| name | battlecards |
| description | Fires when a competitor is mentioned, a competitive situation arises, or the user asks how to beat/displace/win against a specific vendor. Produces: per-competitor displacement playbook with strengths, weaknesses, talk tracks, proof points, trap questions, and landmine responses. Triggers on: handle-competition, think-about-deal (competitive lens), battle analysis. |
| user-invocable | false |
Battlecards — Competitive Displacement Playbooks Skill
Tier 3 — This entire file is regenerated during deep personalization Phase 3 (Competitive Landscape) with per-competitor displacement playbooks.
Purpose
Contains detailed competitive battlecards for each of the AE's top competitors. Each battlecard includes: competitor overview, strengths, weaknesses, displacement strategy, talk tracks, proof points, trap questions, and landmine responses. This is the ammunition for competitive selling situations.
When Referenced
- Competitive displacement situations (handle-competition intent) — loads the relevant battlecard and applies it to a specific deal with talk tracks and proof points
- Deal strategy analysis (think-about-deal intent) — Competitive Dynamics lens of the Five-Lens Prism references competitor positioning and win probability
- Meeting preparation with known competitor (prepare-meeting intent) — includes competitive context, trap questions, and landmine responses when a deal has a known competitor
- Competitive displacement presentations (create-deck intent) — Competitive Displacement template uses battlecard content for slides
Core Framework
Battlecard Structure
Each competitor gets a full battlecard with 8 sections. During deep personalization Phase 3, SalesSidekick researches each competitor via web search and builds these playbooks.
Competitor 1: {{TOP_COMPETITOR_1}}
Overview
- Company: {{TOP_COMPETITOR_1}}
- Website: [Populated during deep personalization]
- Founded: [Populated during deep personalization]
- Size: [Populated during deep personalization]
- Market position: [Leader/Challenger/Niche — populated during deep personalization]
- Primary pitch: [What they lead with — populated during deep personalization]
Strengths (Where They Win)
Populated during deep personalization via web research — what they're genuinely good at.
- [Strength 1 — specific and honest. Don't dismiss real advantages.]
- [Strength 2]
- [Strength 3]
When they're strongest: [Specific scenarios where they have a genuine advantage]
Weaknesses (Where They Lose)
Populated during deep personalization via web research — genuine gaps, not FUD.
- [Weakness 1 — specific and verifiable]
- [Weakness 2]
- [Weakness 3]
When they struggle: [Specific scenarios where they consistently fall short]
Displacement Strategy
How to win when they're the incumbent or primary competitor.
- Wedge play: [The specific angle that opens the conversation — Financial, Technical, or Strategic]
- Reframe the evaluation: [How to shift decision criteria in our favor]
- Key differentiator to lead with: [The one thing they can't match]
- Proof point: [Specific customer who switched from them to us — if available]
Talk Tracks
Specific things to say in competitive conversations.
-
When prospect mentions their strength:
"[Acknowledging response that reframes to our advantage]"
-
When prospect is comparing features:
"[Response that shifts from features to outcomes — Commandment 9]"
-
When prospect says they're "good enough":
"[Response that quantifies the gap between 'good enough' and optimal]"
Proof Points
- [Verified] [Specific case study or metric that favors us]
- [Verified] [Published comparison or analyst report]
- [Estimated] [Calculated advantage based on available data]
Trap Questions (Ask These)
Questions that expose their weaknesses without being aggressive.
- "[Question about an area where they're known to be weak]"
- "[Question about scalability, integration, or support — our advantage areas]"
- "[Question that makes the prospect realize they need what we offer]"
Landmine Responses
When they've set traps — how to respond.
| They Say | You Respond |
|---|
| "[Common competitor claim #1]" | "[Evidence-based counter]" |
| "[Common competitor claim #2]" | "[Evidence-based counter]" |
| "[Common competitor claim #3]" | "[Evidence-based counter]" |
Competitor 2: {{TOP_COMPETITOR_2}}
Same 8-section structure. Populated during deep personalization Phase 3.
Overview
[Populated during deep personalization]
Strengths
[Populated during deep personalization]
Weaknesses
[Populated during deep personalization]
Displacement Strategy
[Populated during deep personalization]
Talk Tracks
[Populated during deep personalization]
Proof Points
[Populated during deep personalization]
Trap Questions
[Populated during deep personalization]
Landmine Responses
[Populated during deep personalization]
Competitor 3: {{TOP_COMPETITOR_3}}
Same 8-section structure. Populated during deep personalization Phase 3.
Overview
[Populated during deep personalization]
Strengths
[Populated during deep personalization]
Weaknesses
[Populated during deep personalization]
Displacement Strategy
[Populated during deep personalization]
Talk Tracks
[Populated during deep personalization]
Proof Points
[Populated during deep personalization]
Trap Questions
[Populated during deep personalization]
Landmine Responses
[Populated during deep personalization]
General Competitive Rules
- Never fabricate competitive intelligence. If we don't know something about a competitor, say so. Commandment 8 (Laws of Karma).
- Never bash competitors directly. Let the prospect reach their own conclusions through trap questions and proof points.
- Lead with our value, not their flaws. Frame every competitive conversation around what WE do well, not what THEY do poorly.
- Evidence-grade competitive claims:
- Competitor features from public sources (website, docs) → Verified
- Competitive positioning based on call mentions or analyst reports → Estimated
- Win probability and displacement predictions → Hypothesis
- Update battlecards when new competitive intelligence emerges from calls (call processing captures this in Output 6).
Win Probability Framework
When assessing competitive win probability:
| Signal | Impact on Win Probability |
|---|
| Champion actively advocating for us | +0.2 |
| Champion aligned with competitor | -0.2 |
| Economic buyer met and positive | +0.15 |
| Incumbent advantage (they're already in) | -0.15 |
| We've redefined the evaluation criteria | +0.15 |
| They're ahead in the evaluation timeline | -0.1 |
| Customer has switched from them before | +0.1 |
| Decision criteria favor our strengths | +0.1 |
Starting base: 0.5 (coin flip). Adjust up/down based on signals.
Personalization Notes
- This entire file is Tier 3 — fully regenerated during deep personalization Phase 3 (Competitive Landscape)
- Deep personalization researches each competitor via web search and builds detailed battlecards
- Competitor names come from {{TOP_COMPETITOR_1}}, {{TOP_COMPETITOR_2}}, {{TOP_COMPETITOR_3}} (Tier 2 variables)
- Battlecards are updated when call processing captures new competitive intelligence
- Talk tracks and landmine responses are crafted based on public competitive positioning
- Win probability framework is universal — no personalization needed
