Mostsalespeople do not know what a Sales Battlecard is. But those that do know and
use them, tell us that they are a vital tool to help them sell more
effectively.
Didyou ever use flashcards when studying? You’ll remember they contained short, concise
answers to the most important information that you needed. Well, Sales
Battlecards are similar!
Nomatter if you’ve never heard of them, or you want to start to use them more
effectively as part of your sales training and development,this essential guide to Sales Battlecards will provide you with all you need to
know and get you battle ready for any sales pitch.
WhatIs a Battlecard in Sales?
Thelast thing you want is for you or a member of your team to become flustered
during a sales call or meeting! If a prospect fires a sudden, urgent question
over, you want the answer ready at your fingertips. This is where Sales Battlecards
come in…
In asfew words as possible, either on paper or onscreen, Battlecards help to
summarise all the key points of a sales pitch. They should usually include:
- Product Overview: a short summary of the purpose and key features of your product
- Target Market: who the product is ideally aimed at
- Customer Pain Points: what problems does your product solve
- Key Benefits: the added value the product will bring
- Key Features: a description of useful aspects of the product
- Competitor Comparison: why your product beats its rivals
- FAQs: answers to the most common objections/queries
- Pricing: how much will it cost and subscription information
- Specs: any other relevant technical specifications
- Conditions for Closing: support for closing a sale
DifferentBattlecards contain different categories of information. A B2B product may
require more of a corporate focus, stressing the product’s benefits for a
department, or the efficiency gains the product offers. Whereas some
Battlecards will include guidance on when to engage, or disengage from a sales
conversation, which may help less experienced sales reps make good use of their
time.
Incompetitive sectors, many Battlecards devote a lot of space to the claims of
rival brands and how these can be addressed or refuted. This is useful when
consumer objections tend to hinge on your competitors’ offerings.
Thestress given to each of these elements (product, process, competition) and
other factors, will depend on the nature of the sector, the type of pitch, and
the product.
Insummary, Battlecards make a great resource to include in your sales strategy andfor you and your teams to utilise during a pitch to improve results.
Why Are Sales Battlecards Important?
Thereare many different situations in which your Battlecards may prove helpful.
Let’sgo over a few.
Preparing A Pitch
Bothbefore and during a sales pitch, it helps to have aBattlecard ready. This is to ensure that the pitch stays on track, and you can
accurately address any questions your listener may have. Even if you don’t
refer to the card during your pitch, it can help your confidence knowing that
the information is ready at hand should you need it.
Aword of caution however, you may not want to let your potential customers see
your Battlecards. Particularly if they contain competitor price comparisons or
other information you want to know, but not to share!
Keeping Ahead Of The Competition
Regularlyrevising your Battlecards can help you address competitor moves and maintain a
competitive edge.
Forinstance, your main rival may launch a new edition of a software product while
your next edition is still in the pipeline. Your Battlecards may need to be
revised to stress how your existing product still offers superior value for
money, while potentially teasing the new edition, which subscribers will be
able to upgrade to when it is released. Helping you to deal with competition confidently.
Learning A New Product Or Market
Withcomplex products, it can be difficult to remember all the features and
specifications. A well constructed Battlecard can bullet point all the main
features, so that you can memorise them, or at least have them to hand should
you have a memory lapse.
Addressing Objections
Ifyou find there are common sales objections to your valueproposition, or to your price points, then it can be helpful to have compelling
responses prepared to address these issues. In times of economic hardship, or
in a highly competitive sector, overcoming hesitancy could form a significant
part of your pitch, so having all the answers at hand could make all the
difference.
Situation Specific Battlecards
Whenyou’re going into a pitch and specific conditions are known beforehand, then a
Battlecard can be tailored to deliver relevant information.
Forinstance, let’s imagine you’re going into a meeting where you’re aware that
your buyer currently uses a competitor’s product. Your Battlecard should
contain a comparison between the features and benefits of your product and the
rival product. Obviously this will stress favourable comparison points, but it
will also contain responses to objections, where a comparison may appear
unfavourable.
Product Comparison Battlecards
Theseare useful where there are several popular products, of which your product is
just one. You’ll want a comparison chart which shows your features and benefits
alongside your rivals.
Again,you may want to avoid sharing this type of battlecard with a client, so it may
prove more valuable when selling over the telephone or when emailingcontacts. It’s unlikely that your product will beat the competition in every
single category, so your battlecard may include responses to buyer objections,
for more unfavourable comparisons.
Asyou can see, Battlecards are all about arming yourself and your sales team for battle! They area type of ready reckoner which enables your sales team to:
- Give accurate and relevant information
- Keep track of terminology, facts and figures
- Favourably compare your product to competitors
- Address all the common buyer pain points
- Address common objections and FAQs
- Give guidance on the sales process i.e., when to walk away or close
Solong as your Battlecards are set out logically, it may be preferable, for
complex products or sales situations, to have a set of Battlecards, each
fulfilling a different function. For instance, you may have one for specs,
features, and benefits, and a second one focusing on competitors and
objections. Many physical Battlecards are two sided, for this reason.
Ifyou adopt this approach, make sure it’s obvious what information will be found
on what card, to avoid awkward silences and fumbling.
How to Make a Sales Battlecard
There’sa real art to writing a good Sales Battlecard.
Thefirst thing you’ll notice when researching Battlecards is that there are a huge
variety of different layouts and approaches to the topic. There really is no
single universal template for a Battlecard.
Thereare very good reasons for this… every sector is unique and different products
require different approaches. However, as we’ve already seen, there are some
elements that Battlecards nearly always include.
