Vantage-Battlecard — Sales Battlecards & Win/Loss
A rep-ready, evidence-backed card for beating a specific competitor in a live deal.
Honest by design: it steelmans the competitor, then equips the rep to win with
proof — never with trash-talk. Disparagement loses deals and creates liability (see
../vantage/references/ethics-and-tos.md).
Web-only sourcing; output = template D in deliverable-templates.md.
Inputs
- The competitor (and the subject brand).
- Ideally the outputs of
vantage-positioning (their pitch), vantage-website
(pricing/offer), and review-site themes (their real strengths/weaknesses). If
those aren't available, gather the minimum below first.
Build method
- Steelman their pitch. From their homepage/ads, write how they position to
our buyer — accurately. Reps must recognize it in the wild.
- Mine reviews for truth. On G2/Capterra/TrustRadius/Trustpilot, read recent
1–2★ (their real weaknesses) and 4–5★ (their real strengths). These are
the gold — actual customers stating where they win and lose. Pull recurring
themes, not one-offs.
- Why WE win — turn their weakness themes + our genuine strengths into
proof-backed advantages. Each line needs evidence (a stat, a customer, a review
theme they can't match). Lead the card with these.
- Where THEY win — name their real strengths honestly, each paired with a
response (reframe, mitigant, or "fair — here's the trade-off"). Reps who
concede a true point keep credibility for the points that matter.
- Landmines — questions the rep can pose that surface the competitor's weakness
for the buyer to discover themselves ("ask them how onboarding actually works /
what migration costs / how X is priced at renewal"). Most powerful when drawn from
the competitor's own negative review themes.
- Objection handling — for each "they'll say X," a crisp evidence-backed
response. Anticipate the competitor's likely attacks on the subject brand too.
- Pricing & packaging — public pricing, renewal/gotcha patterns, where the
subject brand is better value or more transparent.
- Proof points — specific customers, stats, review-rating advantages, awards
the rep can cite.
Quality bar
- Every "why we win" line cites evidence. No unsupported superiority claims.
- "Where they win" is genuinely honest — a battlecard that pretends the competitor
has no strengths gets reps ambushed and ignored.
- Never instruct reps to lie, mislead, or disparage. Reframe with facts.
- Date the card; competitive facts (pricing, features, reviews) move fast.
Output
Use template D from deliverable-templates.md:
Quick take · Their pitch (steelman) · Why WE win · Where THEY win + responses ·
Landmines · Objection-handling table · Pricing & packaging · Proof points · Do/Don't.
End with: "Stand up vantage-monitor to keep this card current as their pricing,
reviews, and messaging change?"
1---2name: vantage-battlecard3description: TRIGGER when the user wants a SALES battlecard or win/loss material for a competitor — "build a battlecard", "how do we beat X", "why we win vs X", "objection handling for X", "competitor kill sheet", "sales enablement for competitor". Part of the `vantage` suite. Produces a rep-ready battlecard. DO NOT trigger for marketing positioning analysis (use vantage-positioning) or comparison PAGES (use seo-competitor-pages).4---56# Vantage-Battlecard — Sales Battlecards & Win/Loss78A rep-ready, evidence-backed card for beating a specific competitor in a live deal.9Honest by design: it **steelmans** the competitor, then equips the rep to win with10proof — never with trash-talk. Disparagement loses deals and creates liability (see11`../vantage/references/ethics-and-tos.md`).1213Web-only sourcing; output = template D in `deliverable-templates.md`.1415## Inputs1617- The competitor (and the subject brand).18- Ideally the outputs of `vantage-positioning` (their pitch), `vantage-website`19 (pricing/offer), and review-site themes (their real strengths/weaknesses). If20 those aren't available, gather the minimum below first.2122## Build method23241. **Steelman their pitch.** From their homepage/ads, write how they position *to25 our buyer* — accurately. Reps must recognize it in the wild.262. **Mine reviews for truth.** On G2/Capterra/TrustRadius/Trustpilot, read recent27 **1–2★** (their real weaknesses) and **4–5★** (their real strengths). These are28 the gold — actual customers stating where they win and lose. Pull recurring29 themes, not one-offs.303. **Why WE win** — turn *their* weakness themes + *our* genuine strengths into31 proof-backed advantages. Each line needs evidence (a stat, a customer, a review32 theme they can't match). Lead the card with these.334. **Where THEY win** — name their real strengths honestly, each paired with a34 **response** (reframe, mitigant, or "fair — here's the trade-off"). Reps who35 concede a true point keep credibility for the points that matter.365. **Landmines** — questions the rep can pose that surface the competitor's weakness37 *for the buyer to discover themselves* ("ask them how onboarding actually works /38 what migration costs / how X is priced at renewal"). Most powerful when drawn from39 the competitor's own negative review themes.406. **Objection handling** — for each "they'll say X," a crisp evidence-backed41 response. Anticipate the competitor's likely attacks on the subject brand too.427. **Pricing & packaging** — public pricing, renewal/gotcha patterns, where the43 subject brand is better value or more transparent.448. **Proof points** — specific customers, stats, review-rating advantages, awards45 the rep can cite.4647## Quality bar4849- Every "why we win" line cites evidence. No unsupported superiority claims.50- "Where they win" is genuinely honest — a battlecard that pretends the competitor51 has no strengths gets reps ambushed and ignored.52- **Never** instruct reps to lie, mislead, or disparage. Reframe with facts.53- Date the card; competitive facts (pricing, features, reviews) move fast.5455## Output5657Use template D from `deliverable-templates.md`:58Quick take · Their pitch (steelman) · Why WE win · Where THEY win + responses ·59Landmines · Objection-handling table · Pricing & packaging · Proof points · Do/Don't.6061End with: "Stand up `vantage-monitor` to keep this card current as their pricing,62reviews, and messaging change?"
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