How to use sales battle card to boost win rates (Templates)

Claiming you’re unmatched doesn’t always seal the deal.  

What does work is pinpointing for your prospects how you outshine the competition in specific ways.  

This is where a sales battle card comes into play – a secret weapon for drawing these critical distinctions between you vs. your competitor. 

And it’s not just talking – a study by Crayon found that 71% of businesses using these cards have boosted their win rates.  

Pretty convincing, right? 

What is a sales battle card?  

Sales battle cards are visual tools that compare your product or service with competitors’ offerings, highlighting features, pricing, and advantages. 

It provides details like: 

• What makes your product special 
• In what areas you are better than your competitors 
• What are the strengths of your competitors 
• Common objection handling questions 
• Use cases and case studies 

You can call them sales enablement battle cards or cheat sheets for sales talks, ensuring salespeople have the facts they need to convince people to buy their product. 

Insight: Sales battle cards are also known as competitive battle cards, win/loss battle cards, sales battle plans, sales battle/cheat sheets, or simply battle cards.

Why are battle cards in sales important? 

Battle cards are more than just sales enablement tools and prepare reps to stand out and succeed against the competition.

According to the CI report by Crayon reveals that effective battle cards can improve win rates.

Here are sales battle cards that are beneficial for sales professionals: 

1. Gain a competitive edge

Battle cards compile crucial information about your competitors’ unique selling points and key differentiators, helping your sales reps stay informed about new features or campaigns.  

This readiness ensures they are not taken by surprise when customers mention competitors’ offerings, allowing for more effective counterarguments. 

2. Equip sales reps for customer issues

By outlining common customer pain points and how your products or services provide solutions, competitive battle cards enable a sales rep to tailor conversations to address prospects’ specific needs with well-prepared solutions. 

3. Craft winning sales pitches to win competitive deals

Having detailed information readily available allows sales reps to focus on crafting compelling pitches instead of spending time gathering data.  

This makes the pitch process more efficient and more likely to resonate with the prospect’s pain points and needs.

What are the types of battle cards the sales team can leverage? 

Here’s a broad view of the types of battle cards you can create: 

1. Competitor battle cards 

A competitor battle card contains detailed information about the sales team’s competitors, including pricing, services, solutions, customer profiles, and how the company’s offerings compare.  

They help sales reps understand the advantages of their products or services over those of the competitors. 

2. Product battle cards 

Product battle cards provide all the essential information with crucial details on what they’re selling, covering customer challenges, product benefits, and industry relevance.

Sales leaders use product battle cards to educate sales reps about their products and improve their sales pitches for communicating their unique selling proposition effectively.

3. Marketing battle cards 

A marketing battle card outlines key information about competitors’ strategies, strengths, weaknesses, and market positioning, enabling teams to craft effective marketing and sales approaches.

You can leverage types of competitive battle cards to tackle prospects throughout their sales process.

Suppose, you’re dealing with a prospective customer who is just exploring possible solutions and looking for an ideal one, a you against all competitors battle card will help sales reps understand where their product/service stands. 

It will help reps persuade their prospects that you are one of the ideal solutions and why you stand out. 

Our sales reps use Salesmate vs. multi-competitor battle cards to explain what company size, industry, business objectives, etc. we are the ideal fit or the best. 

On the contrary, a head-to-head sales battle card is best for the decision stage of the sales cycle, when a lead is choosing between you and another option. 

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Sales battle card templates for the team victory  

To streamline your sales strategy and ensure your team has a competitive edge, using a customizable sales battle cards template can be a game-changer.

Here are the 4 most used sales battle card templates for you:

1. Competitor summary battle card template – Overview 

This sales battle card template helps to compare your products to competitors, highlighting key differences like price and features.

It enables sales reps to explain why your product is better during pitches.

2. Head-to-head sales battle card template

This sales battle card template outlines factors in comparing your product directly with one competitor, showing side-by-side features and benefit differences.

It’s great for helping customers understand why your solution is the optimal choice.

3. You against all competitor battle card template

This type of sales battle card template offers a broad view of how your product stacks up against many competitors, useful for showing where you lead in the market.

It helps in discussions with potential customers looking at several options.

4. SaaS battle card template 

About 86% of leaders in software companies give their sales teams battle cards to help them sell better.

It outlines subscription benefits, key features aligning business objectives, integration ease, and other unique selling points important for selling software as a service.

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Sales battle card examples – Top businesses are using 

Battle cards help your team know the competition and show customers why your product is the best choice, making selling easier and more effective. 

1. Product comparison battle card

Hero Pay has developed a multiple-product comparison battle card to help their reps understand the value propositions of their multiple competitors.

This comparison card outlines the offerings of Square, PayPal Here, and Verifone, providing businesses with a clear comparison of POS systems across important categories like fees, equipment, and customer service.

Further, res can be used to help businesses make an informed choice when selecting a POS system.

This is one of the best examples of battle sales cards as it has a balance of visual and text elements that make the information easy to read and understand.

2. FUD battle card  

A FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) strategy in sales and marketing is a tactic used to influence perception by spreading negative but vague information about competitors.

It’s designed to create skepticism and lead potential customers to question competitors’ offerings, thus convincing them towards their products or services.

The provided image presents this strategy by highlighting potential drawbacks of not using Microsoft Teams, such as missing out on its seamless integration and advanced features, which could instill a sense of doubt about the sufficiency of alternative solutions.

