle those areas head-on.
Here are several main benefits that sales battlecards can provide:
- Increase win rate: 93% of businesses using battlecards see an over 20% win rate increase. With new competitors emerging in the market, battlecards give your sales team an up-to-date and accurate view of the competitive landcape. By empowering your sales reps with this information, they can increase their win rates.
- Reduce customer churn: an unhappy customer can detract and switch to a competitor. To avoid this threat, customer success and account managers can better prepare themselves. With the information, you can navigate complex renewals that involve competitors.
- Differentiate product offering: when prospects evaluate multiple competitors, they focus on functionality and services. You can reposition your product by understanding the key differences between you and your competitors. Additionally, those insights can help your product team build a much more unique product offering.
With this data at your fingertips, you can confidently sell against any competitor – no matter who they may be.
How to create effective competitive battlecards that win
Any business that wants to succeed needs to have a competitive edge. Battlecards are one way to gain an advantage over the competition.
Competitive intelligence software such as Crayon or Klue can help you create sales battlecards. But you don’t need to invest in technology just yet. You can quickly build your own with all of the information you need.
To create effective competitive battlecards, you must put yourself in your sales team’s shoes.
For example, imagine your sales rep is in a product demo call, and they’re caught off-guard by a prospect asking how your product compares against a competitor. Your sales rep will be caught without an answer and disrupt the demo flow.
Let’s say they are prepared with a competitive battlecard before the call. When a question about a competitor comes up, they are much more confident tackling those questions or objections.
Sales reps want to win and need resources to improve their prospect conversations. When sales reps can address their prospects’ objections, they can increase their success rate to 64%
Include information about why you win and your competitors lose in specific deals. Identify how your competitor positions its product and top-selling features.
Here’s an example:
This involves researching your competitors, asking your sales team about their experience,e and reviewing industry reports. If you’re’ tracking competitive deals in a CRM, use relevant data points.
By following these tips, you can create effective battlecards that will give you a competitive edge and help you win over customers.
What content should you put in a competitive battlecard?
If you’re creating a competitive battlecard, there are specific key pieces of information that you’ll want to include.
For example, include an overview of your competitor’s business, including their size, market share, and revenue. Understanding their competitive landscape, customer base, and pricing strategy are helpful.
Additionally, you should be aware of recent news or developments that could impact the competition.
Your competitive battlecards should cover the following:
- Company value proposition
- Product and pricing information
- Objection handling steps
- Competitive product comparison
- Competitive strengths and weaknesses
- Recent wins
- Competitive intelligence
- Sales landmine questions
- FAQs
It may seem like they include a lot of information. Effective competitive battlecards have concise, pithy information and are easy to digest.
Make it visually appealing by using elements to improve readability:
- Clear headers and sections
- Bullet points
- Short and concise soundbites
- Use images when applicable
With all of this valuable intel in your battle card, you’ll be able to develop a comprehensive view of your competitor and how they stack up against your own company.
Where do you get competitive intelligence for battle cards?
There are a few different sources of competitive intelligence that you can use for your battle cards.
Public information: If they are a public company, you can look through filings such as annual reports, investor presentations, and Form 10-Ks. These documents will inform you about their growth plans, challenges, and strategic focus for the year. You can also use Owler or Crunchbase to gather information if they are a private company.
Industry Analysts: You can also search for analyst reports,s such as Gartner or Forrester, that can provide detailed information on your competitors. For example, Gartner publishes a Magic Quadrant report for each market segment. At the same time,e same time, Forrester releases their Wave report in the same style.
Review Websites: Look through G2 or Trustradius to read through customer reviews about their product. This is a wealth of knowledge on what their customers like but dislike about their product.
Company Website: One of the best places to find information about your competitor is their website. Review their product or services page to see if they’ve added new features and functionality. If they have a pricing page, compare your offering to see the price difference.
Sales Team: One of the most important sources of information is your sales team. They are in the field daily and can uncover insights into competitive intelligence that you can document. For example, they are more likely to share information if they have built a strong rapport with a prospect.
Using a mix of these different sources, you can develop a well-rounded view of your competitor and how they might impact your business.
Here are additional sources to gather competitive intel:
- Win/loss analysis
- Ask sales reps
- Channel partners
- Industry analyst report
- Customer review websites
- Industry forums
7 tips for when creating a sales battlecard
A competitive sales battlecard is a tool that can be used in various competitive situations, from cold calls to product demos.
Here are seven tips for using battlecards effectively.
1. Know your sales team
They should be tailored to your sales team. Before creating your battlecards, take some time to sit with your sales team and understand where they fall short in deals and what they need the most help with.
2. Make it accessible
Battlecards should be created in advance and should be easy to access during the heat of competition. Make sure you educate your sales team on where they can find them.
3. Keep it brief
The key to an effective battlecard is to ensure that it is concise and to the point. No one wants to read a long and complex document, so make sure it is straightforward.
4. Use data and statistics
Back up your claims with hard data and statistics. This will help build trust and show you what you’re talking about.
5. Highlight your unique selling points
What makes your product or service unique? Make sure this is clear on your battlecard, as this will help you win business.
6. Make it visual
People are more likely to remember information if presented in a visual format. Use graphics, clear headers, and colors to make them stand out.
7. Keep it simple
Don’t try to cram too much information onto your battlecards. Stick to the essentials and focus on what will be most beneficial to your team.
By following these tips, you can ensure that they give you the competitive edge you need to win.
How to track the success of your battlecards
If you’re looking to track the success of your battlecards, there are a few key metrics you can focus on.
First, look at the number of sales reps that have used the battlecards. This will give you an idea of your overall adoption rate amongst the team. In an ideal world, every sales rep uses these resources,s but this may not be the case.
If your sales team isn’t’ adopting them, here’s what you can do:
- Make it easily accessible.
- Train everyone on how and when to use them.
- Showcase how your top sales reps are using them.
- Make it a collaborative effort and ask for their feedback.
If your team is actively using battlecards, then you want to track usage in deals. Check the win rate on sales reps’ deals using competitive intel. Although it’s’ not a direct correlation, it’ll lead you better understand if battlecards can win a deal.
How often should you update competitive battlecards?
There isn’t a hard rule on when or how frequently you should update competitive battlecards. It depends on your market and how quickly product development occurs.
The majority of the information on your competitive battlecards will remain. However, any new product innovation, features, announcements, or news should be updated when it is essential for winning deals. Sales reps that hear new information about competitors should also directly provide information.
Ensure you are at least reviewing your competitive battlecards monthly. Even if there aren’t any significant updates, you still want to ensure the information is up-to-date and accurate.
Final thoughts
Competitive battlecards are important for sales teams looking to win deals.
By understanding how to create and when to use them, you can beat your competitors and close more sales.
We hope these tips will give you a head start on creating competitive battlecards. And don’t forget to track the success of your battlecards! Make sure you have a way to measure how well they’re working so you can continue improving this valuable sales tool.
