The short answer
A battle card is a one-page sales reference for competing against a specific rival. A good battle card template includes when you win and lose, a quick dismiss for 'how are you different?', landmine questions that expose the competitor's gaps, replies to common objections and proof points. It should be short enough to scan during a live call and reviewed at least quarterly.
On this page
- The One-Page Battle Card Template
- What Goes in Each Section
- Battle Card Example: Northwind vs Tarnwick Quote
- Writing Landmine Questions That Work
- Objection Replies That Don't Trash the Competitor
- Getting Reps to Actually Use the Battle Card
- Keeping Battle Cards Current
- Write a competitive call script for any prospect in three steps
- FAQ
Key takeaways
One screen, one rival: Each competitor gets its own card, and the card fits on one screen. Anything longer belongs in the research profile.
Admit when you lose: Reps trust a card that says where the rival is stronger. It also tells them which deals to qualify out.
Landmines beat trash talk: Plant questions that expose a gap. Never criticize the competitor directly in front of a buyer.
Assign an owner: A card without an owner and a review date goes stale within a quarter. Date every card.
The One-Page Battle Card Template
One rival, one page, six sections. If a section doesn't fit, it belongs in the full competitor profile, not on the card.
BATTLE CARD: [Our product] vs [Competitor]
Owner: [name] / Last reviewed: [date]
IN ONE LINE
[Who they are and who they sell to, stated fairly]
WE WIN WHEN WE LOSE WHEN
- [situation] - [situation]
- [situation] - [situation]
QUICK DISMISS ('How are you different?')
'[Two sentences: acknowledge them, then your sharpest difference]'
LANDMINES (ask early)
- '[Question that exposes a real gap]'
- '[Question that exposes a real gap]'
OBJECTIONS
'[Objection]': [acknowledge] / [respond] / [ask]
'[Objection]': [acknowledge] / [respond] / [ask]
PROOF
- [Customer type that switched, and the result, approved to share]
- [Third-party evidence: review theme, analyst note, public benchmark]
The win/lose split goes first. A rep who knows when you lose can qualify out early or bring in help. That saves more deals than any clever reply.
What Goes in Each Section
Each section answers one question a rep has in the middle of a call. Use this table to check your card before you publish it.
| Section | Question it answers | Good | Bad |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Who are they? | "Enterprise pricing tool for large brokers" | "Overpriced legacy platform" |
| Win/lose | Should I fight this deal? | "We lose when they need market-rate data" | "We always win" |
| Quick dismiss | How do I answer "how are you different?" | Acknowledge, then one sharp difference | A feature list |
| Landmines | What should I ask early? | A question about a real gap | A leading question with a sneer |
| Objections | What do I say when they push back? | Acknowledge, respond, ask | An argument |
| Proof | Why should they believe me? | A switched customer, with permission | Unnamed "many customers" |
Fair beats clever. Buyers often talk to both vendors. If your card's claims don't match what they hear from the competitor, your credibility takes the hit.
Battle Card Example: Northwind vs Tarnwick Quote
Here's the template filled in for two fictional companies. Northwind sells freight quoting software to mid-market brokers; Tarnwick Quote sells pricing tools to large ones.
BATTLE CARD: Northwind vs Tarnwick Quote
Owner: Sam Ortiz / Last reviewed: October
IN ONE LINE
Enterprise pricing platform with a large market-rate dataset,
sold to brokers with 200+ staff.
WE WIN WHEN WE LOSE WHEN
- Pricing desk under 20 people - Buyer wants market-rate data
- Needs live quotes in weeks and quoting in one tool
- No IT capacity for a project - Long security review favors
an established vendor
QUICK DISMISS
'Tarnwick is strong if you need enterprise market data. Teams your size
pick us because quoting is live in weeks, without an IT project.'
LANDMINES
- 'How long can you wait between signing and the first live quote?'
- 'Who on your team would own the integration work?'
OBJECTIONS
'Tarnwick has more data': True for market rates. / Most of your
margin comes from your own lanes. / Which data do you use daily?
'Tarnwick has a new mid-market plan': Worth a look. / Ask what setup
involves on that plan. / What's your deadline for go-live?
PROOF
- A regional broker that moved from spreadsheets (approved reference)
- Reviews of our setup time on public review sites
Notice the opening compliment. It's true, it disarms the buyer and it makes the difference that follows more believable.
Writing Landmine Questions That Work
A good landmine is a question the buyer should ask anyway, which happens to expose a gap. Ask it early, before the competitor's demo sets the criteria.
- Base it on a real gap. If the gap isn't real or has been fixed, the landmine blows up on you.
- Make it about their needs. "How fast do you need to be live?" works. "Did you know Tarnwick takes months?" doesn't.