Thismeans there is at least one unified approach you can take to obtaining all the
information you need. Here’s the data you need:
- Gather product data from your product development team
- Collect relevant market research and buyer persona information
- Collate competitor analysis and highlight some key learnings
- Prepare comparison charts, setting your product against your rivals
- Talk to customer service staff to gather existing customer feedback
- Obtain current pricing or subscription data, and product specs
Bynow you’ll probably have gathered a bewildering amount of information, data,
and ideas. So here’s the challenging bit – boiling it all down to just the
essentials!
Agood tip is to use a highlighter pen, or cut and paste snippets onto a new
document, so that you’re only including the most valuable information.
Onceyou’ve done this, you’ll still probably have too much information, and
certainly it will be long winded in terms of how it’s written. So, you guessed
it, now you’ll have to finalise your content and begin to bullet point it –
remember it’s key to use as few words as possible!
Nowarrange the key points/bullets into categories – facts about the product, about
target markets, about competitors, etc. Format the information so that it’s
consistent and creates a structure and that it’s easy to find the information
at speed.
Lastly,make sure you test your Battlecards with some roleplayed sales encounters and
adjust the layout and content accordingly. You could also hold focus groups
with a sample of your salesforce, to find out the best way to shape your
Battlecards.Once you’re confident that they are performing well, you can try
the cards out on a few actual customers, before making final tweaks and rolling
them out across your whole team.
Here’s that process summarised (in Battlecard style):
- Collect all the data you’ll need
- Highlight relevant data to focus upon
- Reduce the wording of each point for clarity
- Arrange the bullet points into categories
- Format the information consistently
- Construct a Battlecard layout that makes sense
- Test the Battlecard using roleplay
- Adjust and retest the card with real customers
- Further refine your Battlecard
- Roll it out across your team
- Revise whenever something changes!
Thelast point is key. Battlecards can never be a “once and done” solution. When a
product changes, or prices increase, or a new competitor enters the field, or a
thousand potential other changes occur, you’ll need to revise your cards.
Don’trely on individual reps to amend their own cards. Instead, adjust and reissue
them. However, once they have been revised, make sure everyone is working from
the updated card.
Sales Battlecard Template Examples
Havingexplored the flow of shaping a Battlecard and its contents, let’s now have a
look at a few examples so you can grasp some of the types and designs that are
out there.
Here’sa Battlecard for corporate health insurance plan:
Savedin jimstuff
nthis example, “solution overview” gives a concise description of the product
while “requirements to meet” and “key target audience” help the sales
professional identify who they should be talking to. There’s also a brief
section on key competitors and a summary of customer benefits and pain points.
Toaid the rep with lead qualification, there’s also a section outlining the
conditions for continuing with a sale or abandoning it. Finally, on the
right-hand side, there’s a differently colour coded section for FAQs, key
figures, and other resources.
ThisBattlecard is well laid out and uses as few words as possible within each
bullet point. There’s lots of white space to help the reader locate the
information they need.
Here’san example of a competitive Battlecard, courtesy of LinkedIn:
Thefirst thing to notice here is the important warning on the top right of this
Battlecard: “for INTERNAL USE only”. This is an example of a card you do not
want to share with your buyers!
ThisBattlecard belongs to a SaaS provider called ModernDB, and compares their
product with their chief rival, BetterDB. Side one addresses some of the sales
messaging their rival has put out and offers responses to each argument. Side
two gives a handily graphic presentation of key features and how ModernDB
compares with its rival for each consideration.
Notethat under “Manageability”, the graphic icons indicate no overwhelming benefit
to the product, and under “backup and recovery” the rival product scores
better. However, this has been addressed in the “notes” column, giving the edge
back to the sales rep’s product.
Thislevel of honesty in the data presented, allows the rep to properly address
potential buyer concerns. However, it also explains why you wouldn’t want to
share this card with your potential customers.
Finally,let’s look at a different kind of competitive Battlecard template, laid out in
a more specific manner
histemplate benefits from being very clearly laid out. It digs deep into
competitor claims, strengths, and weaknesses, offering an answer to every
factor which could come up in a sales meeting.
In thetop right of this card there is a space for some positive facts and figures,
although it could be more positively framed (“benefits of buying from us”).
Thesection on ‘integrations’ is specific to SaaS products and could be replaced
with something more relevant to physical products (such as finance plans,
optional extras, or insurance packages).
Hopefullythese examples give you an idea of both the value and the variety of
Battlecards and that you can adapt it to suit you. There is no one format that
works for every company; only you will know what’s most important to your
industry, product, and marketplace. However, try and stick to the following
essential qualities if and where you can:
Have alogical flow and be easily navigated
- Contain all the relevant information and data a sales rep may need
- Address the benefits and features of the product, as well as any limitations
- Address significant competitor products, with favourable comparisons
- Offer helpful metrics and answers to FAQs
- Specify who the rep should be targeting
- Be brief, precise, and clear
- Be updated and revised regularly
InConclusion
Battlecardsare powerful tools. Whilst they may not be useful during face to face sales
meetings, they can prove invaluable for telephone or virtual meetings.
Ofcourse, a Battlecard is only as good as the accuracy of its information, so
it’s vital to keep them up to date as prices change, new products are developed
and new competitors enter the field.
Hopefully,making them a regular resource will help you and your team maintain consistency
and really shine.
If youare looking for more sales support for your teams, please contact us to discuss
any Selling Skills Training or TelesalesTraining.