# Sales Battlecard Template

**COMPETITOR:** [Name]
**Last updated:** [YYYY-MM-DD] | **Owner:** [Name]
**Win rate vs this competitor:** [X]% | **Deals tracked:** [N]

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## 30-Second Summary
[Who they are. Who they target. Why they win. What they're known for. 3-4 sentences max.]

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## Their Strengths
*Know these. Don't dismiss them. Prospects have already heard their pitch.*

- **[Strength]:** [What customers genuinely love; source if available]
- **[Strength]:** [Specific capability or trait]
- **[Strength]:** [Brand, market position, or ecosystem advantage]

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## Their Real Weaknesses
*From win/loss data only — not wishful thinking.*

- **[Weakness]:** "[Customer quote]" — seen in [N] deals
- **[Weakness]:** [Documented limitation with evidence]
- **[Weakness]:** [Implementation, support, or pricing issue]

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## Our Differentiated Advantages
*Must be real and provable. Each needs a proof point.*

- **[Advantage]:** [Proof: metric / customer quote / case study]
- **[Advantage]:** [Proof]
- **[Advantage]:** [Proof]

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## Common Objections + Responses

**"They have [feature X] and you don't."**
> [Acknowledge. Reframe to your strength. Redirect to outcome.
> "You're right that they have X. What we've found is that customers who care most about X tend to also care about [Y], where we're significantly stronger. Can I show you [specific example]?"]

**"They're cheaper."**
> [Don't fight on price. Reframe to TCO or ROI.
> "They are lower in initial cost. Most customers find the total cost over 12 months is actually comparable when you factor in [implementation time / support costs / integrations]. Want to walk through that?"]

**"They've been around longer / they're more established."**
> [Reframe tenure as potential liability or irrelevance.
> "Their longevity means they have a lot of technical debt and a big customer base that pulls their roadmap in every direction. Our customers tell us that's exactly why they chose us — we move faster and we're laser-focused on [their specific use case]."]

**"[Competitor] is already used by [big customer they respect]."**
> [Name-drop your wins in their segment.
> "We work with [comparable logo]. Want me to connect you with their [role] to ask how they made the decision?"]

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## Trap-Setting Questions
*Ask early in discovery to establish criteria that favor you.*

- "How important is [your key differentiator] to your workflow?"
- "What happens when [their known limitation] occurs? Has that been an issue before?"
- "How long does your team typically take to onboard a new tool?"
- "Who manages the integration work — do you have dedicated engineering resources for that?"
- "What does your current vendor do when you need support?"

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## When We Win
- [Scenario or segment where we consistently beat them]
- [Use case that plays to our strengths]
- [Buyer profile that prefers us]

## When We Lose (Be Honest)
- [Scenario where they genuinely win — don't fight here]
- [Segment where their strengths matter more than ours]

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## Do NOT Say
- ❌ Don't claim [X] — it's not accurate and they'll check
- ❌ Don't attack [Y] — it backfires and makes us look insecure
- ❌ Don't say "we're better" without specifics — be concrete

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## Recent Intel
*Last 90 days only. Older than 90 days: archive.*

- [Date]: [What happened — funding, product launch, pricing change, key hire]
- [Date]: [Customer feedback from win/loss interview]
- [Date]: [Any notable market move]

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*Battlecards are only useful if current. If this is >90 days old, flag to [owner] for update.*
