--- name: battlecard-generator description: > Research a specific competitor across their website, reviews, ads, social presence, and pricing — then produce a structured sales battlecard with positioning traps, objection handlers, landmine questions, and win/loss themes. Chains web research, review mining, and ad intelligence. Use when sales needs competitive ammo or when entering a new market with established incumbents. tags: [competitive-intel] --- # Battlecard Generator Research a competitor from every public angle — website, reviews, ads, social, pricing — and produce a structured sales battlecard. The output is what a rep opens 5 minutes before a competitive deal. **Built for:** PMMs building competitive programs without a dedicated competitive intel team. The battlecard should be opinionated, not a neutral feature comparison. ## When to Use - "Build a battlecard against [competitor]" - "We keep losing deals to [competitor] — help me understand why" - "What are [competitor]'s weaknesses we can exploit?" - "Prep the sales team for competitive deals against [competitor]" - "Research [competitor] and give me competitive positioning" ## Phase 0: Intake 1. **Your product name + URL** 2. **Competitor name + URL** — One competitor per battlecard (focused > broad) 3. **Deal context** — Where do you compete? (same ICP, upmarket/downmarket, different use case?) 4. **Known win/loss signals** — Any patterns from deals you've won or lost against them? 5. **Sales team size** — Are reps technical or business-focused? (affects language level) 6. **Existing positioning** — Your one-line positioning vs this competitor (if any) ## Phase 1: Competitor Research ### 1A: Website & Messaging Analysis ``` Fetch: [competitor] homepage, pricing page, about page, product page Search: "[competitor]" "we help" OR "the only" OR "unlike" Search: "[competitor]" case study OR customer story ``` Extract: - **Hero claim** — their primary positioning - **Category** — what category do they place themselves in? - **Target audience** — who do they say they serve? - **Key features emphasized** — what do they lead with? - **Social proof** — customer logos, metrics, quotes - **Pricing structure** — plans, pricing model, enterprise vs self-serve ### 1B: Review Intelligence ``` Search: "[competitor]" site:g2.com OR site:capterra.com Search: "[competitor]" reviews "switched from" OR "moved to" ``` From reviews, extract: - **Top 5 praised features** (their moat — don't compete here directly) - **Top 5 complaints** (your attack angles) - **Switching signals** — why do customers leave? - **ICP patterns** — what roles/company sizes review them? ### 1C: Ad & Content Analysis ``` Search: "[competitor]" advertisement OR sponsored Search: "[competitor]" vs OR alternative OR compare ``` Extract: - **Ad messaging** — what claims do they pay to promote? - **Comparison pages** — have they published "us vs X" pages? - **Content themes** — what topics do they create content around? ### 1D: Social & Community Signals ``` Search: "[competitor]" site:reddit.com OR site:twitter.com complaints OR issues Search: "[competitor]" "looking for alternative" OR "anyone use" ``` Extract: - **Common frustrations** discussed publicly - **Feature requests** their users are vocal about - **Sentiment patterns** — do users love or tolerate them? ### 1E: Pricing Deep Dive ``` Fetch: [competitor] pricing page Search: "[competitor]" pricing OR cost OR "how much" ``` Map their pricing: - **Model:** Per seat / usage-based / flat rate / hybrid - **Tiers:** What's in each tier? - **Free tier:** What's included? What's gated? - **Enterprise:** Custom pricing? What triggers enterprise sales? - **Hidden costs:** Implementation, overages, add-ons? ## Phase 2: Competitive Analysis ### Strengths & Weaknesses Matrix | Dimension | Them | Us | Net | |-----------|------|-----|-----| | [Feature area 1] | [Rating + context] | [Rating + context] | Win/Lose/Tie | | [Feature area 2] | ... | ... | ... | | Pricing | ... | ... | ... | | Ease of use | ... | ... | ... | | Support | ... | ... | ... | | Integrations | ... | ... | ... | ### Where We Win (lead with these) 1. [Strength] — [Evidence from research] 2. [Strength] — [Evidence] 3. [Strength] — [Evidence] ### Where We Lose (don't engage here) 1. [Weakness] — [Mitigation strategy] 2. [Weakness] — [How to reframe] ### Where It's Close (differentiate on narrative) 1. [Area] — [How to position the tie as a win] ## Phase 3: Output — Battlecard ```markdown # Battlecard: [Your