- Ask, don't tell. Let the buyer take the question to the competitor and hear the answer themselves.
- Keep two or three. More than that and discovery starts to feel like a setup.
Plant them in discovery. Landmines belong in your first or second call, alongside your discovery call questions. Once the buyer has written their evaluation criteria, it's too late.
Objection Replies That Don't Trash the Competitor
Every competitive objection deserves the same three moves: acknowledge what's true, respond with your difference, and ask a question that moves the conversation forward.
- Acknowledge. "That's fair, they do have more market data." Agreeing on facts builds trust.
- Respond. One sentence on your difference that matters to this buyer.
- Ask. "Which data does your team use day to day?" puts the conversation back on their needs.
Never volunteer criticism. If a buyer asks what you think of a competitor, describe who they're a good fit for, then who you're a better fit for. More patterns are in our objection handling script.
Getting Reps to Actually Use the Battle Card
A card nobody opens doesn't win deals. Put it where reps already work and practice it until they don't need to read it.
- Link it from the deal. When a rep logs a competitor on an opportunity, the card should be one click away in the CRM.
- Roleplay the quick dismiss. Five minutes in a team meeting, one rep plays the buyer, another answers "how are you different?" out loud.
- Review lost deals against the card. If a rep lost to this rival, ask which section would have helped and whether it was used.
- Keep it scannable. Short lines and bold labels. A rep should find the right reply in seconds while the buyer is still talking.
Collect new objections. Every new pushback a rep hears goes to the owner that week. Next quarter's card is built from this quarter's calls.
Keeping Battle Cards Current
A battle card is only as good as its last review. Stale cards are worse than none, because reps repeat outdated claims with confidence.
- One owner per card. Usually product marketing, with a senior rep as co-owner.
- Quarterly review. Recheck every claim against the sources in the full competitor research template.
- Same-week updates for big changes. A pricing change, launch or acquisition gets an update and a team message.
- Rep feedback loop. Add a line at the bottom: "Heard something new? Tell [owner]."
- Retire dead claims. If a gap gets fixed, delete the landmine that depended on it.
Track the buyer side too. When a prospect runs a competitor, their renewal timing and public complaints are useful buying signals for when to reach out.
The card tells reps what to say against a rival in general. Each prospect still needs it applied to their situation. Edithly's buying signals research reads the prospect's website and public signals, and when you add the competitor to Notes, the call script's objection replies and angles are written for that account, using the differentiators in your playbook.
How Edithly does it
Write a competitive call script for any prospect in three steps
Edithly writes a call script for each prospect with objection replies in an acknowledge, respond, ask pattern and a do-not-say list. Add the competitor you're up against in Notes and the script is written around that situation, using the differentiators in your playbook.
- 1
Click the Cold Call Script tile
Open Home and pick Cold Call Script. Make sure your differentiators and proof points in Details match your battle card.
- 2
Add the prospect and the rival
Enter the company name and website. In Notes, add the competitor and your angle, such as 'uses Tarnwick Quote, lead with setup time for small pricing desks'.
- 3
Generate and check the replies
Click Generate cold call script. Compare the objection replies with your battle card, then copy the lines you'll use.
Website
Ready
- Personalization basis
- Fact + source link
- Recent move
- Hiring signal
- Do not say
- By hand
- 20 to 30 minutes per account to tailor a competitive call
- With Edithly
- A couple of minutes per account
Frequently asked questions
What is a battle card in sales?
A battle card is a short internal reference that helps reps compete against a specific rival in live conversations. It summarizes where you win and lose, how to answer 'how are you different?', questions that expose the competitor's gaps, replies to common objections and proof points. It is for reps only, never for prospects.
What should be on a sales battle card?
Six sections: a one-line summary of the competitor, when you win and when you lose, a quick dismiss for the 'how are you different?' question, two to four landmine questions, replies to the top objections and proof points such as a customer who switched. Add the owner and the date of the last review at the top.
How often should battle cards be updated?
Review every card at least quarterly, and update it the same week a competitor changes pricing, launches something significant or shifts its messaging. Feed it with win/loss notes and rep feedback continuously. A card with a visible 'last reviewed' date gets trusted; one with no date gets ignored.
What is a landmine question in sales?
A landmine is a question you ask a prospect, early in the deal, that makes them evaluate something your competitor handles poorly. For example: 'How long are you willing to wait between signing and the first live quote?' It's honest when the gap is real, and it lets the buyer discover the weakness themselves instead of hearing you criticize a rival.
Can Edithly create battle cards?
No. Edithly doesn't generate battle cards or competitor profiles. It writes prospect-specific call scripts and emails, and if you note in Notes that a prospect uses a competitor, the script's objection replies and angles are written around that, using the differentiators in your playbook. Your battle card stays the source of truth.