battlecard

name

battlecard

description

Generate competitive battlecards, displacement campaigns, trap questions, and objection counters as text-based analysis grounded in library data and real deal evidence. Use when user says "battlecard for [competitor]", "how do we beat [competitor]", "competitive intel", "trap questions", "displacement campaign", or mentions competing against a rival. Do NOT use for visual HTML battlecard documents — use /octave:battlecard-doc instead.

/octave:battlecard - Competitive War Room

Dedicated competitive intelligence skill that generates living competitive artifacts — battlecards, displacement campaigns, trap questions, objection counters, and side-by-side comparisons — all grounded in your library's competitive data and real conversation evidence.

Usage

/octave:battlecard [mode] [--competitor <name>] [--persona <name>]

Modes

/octave:battlecard                                        # Interactive - pick competitor and mode
/octave:battlecard battlecard --competitor "Acme"         # Full competitive battlecard
/octave:battlecard displacement --competitor "Acme"       # Displacement campaign
/octave:battlecard traps --competitor "Acme"              # Trap questions to expose weaknesses
/octave:battlecard objections --competitor "Acme"         # "They say X, we say Y" guide
/octave:battlecard compare --competitor "Acme"            # Side-by-side comparison
/octave:battlecard landscape                              # Full competitive landscape overview

Instructions

When the user runs /octave:battlecard:

Step 1: Identify Competitor and Mode

If no competitor specified, list available competitors:

# Get all competitors
list_all_entities({ entityType: "competitor" })

Present:

Which competitor are you focused on?

COMPETITORS IN YOUR LIBRARY
1. [Competitor 1] - [Brief description]
2. [Competitor 2] - [Brief description]
3. [Competitor 3] - [Brief description]

OTHER
4. Research a new competitor (provide name/domain)
5. Full competitive landscape (all competitors)

Your choice:

If no mode specified, ask:

What do you need?

1. Full Battlecard - Comprehensive positioning guide for sales
2. Displacement Campaign - Outreach to steal their customers
3. Trap Questions - Discovery questions that expose their weaknesses
4. Objection Counters - "They say X, we say Y" paired responses
5. Side-by-Side Compare - Feature/capability comparison
6. Competitive Landscape - Overview of all competitors

Your choice:

Step 2: Gather Competitive Intelligence

# Get competitor entity
get_entity({ oId: "<competitor_oId>" })

# Find Custom Motion Playbooks for this competitor (narrative type COMPETITIVE)
list_motions()
list_motion_playbooks({ motionOId: "<motion_oId>" })
# Filter for narrativeType === "COMPETITIVE" and matching competitor
get_motion_playbook({ motionPlaybookOId: "<motion_playbook_oId>" })

# Also pull the Default Motion Playbook's Motion ICPs for general positioning
list_motion_icps({ motionOId: "<motion_oId>" })
find_motion_icp({ motionIcpOId: "<motion_icp_oId>", includeLearnings: true })

# Search for proof points (especially competitive wins)
search_knowledge_base({
  query: "<competitor name> win switch migration",
  entityTypes: ["proof_point", "reference"]
})

# Search conversation data for competitor mentions
list_findings({
  query: "<competitor name> objections competitive mentions",
  startDate: "<90 days ago>",
  eventFilters: {
    competitors: ["<competitor_oId>"]
  }
})

# Get won deals where this competitor was present
list_events({
  startDate: "<180 days ago>",
  filters: {
    eventTypes: ["DEAL_WON"],
    competitors: ["<competitor_oId>"]
  }
})

# Get lost deals to this competitor
list_events({
  startDate: "<180 days ago>",
  filters: {
    eventTypes: ["DEAL_LOST"],
    competitors: ["<competitor_oId>"]
  }
})

# Get product details for comparison
list_all_entities({ entityType: "product" })
get_entity({ oId: "<product_oId>" })

Step 3: Generate Mode-Specific Output

Output discipline. A battlecard is an internal seller tool, so follow the shared output rules in ../get-brand-components/references/presentation-principles.md, with two that bite competitive content most:

• Talking points, not scripts. Positioning, objection responses, and the displacement "if they respond" flow are points the rep adapts, never word-for-word lines to recite. Objection titles describe the risk ("They anchor on price"), never quote the prospect — the actual line goes in "You'll hear". The one exception: trap questions, which are precision instruments meant to be asked nearly verbatim. (Email/LinkedIn copy generated via generate_email is a written deliverable — that stays written, just keep it human.)
• Link cited entities (internal only). Since this is an internal doc, link each cited competitor, proof point, reference, or objection entity to https://app.octavehq.com/entity/{oId} (the oId from its tool result) so the rep is one click from the source. Never put these links in a customer-facing asset.

---

Mode: Full Battlecard

See full-battlecard.md for the full battlecard template.

---

Mode: Displacement Campaign

See displacement-campaign.md for the displacement campaign template (generate_email call + email sequence output format).

---

Mode: Trap Questions

See trap-questions.md for the trap questions template.

---

Mode: Objection Counters

See objection-counters.md for the objection counters template.

---

Mode: Side-by-Side Compare

See side-by-side-compare.md for the side-by-side comparison template.

---

Mode: Competitive Landscape

See competitive-landscape.md for the competitive landscape template.

Step 4: Offer Follow-Up Actions

What would you like to do next?

1. Deep dive on a specific area
2. Generate displacement outreach for a specific person
3. Create a persona-specific version
4. Re-generate any piece using a saved agent
5. Update competitor entity with new insights
6. Share with team (export)
7. Done

Generation Mode Note

This skill uses Octave's generate_content and generate_email tools by default. Two alternatives:

• Saved agents: Check for matching agents with list_agents when relevant. See /octave:explore-agents.
• Claude-direct: Skip generate_* calls, gather Octave context, Claude writes directly. Offer when user wants more control.

For the full interactive mode selector, use /octave:generate.

MCP Tools Used

Competitive Intelligence

• list_all_entities (competitor) - List all competitors
• get_entity - Get competitor details
• search_knowledge_base - Find competitive positioning, proof points
• list_findings - Real conversation mentions and objections
• list_events - Deal win/loss data against competitor
• get_event_detail - Deep dive into specific competitive deals

Library Context

• list_motions - List Motions in the workspace
• list_motion_playbooks - Surface Custom Motion Playbooks (narrative type COMPETITIVE) layered onto each Motion
• get_motion_playbook - Full details for a Custom Motion Playbook (competitive narrative)
• list_motion_icps - List Motion ICP cells (persona × segment) for a Motion
• find_motion_icp - Motion ICP narrative + Learning Loop learnings
• get_entity (product) - Product capabilities for comparison

Content Generation

• generate_email - Displacement email campaigns
• generate_content - Trap questions, objection guides, comparisons

Error Handling

No Competitors in Library:

No competitors found in your library.

Options:

1. Add a competitor first: /octave:library create competitor
2. Tell me the competitor name and I'll create a basic comparison

No Deal Data:

No win/loss data found against [Competitor].

I'll build the battlecard from library data and general positioning. As you log deals, the battlecard will get richer with real evidence.

Competitor Not in Library:

"[Name]" isn't in your library yet.

Options:

1. Create the competitor entity first: /octave:library create competitor "[name]"
2. I'll generate a basic comparison with available information

Related Skills

• /octave:research - Research a specific account in a competitive deal
• /octave:campaign - Generate competitive campaign content
• /octave:insights - Surface competitive mentions from conversations
• /octave:wins-losses - Analyze win/loss patterns against competitors
• /octave:enablement - Package competitive intel for the team