3. Objection handling sales battle card template 

An objection battle card for sales helps salespeople deal with common questions or doubts customers might have. 

It lists typical concerns about the product and offers ready answers that show the product’s benefits. This tool supports sales reps to talk confidently and turn tricky questions into chances to sell.

Here is an example of objection handling battle cards for you to get an idea.

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How to create your own sales battle cards? 

Creating effective sales battle cards is a strategic process that provides your sales team with essential information to compete in the marketplace effectively.  

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to create your own sales battle cards. 

1. Define your objective and identify your audience   

Clearly state the goal of each battle card. Is it to overcome objections, highlight product benefits, or counter competitor claims? Knowing your audience helps tailor the content.  

For instance, if the card is for new hires, include foundational product knowledge and competitor insights. 

2. Choose your battle card categories   

There are certain topics according to which you must categorize your customer-facing battle cards like: 

• ROI/Value to customer 
• Cost to customer 
• Feature to customer 
• Intangible categories (customer support, adoption methods, and customization) 

Additionally, you can include categories that reflect your competitive intelligence findings, such as “competitor strengths and weaknesses,” “market positioning,” and “sales tactics.” 

3. Select your competitors 

List competitors that frequently arise in sales discussions. Utilize insights from sales and customer success teams to pinpoint the most relevant competitors. 

Determine which competitors are significant at different buyer journey stages. Some may be more relevant during initial customer research, while others might be final considerations for prospects. 

Decide on the detail level for each competitor, tailoring battle card content to showcase your strengths against theirs, especially where it counts most. 

4. Do your research to gather information 

Deeply analyze your competitors using competitive intelligence techniques. This involves examining: 

• Product offerings 
• Marketing strategies 
• Customer engagement 
• Market performance 

Engage in activities like mystery shopping, attending industry events, or analyzing competitor marketing materials to gather insights. 

Further employ tools and methods like SWOT analysis, social media monitoring, and industry conference insights to gather actionable intelligence. 

5. Compile product information  

Detail your product’s features, key benefits, and unique selling propositions, emphasizing how it addresses customer needs more effectively than competitors.  

Use scenarios or case studies that show your product in action, providing a clear narrative that sales reps can share with prospects. 

6. Outline objections and responses 

Role-play sessions with your sales team can be a great way to identify common sales objections. Document these scenarios and craft responses that not only address the concerns but also pivot back to your product’s strengths. 

7. Include social proof   

Information about the real-life success stories in your sales battle cards is helpful.

Curate testimonials, case studies, and third-party reviews that specifically support the claims made in your battle card. Ensure these pieces of social proof are directly relevant to the categories you’ve outlined. 

8. Use a battle card template   

Put your gathered vital information into a sales battle card template. If you’re creating competitive battle cards, these four templates will be easy to customize.

On the customization front clear headings, bullet points for quick reference, and visual elements like charts or icons to highlight key details. 

9. Take feedback from the sales team    

Implement a feedback loop where sales reps can suggest updates or identify areas where additional information is needed.

You can conduct regular meetings to get feedback from sales reps and the customer success team to see how prospects/customers are responding.

10. Finalize and distribute 

Improve your battle cards based on the feedback from your team and share the final copy using a format that’s easily shareable and accessible.

Cloud storage platforms like CRM, Google Drive, or a sales enablement tool can ensure that everyone has the latest version.

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How to implement sales battle cards into your strategy- Best practices 

Implementing sales battle cards into your strategy effectively involves adopting best practices that ensure these tools are utilized to their fullest potential.

You can implement these best practices for making sales battle cards effective:

1. Keep formats concise and clear 

Design your battle cards to be easily digestible. Use bullet points, headers, and tables to organize information. This helps sales reps quickly find the information they need during sales conversations. 

2. Cover essentials 

Each card should address frequently asked questions (FAQs), common objections and prepared responses, and key selling points.

This ensures sales reps are well-equipped to handle various sales scenarios confidently. 

3. Make your sales battle cards easily accessible 

In addition to storing them in a central location, consider integrating battle cards into tools your sales team uses daily, like CRM systems or mobile apps.

This reduces friction and makes it easier for reps to use the cards during sales interactions. 

4. Update content to avoid outdatedness 

Regularly review and update your battle cards to reflect the latest product updates, market trends, and competitor information.

This ensures your sales team always has the most current and relevant information at their disposal. 

Explore: What is sales collateral? 9 Kinds that’ll shower you with conversions

5. Use technologies to create competitive battle cards

Leverage sales tools like robust CRM, sales enablement software, and competitive intelligence platforms to build and update competitive battle cards and distribute and update your battle cards.

A robust CRM platform can help you build your sales strategy, manage your deals, and improve decision-making with sales reports.

7. Track usage to gauge the effectiveness 

Implement tracking to understand how frequently and in what context the battle cards are used.

This can help identify which cards are most valuable to your sales team and areas where additional resources may be needed.  

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Conclusion: Battle cards empower sales teams

A sales battle card is a simple yet powerful guide for sales reps. It helps them understand what makes their offer better than others, giving them a competitive advantage to win more deals.

These cards are key tools in the sales process, loaded with info about what customers want and how to beat competitors.

Sales managers should create competitive intelligence battle cards and include these in their sales strategy, preparing teams to win potential customers during those tough sales battles.

Also, sales leaders use them to teach their teams about making strong pitches to prospective customers.

In short, sales battle cards are essential for anyone looking to succeed in sales and beat the competition.

Frequently asked questions