| 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 competitorsget_entity - Get competitor detailssearch_knowledge_base - Find competitive positioning, proof pointslist_findings - Real conversation mentions and objectionslist_events - Deal win/loss data against competitorget_event_detail - Deep dive into specific competitive deals
Library Context
list_motions - List Motions in the workspacelist_motion_playbooks - Surface Custom Motion Playbooks (narrative type COMPETITIVE) layered onto each Motionget_motion_playbook - Full details for a Custom Motion Playbook (competitive narrative)list_motion_icps - List Motion ICP cells (persona × segment) for a Motionfind_motion_icp - Motion ICP narrative + Learning Loop learningsget_entity (product) - Product capabilities for comparison
Content Generation
generate_email - Displacement email campaignsgenerate_content - Trap questions, objection guides, comparisons
Error Handling
No Competitors in Library:
No competitors found in your library.
Options:
- Add a competitor first:
/octave:library create competitor
- 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:
- Create the competitor entity first:
/octave:library create competitor "[name]"
- 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
