Nearly 60% of buyers have done their research online before they reach out to a company for a sales conversation.
This means, by the time a prospect reaches out to you, they are well-informed, possibly know their options reasonably well and are looking to you to piece it all together.
Battlecards provide that single snapshot view of your product’s competitive advantages and can be the secret sauce to up your win rates and are a mandatory sales enablement tool.
Since battlecards come into play at the final stage of conversion, getting them right can make all the difference. Imagine having a salesperson who hits a roadblock with a hot lead, simply for not having clarity on competitor offering and not being able to communicate it well.
Here are 6 tips to keep in mind when creating battlecards, which might actually help you win the battle:
Keep them short
When faced with buyers, the sales team has to be agile in answering questions and think on their feet. Having battlecards which are concise, easy to understand and act as reference points are more likely to find higher usability by sales teams. We don’t want your salesperson struggling to find the appropriate response through a verbose document.
Make them accurate
The last thing any brand wants is to have its sales teams give out inaccurate competitor information to its users. Not only will it build distrust with the customer, but also with the frontline. Keeping the battlecards up-to-date real-time on a consistent basis is what will really change the customer conversations of your reps.
Make them accessible
You don’t want sales folks wondering, “Yes, I remember seeing that, but where can I find it now?” That’s redundant content right there. Battlecards need to find a place in your sales teams daily customer dashboards, like the CRM or their sales enablement platform. Having access to these easily, and readily, say on mobile, would make them real deal closers.
Make it about you
It’s easy for sales folks to fall in the trap of comparing each and every feature of products offered by competition. What the customer wants to know is why you are better and why you are the right fit for their needs. Using competitor product features is not enough. Battlecards should clearly call out the key strengths and uniqueness of your product and how it will solve the customer’s problem. This is what translates into a sale. Not a comparative checklist.
Positioning is key
Enablement is about bringing perspective for the customer when they are unable to find any. This requires a good sales rep to identify the major pain areas of the customer, and how your products can help solve those. Having battlecards which pitch the right product positioning for different customer segments are sure to find higher usability and conversion. Specific talking points for each customer’s problem area, clear answers to their ‘objection’ statements, and defining who is the best fit for their product would make sales teams work efficiently and sound confident with customers.
Measure impact
Improving every sales enablement tool requires measuring their efficacy consistently. Putting systems in place to measure view rates of these battlecards, and the frequency with which they are being used by sales teams would be imperative. Analysing how these link up to conversion rates would throw further insights on what is working and what needs a re-look. Keeping an effective, well-oiled sales enablement machinery in place is the key to building a robust sales team.
