How to Make Winning Battlecards and Score More Deals

Sales battlecards can be a valuable tool for reps navigating a competitive sales environment. Read on to learn how to create winning battlecards that help you score more deals. 

What are sales battlecards, and why are they useful?

A sales battlecard is a short but informative compilation of relevant information on your service or product and the context that surrounds it, such as punchy facts about your clients, useful data on competitors, selling tactics, and background on the overall market. The purpose of the battlecard is to arm sales reps with succinct, ready-to-access knowledge to effectively persuade prospects and answer any queries they may have. Sales battlecards are not only important to prepare individual reps, but also to standardise information transfers at the team level. They help you make sure that prospects are not citing contradictory statistics, but rather have correct and fairly homogenous materials at their disposal. Battlecards also give reps a better awareness of the position of their organization relative to the competition and provide guidance on how to sell most strategically. The stronger your cards are, the more confident your reps will be knocking down the competition in conversations with prospects.

Enlist the help of your entire team

The first step in creating better battlecards is to enlist the help of different teams in your company. Who in your organization could provide valuable insights for your battlecards? Departments outside of Sales such as Marketing, Customer Service, and Products will have complementary contributions. So reach out to collect a wide range of ideas and incorporate various perspectives into your sales battlecards to make sure you’re covered on all fronts. 

Keep an eye on the big picture

As you continue on your sales journey, your north star for creating effective sales battlecards will be what information would make you feel ready to convince the buyer to choose your product over another similar offering. Remember, your sales battlecards are there to help you distinguish yourself from the competition and constructively respond to any objections. 

Include these key elements

There are five categories you should consider when deciding what information to add onto your sales battlecards. 

1. Product highlights

It’s a useful exercise to stop and reflect on what the most noteworthy features of your product or service are when creating your battlecards. What information is absolutely essential to include? This is where the input of the other departments will be particularly useful. Gather data on customer experience to highlight aspects of your product or service that future clients will be excited to hear about. 

2. Breakdown of competition 

Sales battlecards should include at least a high-level summary of the competition, such as where they are based, customers, size, site, partners, and markets or regions targeted. In addition, battlecards should emphasize the advantages of your organization relative to competitors. Don’t attempt to disparage the competition, but rather look for data that speaks for itself and frames your organization’s offerings as the clearly superior option. For example, dissatisfied customer service reviews can go a long way in informing prospects about the potential disadvantages of working with the competition. 

3. Company basics and market context

What is the size of your market? What recent developments in your market should sales reps be aware of? How does demand for your product or service compare to other offerings? Include all the information necessary to understand your organziation’s place within the wider market, and use language on your battlecard that lets your company culture shine through. 

4. Persuasive narratives

While having strong figures on your side is a great advantage, facts left out of context will fall flat and fail to persuade. On your battlecards, be sure to add color to your statistics by including references to stories of successful deals and important clients. Also be sure to include a few short bullets on your battlecards explaining why your organization was able to beat competitors on certain large deals, and why other deals failed to materialize. Sales reps will appreciate having such advice on pivotal wins and warnings on why certain opportunities were lost. Battlecards can thus serve as useful reminders, but key lessons must be internalized during sales training sessions. Attention can help ramp up your new hires and close more deals. Using AI technology to provide live feedback, Attention can help close gaps in training and ensure sales reps are prepared to perform at the levels needed to succeed in a competitive market.

5. Responses to potential objections

Do you feel prepared to respond to common sales objections? Battlecards are a great way to help sales reps be prepared to address difficult questions and valid concerns brought up during calls. So when creating your sales battlecards, be sure to draft concise but powerful counters to objections commonly brought up by prospects. Be creative and consider how to best advocate on your organization’s behalf. Include hints on how to successfully steer the conversation in a more favorable direction should the prospect bring up your company’s disadvantages. If your organization and the competition have too much in common, be prepared to differentiate your product by bringing attention to additional features unique to your company or mention other advantages the client may not be aware of.

Stay organized and up-to-date

Now that you have crafted the best possible battlecards for your team, save battlecards in accessible locations to make it simple for sales reps to find them quickly. Track their use among team members to see whether or not they are helping sales reps close more deals. If usage is low, consider simplifying battlecards to make them easier to reference during fast-paced calls. Also, be sure to update battlecards as needed with the newest information available. After all, sharing outdated or inaccurate facts will make you lose credibility with clients.

Sales battlecards help sales reps focus on what’s important during stressful calls. To stay competitive in a crowded market, your team will need to be prepared to tackle difficult questions and project confidence throughout the sales process. Attention helps sales reps develop the sales reflexes they need to stay cool under pressure. Don’t let the competition get ahead and try Attention today.