A common sales challenge is showing a prospect how your offering stacks up against the competition and why you’re the better option. But to effectively position yourself as the only solution for their business needs, you have to do your homework. Who is the competition? What are your strengths and weaknesses, and how do they compare to the rest of the industry? Do you have competitive pricing plans? What features do you have that set you apart from other companies in the same space? These are all questions you can answer in a strategic sales battlecard.
What are sales battlecards?
Sales battlecards compare your company’s offering, benefits, and pricing to the competition’s in a visual, more digestible way. Sales teams can leverage them to compete in the market and win more deals. An effective sales battlecard will have key information about a company’s product or service— like features that address a prospect’s pain points— and competitive advantages compared to one or more competitors. These tools empower sales representatives with the knowledge and tactics to navigate the sales process, tackle customer challenges, and close deals successfully.
Because sales battlecards force you to keep your finger on the pulse of the competitive landscape, it can help sales teams stay informed about the market, enable powerful positioning of their offerings, and provide a competitive edge during sales interactions. By leveraging battlecards, sales teams can align on their product's strengths and weaknesses compared to competitors, and tailor their approach to increase their chances of closing more deals.
How can a sales battlecard help sales teams win more deals?
A sales battlecard is a valuable sales tool that prepares teams for meetings with decision-makers by providing them with background information on competitors and helping them craft impactful sales strategies. But can a sales battlecard actually help teams win more deals? Here are five ways sales battlecards help sales teams be more effective with their efforts.
Competitive knowledge
A battlecard provides detailed information about competitors, including their products, pricing, strengths, weaknesses, and unique selling points. Having this knowledge helps empower sales teams to tailor their approach and highlight their own strengths in comparison to competitors, increasing their chances of persuading the buyer.
Value messaging
Creating a battlecard presentation encourages teams to articulate the value proposition of their product or service clearly and effectively. It forces teams to think through meaningful talking points, customer success stories, and differentiators that position their offering as the best choice for prospects. In designing the battlecards, sales teams are trained how to communicate the unique value they bring, addressing customer pain points and building credibility.
Objection handling
Sales battlecards often include common objections that sales teams may encounter during the sales cycle. They provide strategies and talking points to address these objections confidently and overcome any lingering doubts from prospects. When a sales rep can squash or counter objections without hesitation, it instills trust and confidence in the prospect that their offering is the right fit for the needs of their business.
Sales enablement
Battlecards are an essential part of sales enablement, ensuring that sales teams have the resources they need to sell effectively. They serve as a quick reference guide for sales reps, providing them with critical information, competitive insights, and effective messaging to win deals. When sales teams are equipped with the tools they need, they are more prepared to nail customer interactions.
Continuous improvement
There’s always room to grow and improve, and while sales battlecards outline a company’s strengths, they also point out weaknesses. As the company scales and expands their offering, sales teams can use that as an opportunity to refine their sales battlecard. By keeping the battlecards up-to-date, sales teams stay in the know with the latest competitive insights and industry trends, giving them a competitive edge in the market.
What are best practices for designing a sales battlecard?
A sales battlecard sounds like a no-brainer for sales teams. However, like any presentation, design matters. A sales battlecard should be professional, on-brand, and straightforward. Each slide should have one obvious key point so that the audience can digest the information quickly and easily.
How can sales teams create winning sales battlecards without getting bogged down with the design details? The answer is simple: start with a template.
Beautiful.ai’s customizable sales battlecard template has everything you need to pit yourself against the competition and describe how you solve the customers’ pain points in a way the competition can’t. Tailoring this template to your own sales battlecard presentation is easy, and gives you a starting point to craft your own story. Whether you need to outline price comparisons or demonstrate how your software is the best solution to their problem, you can craft a sales battlecard in half the time by starting with a pre-built template. A successful sales battlecard presentation will help sales teams close deals more efficiently, without taking too much time away from other crucial meetings or projects.