Product] vs [Competitor] Last updated: [DATE] | Confidence: [High/Medium — based on data freshness] --- ## Quick Reference (The 30-Second Version) **They say:** "[Their positioning headline]" **We say:** "[Our counter-positioning]" **We win when:** [Deal profile where we have advantage] **We lose when:** [Deal profile where they have advantage] **Best opening move:** "[Question or statement to frame the deal]" --- ## Competitor Overview | | [Competitor] | |---|---| | **Founded** | [Year] | | **Funding** | [Amount / stage] | | **Headcount** | [Estimate] | | **Target market** | [Who they serve] | | **Pricing** | [Model + range] | | **Category** | [How they position] | --- ## Positioning Traps Questions to ask early in the deal that frame the evaluation in your favor: 1. **"[Question that highlights your strength]"** → If they say [X], you win because [reason] → If they say [Y], pivot to [angle] 2. **"[Question that exposes competitor weakness]"** → Their answer will likely be [X], which reveals [limitation] 3. **"[Question about a capability they lack]"** → They can't do this. When the prospect asks them, it plants doubt. --- ## Landmine Questions Drop these casually — they'll come up when the prospect evaluates the competitor: - "Have you asked [competitor] about [specific limitation]?" - "When you evaluate [competitor], make sure to test [area where they're weak]." - "One thing worth checking: [competitor] pricing can get expensive once you [usage trigger]." --- ## Objection Handling ### "Why shouldn't we just go with [Competitor]?" > "[Direct response — acknowledge their strength, pivot to your differentiation]" ### "[Competitor] has more features / is more established" > "[Response — focus on what matters for this buyer's use case, not feature count]" ### "[Competitor] is cheaper" > "[Response — reframe on total cost, hidden costs, or value per dollar]" ### "[Competitor] has [big customer logo]" > "[Response — your relevant social proof + why logo != fit]" ### "We're already using [Competitor]" > "[Response — switching cost vs cost of staying, what's changed]" --- ## Feature Comparison (Honest Assessment) | Capability | Us | [Competitor] | Verdict | |-----------|-----|-------------|---------| | [Feature 1] | [Status + context] | [Status + context] | [Who wins + why] | | [Feature 2] | ... | ... | ... | | [Feature 3] | ... | ... | ... | | Pricing transparency | ... | ... | ... | | Onboarding speed | ... | ... | ... | | Support quality | ... | ... | ... | --- ## Their Customers Say (From Reviews) ### What they love (don't fight these): - "[Quote from review]" — [Platform, Role] - "[Quote]" — ... ### What they hate (exploit these): - "[Quote from negative review]" — [Platform, Role] - "[Quote]" — ... - "[Quote]" — ... --- ## Pricing Comparison | | Us | [Competitor] | |---|---|---| | **Entry price** | [$/mo] | [$/mo] | | **Mid-tier** | [$/mo] | [$/mo] | | **Enterprise** | [Custom / $X] | [Custom / $X] | | **Free tier** | [What's included] | [What's included] | | **Hidden costs** | [None / list] | [Implementation, overages, etc.] | **Pricing attack angle:** [How to frame pricing comparison favorably] --- ## Win Themes (What Wins Deals) Based on competitive patterns: 1. **[Theme]** — "[Proof point or quote]" 2. **[Theme]** — ... 3. **[Theme]** — ... ## Loss Themes (What Loses Deals) Be aware — we tend to lose when: 1. **[Pattern]** — Mitigation: [strategy] 2. **[Pattern]** — Mitigation: [strategy] --- ## Quick Responses for Email/Chat **When prospect mentions [competitor]:** > "[2-sentence response for email or Slack]" **When asked for a comparison:** > "[3-sentence elevator pitch vs competitor]" ``` Save to `clients//product-marketing/battlecards/vs-[competitor-slug]-[YYYY-MM-DD].md`. ## Cost | Component | Cost | |-----------|------| | Web research | Free | | Review mining (optional, via review-site-scraper) | ~$0.50-1.00 | | Ad analysis (optional, via ad scrapers) | ~$0.50-1.00 | | All analysis and battlecard generation | Free (LLM reasoning) | | **Total** | **Free — $2** | ## Tools Required - **web_search** — for competitor research - **fetch_webpage** — for site analysis - **Optional:** `review-site-scraper` for G2/Capterra mining - **Optional:** `google-ad-scraper` for ad intelligence, `web_search` against Meta Ad Library for Meta ads ## Trigger Phrases - "Build a battlecard against [competitor]" - "Competitive intel on [competitor]" - "Run the battlecard generator for [competitor]" - "Help me win deals against [competitor]"