Battlecard template, with a filled example
A one page battlecard template to copy: why we win, why we lose, landmines, objection handling and proof points, plus a filled example and battlecard examples.
This battlecard template fits on one screen, because one screen is all a salesperson reads before a call. It has seven short sections: when you will meet the competitor, why we win, why we lose, landmines, objection handling, proof points and quick facts.
Copy the blank version, then use the filled example to see the standard. For the reasoning behind the format, who should write it and what to leave out, read how to write a competitor battlecard. This page is the copyable part.
The battlecard template
Plain text, so it pastes anywhere: a doc, a slide, a pinned chat message.
BATTLECARD: [Competitor]
Updated: [date] Owner: [name]
WHEN YOU WILL MEET THEM
[deal size, buyer, trigger]
WHY WE WIN
1. [claim] Proof: [link]
2. [claim] Proof: [link]
3. [claim] Proof: [link]
WHY WE LOSE
1. [honest reason]
2. [honest reason]
Walk away if: [condition]
LANDMINES (questions to ask)
1. [question]
2. [question]
3. [question]
OBJECTION HANDLING
They say: "[their line]"
You say: "[your answer]"
(three of these)
PROOF POINTS
[customer, result, link]
[customer, result, link]
QUICK FACTS
Price: [tiers] Checked: [date]
Contract: [terms]
Recent change: [what, when]
How to fill each section
| Section | What good looks like | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| When you will meet them | One sentence describing the deal: size, buyer, trigger | Deals in your CRM where the competitor is named |
| Why we win | Three reasons, one sentence each, each with proof | Won deal notes, win-loss interviews |
| Why we lose | Two or three honest reasons, plus when to walk away | Lost deal notes, sellers |
| Landmines | Questions that expose a weakness without naming the rival | Their reviews, the fine print on their pricing page |
| Objection handling | Their exact line, and your answer as a sentence you would say aloud | Sellers and lost prospects |
| Proof points | A named customer or a number, with a link | Case studies, reviews |
| Quick facts | Price, contract terms and the latest change, each dated | Their pricing page, terms, changelog |
The "why we lose" section is the one teams leave out and the one sellers value most. It tells them which deals to stop chasing, and no seller is ever caught off guard by a weakness that is already written down.
A filled battlecard example
Say you sell a hypothetical expense management app to companies with 20 to 200 staff at $8 per user a month. The competitor, call it BigSuite, is a hypothetical finance platform that sells expenses as an add-on to its accounting software. Every fact below is invented to show the standard.
Battlecard: BigSuite · Updated 4 October 2026 · Owner: Sales enablement lead
When you will meet them. Finance-led evaluations at companies of 100 to 200 staff, usually when the finance director already runs BigSuite for accounting and has been offered expenses as an add-on.
Why we win.
- Live in a week. Our median setup is six days; BigSuite's own implementation page quotes 8 to 12 weeks.
- Staff actually use it. 4.8 stars in the app stores against BigSuite's 3.9, and receipt capture is one photo.
- A price you can see. $8 per user, monthly. BigSuite is quote only with a 12 month minimum.
Why we lose.
- The buyer wants one vendor for all of finance. We are not that, and should not pretend to be.
- Consolidation across many legal entities and currencies, where BigSuite is genuinely stronger.
Walk away if the company has more than five legal entities, or the finance director says "single vendor" twice.
Landmines.
- "How long did your last finance system take to go live?"
- "What share of expenses come in after month end today?"
- "Is expenses priced as a separate line in your current contract?"
Objection handling.
- They say: "Expenses is basically free if you're already on BigSuite." You say: "Worth checking the order form. Ask them for the expenses line item and the minimum term, then compare the two numbers side by side."
- They say: "A separate tool is another integration to maintain." You say: "It syncs both ways with BigSuite's ledger. I can put you in touch with a customer who runs exactly that setup."
- They say: "They're small. Will they be around in five years?" You say: "Fair question. Your data exports in full at any time, so you are never stuck. Want to see the export?"
Proof points. A 140-person logistics firm moved its expenses off BigSuite and cut month-end close from nine days to four (case study). 4.8 stars from 1,200 app store reviews.
Quick facts. BigSuite pricing: quote only, 12 month minimum. Checked 4 October 2026. Recent change: launched a mobile receipt app in August, per its changelog.
That card answers the three things a seller needs before the call: should I be in this deal, what do I say, and what do I ask.
Landmines: the section most battlecards get wrong
A landmine is a question that makes the buyer notice the competitor's weakness for themselves. Done badly, it is an attack with a question mark on the end, and buyers can tell.
| Weak landmine | Why it fails | Strong version |
|---|---|---|
| "Did you know BigSuite takes 12 weeks to implement?" | It is a claim about the rival, so the buyer discounts it | "How long did your last finance system take to go live?" |
| "Do you want a tool your staff will actually use?" | Everyone says yes | "What share of expenses come in late today?" |
| "Are you worried about hidden costs?" | Too vague to land | "Is expenses priced as a separate line in your contract?" |
Every strong landmine rests on a fact you can verify: their implementation page, their pricing fine print, a complaint that repeats in their reviews. Mining competitor reviews is the fastest way to find them.
Battlecard examples for four common situations
The template stays the same. What goes in it changes with the kind of competitor.
Against the market leader. "Why we lose" is longer, and that is fine. Win on focus, speed and attention. The best landmine is about time to value, because big platforms are rarely fast.
Against the cheap option. Do not fight on price. Make the landmines about limits and what happens when the customer outgrows the plan, and make the proof points about outcomes rather than features.
Against doing nothing. The competitor is the spreadsheet, the inbox or the old way. You will meet it in every deal. "Why we win" must put a cost on the current pain, and the strongest landmine asks what happened the last time it went wrong.
Against the incumbent you are replacing. The main objection is switching cost. Lead the proof points with migrations you have done, and put the incumbent's renewal terms in quick facts so the seller knows when the window opens. If sellers also need a fuller side-by-side, keep it in a competitive matrix and link to it from the card rather than pasting it in.
Keeping the card current
Date it, give it one owner, and update it on triggers rather than only on a schedule: the competitor changes price, launches something, or the same new objection comes up twice in a fortnight. Quick facts and proof points go stale first.
Figo watches each competitor's pricing page, new pages, ads and reviews every week and sends a Monday summary, which tells you when the quick facts on a card are out of date. Ours, so judge accordingly. It does not build or distribute battlecards. If you need cards maintained inside your sales tools for a large team, that is what enablement platforms like Klue and Crayon are built for.
Questions people ask
Where should battlecards live?
Wherever sellers already are a minute before a call, usually a pinned page in the team's chat tool or a linked doc in the CRM. A battlecard in a portal nobody opens is a document, not a tool.
How many battlecards do I need?
One per competitor that shows up in at least one deal in ten, plus one for doing nothing if buyers often stay with what they have. Most teams need three to five, not twenty.
What is a landmine question in sales?
A question a seller asks that leads the buyer to discover a competitor's weakness for themselves, without the seller criticising the competitor. It works because buyers trust their own conclusions more than a vendor's claims.
Can I make a battlecard in Google Docs or PowerPoint?
Yes. The template on this page is plain text, so it pastes into Google Docs, Word, Notion, PowerPoint or a pinned chat message. Keep it to one screen whatever the tool.
See it on your own competitors
Figo checks their ads, pages, rankings and reviews every week, then tells you what to do in plain words. Set up in two minutes.
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