??Five key things I learned about battlecards you should know too

Compete Week 2022 is officially in the books — and what a week it was.?

If you were registered or in attendance, we'll be sharing the recorded sessions in the coming days.

If you weren't, we'll make sure you get your eyes on them too.?

Oh and we also launched our first-ever battlecards video series mini-course!

Seven 6-10 minute videos of pure battlecard goodness featuring Klue and industry experts.??

It was a huge project that I was lucky enough to be intimately involved in.?

To be honest, I didn't know much about the nitty-gritty of battlecards before starting the project.

But after spending hours and hours learning from Klue and industry experts, I noticed some common themes that came up over and over again.?

So in today's edition of Coffee & Compete, I'll be sharing with you the top five most important things I've learned about battlecards.

Feels weird to have my own face in this newsletter but here it is???

Ben ??

?? You don't need MORE battlecards, you need better ones ??

Quick wins often come in the form of quick deliverables.?

So while I understand why you would work to build as many battlecards as possible, I also need you to stop.

Right away.?

Before you start building, ask yourself these three questions:?

• Who is my primary audience? (i.e. product, sales, marketing)
• What content do they need (i.e. pricing, objection handling, how to spot them)
• Who are my primary competitors??

Getting the answers to these three questions helps focus your efforts on the competitors and card topics that actually matter.?

Instead of trying to break the land-speed record for building the most battlecards, take a step back and really focus on the ones that matter.?

?? Battlecards should tell a story, not make a point ??

?You're not a lawyer, you're a storyteller.?

?The content on your battlecards needs to be informed by an overarching narrative and positioning of why your company is the best solution.?

Too often, battlecard builders resort to bullet point lists used for quick reference.?

The battlecards that actually win more deals do not contain simple feature-comparison charts.?

?Instead, they clearly and concisely identify competitive intel and explain why it matters.?

With a common continual thread between battlecards that speaks to your positioning and narrative.

?? The best intel is internal intel ??

Too many competitive intelligence tools think their only job is to collect external, publicly available intel.?

But any compete practitioner worth their salt knows the best, most insightful intel comes from internal sources.?

You need two things in place to make that happen though:

1. A culture compete and knowledge sharing within your organization
2. A competitive platform

?Three ways you can start building a culture of compete:

Set up a dedicated #competitiveintel channel on Slack or Teams

• Engage with messages in that channel and continue the conversation
• Write a consistent and hard-hitting competitive intel digest
• Give public shoutouts and kudos to those who regularly share intel

Check out how CoachHub's Global Head of Sales Enablement Anthony Fritsch uses competitive intel to foster a culture of compete ??

?? Outdated battlecards = competitive death ??

Unreliable information is unusable information.?

And there are two ways you as a battlecard builder can ensure your content is deemed reliable.?

Number one, claims made in your cards need to be backed up with evidence.

(Linking to the facts that back up your claim is the easiest way to do this.)

But the second and arguably simpler way to ensure reliability is by keeping your cards up to date.?

Datto's Director of Competitive Intelligence Dustin Ray says this is a crucial element for him to improve adoption and consumption of his battlecards.?

"If the content is out of date and not updated, you're dead in the water. It's the number one reason for failure," - Dustin Ray, Director of Competitive Intelligence at Datto.

That’s why Dustin and his team set up weekly meetings with important stakeholders (CS, PM, Sales) and review new information that might make its way onto a battlecard.

This isn’t a deep dive — those happen twice a year for all tier-one competitors.?

But the weekly meetings provide a forum for intel sharing and verification.?

Because if your seller uses outdated intel that you included on a battlecard, you might have lost that seller for life.?

?? Your battlecards need a consistent, coherent structure ??

Content and structure work hand in glove.?

Your cards won't get used if your content is strong but structured like a Great Wall of Writing.

So rule number one is don’t ever create battlecards containing huge walls of text.?

Use titles, headers, and links to other competitive content to fill out your battlecards.?

The next rule is all about following the Know Say Show method of battlecard building.

And it’s one you should start following today.?

It comes from asking three important questions:?

• What do my reps need to KNOW to shift a customer or prospect's thinking??
• What do they need to actually SAY to make that happen?
• And how do they SHOW the evidence to back up their statement?

Klue's Competitive Solutions Specialist Hunter Sones analyzed one thousand of the most highly viewed battlecards across our database.

One hundred percent (??) of those cards followed the Know Say Show method.

Watch and listen to Hunter dive deeper into the KSS framework.

?? Battlecard building is a practice ??

Conducting a dozen or so interviews about battlecards hasn’t made me an expert.?

And as I did more and more interviews, I realized the experts themselves don't self-identify as experts.?

That’s because building battlecards is a continual process.

As markets shift, the cards you need today will differ from the first ones you built.?

What’s more, the competitors that once posed the biggest threat to your business can move up or down the priority scale quarter by quarter.?

But the five things I learned above are evergreen:?

1. Be intentional with which battlecards you build
2. Think about your battlecards as telling the story of your positioning
3. Source intel from internal sources
4. Keep your cards updated (!!!)
5. Structure your content using the Know Say Show method.

Get a handle on these five tips, and you’re on your way to building better battlecards.?

???Coffee & Compete Community Corner???

It's been a while since Airtable's Market and Competitive Intelligence Lead Alex McDonnell made an appearance in the C&C Community Corner.

Fun fact: Alex is one of the very first compete pros I got to connect with when I joined Klue over a year ago.?

Not only is he incredibly smart and good at his job, he's a good guy too!

Speaking of smart and good at his job, Alex offers up a different perspective on aggressive messaging.?

Being too hard-charging can throw customers off. So Alex suggests???

??Hot Job(s) Alert(s)??

FIND YOUR COMPETE DREAM JOB ON THE COMPETITIVE ENABLEMENT JOBS BOARD...LIKE THESE ONES ??

Thanks for reading this week's edition of Coffee & Compete. As always, please reach out to me and the rest of the team with your thoughts and feedback.?

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