---
name: competitive-battlecard
description: "Use this skill when reps need a one-page battlecard to win against a specific competitor: \"make a battlecard for X\", \"how do we beat X\", \"competitive talk track\", \"what to say when they mention X\". Produces a rep-ready card with when you win and lose, quick positioning, the top differentiators with proof, landmine questions, objection responses, pricing notes and traps to avoid, written to be used live on a call."
license: MIT
metadata:
  title: Competitive battlecard
  category: positioning
  tags: "Sales, Sales Leaders, Marketing, SDR"
  author: prosyo
  version: "1.0.0"
  keywords: "competitive battlecard template, sales battle card, how to beat competitor, claude battlecard skill, competitor talk track"
  inputs: "Competitor research or teardown, Win-loss notes, Your differentiators and proof"
  outputs: "One-page battlecard, Objection responses, Landmine questions"
---

Use this when a competitor comes up often on calls. A battlecard is the on-call version of a teardown: short enough to read in 30 seconds with the buyer still talking.

## Inputs

- Competitor research (or run a teardown first).
- Win-loss notes against this competitor.
- Your differentiators and approved proof.

## The play

### 1. Lead with when you win and lose
The most useful line on the card. Reps need to know whether to fight or qualify out.

### 2. Write the quick positioning
Two sentences a rep can say when the buyer mentions the competitor, acknowledging their strength and stating your difference fairly.

### 3. Three differentiators with proof
Only differences that matter to buyers and that you can prove. Each: what, why it matters to the buyer, proof.

### 4. Landmine questions
Questions the rep asks that lead the buyer to discover the competitor's weakness on their own. Fair, neutral, answerable.

### 5. Objection responses
"They're cheaper", "They have feature X", "We already use them for Y". One or two lines each.

### 6. Traps
What the competitor says about you and how to answer it; what not to do (trash talk, matching their discount without a trade).

Read [references/battlecard-template.md](references/battlecard-template.md) for the full one-page template and a filled example.

## What good looks like

- Fits on one screen; a rep can find an answer mid-call.
- Fair about the competitor's strengths; buyers trust reps who are.
- Updated each quarter with fresh win-loss notes and pricing.
- The common mistake is a ten-page feature comparison that reps never open on a call.

## Rules

- MUST keep claims about the competitor factual, current and sourced.
- MUST include when to walk away.
- NEVER disparage the competitor or its people.
- NEVER use confidential competitor information.

## Example prompts

- "Make a battlecard against Acme for our mid-market reps."
- "Turn this teardown into a one-page battlecard."
- "What should I say when a prospect says 'Acme is half the price'?"