How to Create Sales Battle Cards in a Hubspot Framework
Sales battle cards built with a Hubspot-style framework help your reps win more deals, handle objections, and position your product clearly against competitors.
This step-by-step guide distills best practices from HubSpot’s own approach to battle cards so you can build a high-converting, scalable sales asset library.
What Are Sales Battle Cards in a Hubspot-Style Process?
In a Hubspot-inspired sales process, battle cards are concise, one-page resources that arm reps with the exact talking points, proof, and strategy they need in competitive or high-stakes conversations.
They typically include:
- Quick overview of the competitor or situation
- Your positioning and core value props
- Discovery questions to ask the prospect
- Suggested responses to common objections
- Proof points, case studies, and data
- Landmines to avoid and lines you should not cross
Battle cards are not long decks or dense documents. They are quick-reference tools designed for live calls, demos, and email follow-ups.
Core Elements of Effective Sales Battle Cards
Before you mirror the Hubspot approach, you need to understand the essential sections that make a battle card useful for real conversations.
1. Competitor or Scenario Snapshot
Start with a fast, neutral summary that a rep can scan in seconds:
- Who the competitor is or what scenario the card covers
- Typical customer segment they serve
- Common pricing or packaging model
- Key strengths that prospects mention
Keep this section factual. Like HubSpot’s guidance, you should avoid trash talking or unverified claims.
2. Your Differentiated Value
This section explains why prospects choose your solution instead of a competing product.
- Highlight 3–5 core differentiators
- Make each point concrete and benefit-focused
- Avoid vague language like “better support” without proof
Each differentiator should connect back to real customer outcomes, similar to how HubSpot frames benefits around measurable business impact.
3. Discovery Questions
Like HubSpot’s sales methodology, strong battle cards rely on questions, not monologues. Add a short list of discovery questions that steer the conversation.
Examples:
- “How are you currently tracking and reporting on performance?”
- “What’s the biggest challenge you see with your existing tool?”
- “How do different teams collaborate around this data?”
Discovery questions help reps uncover the gaps that your product is uniquely positioned to fill.
4. Common Objections and Responses
A Hubspot-style battle card anticipates objections in advance and provides short, direct responses.
Include for each objection:
- A clear statement of the objection in the prospect’s own words
- A concise, empathetic response
- An optional follow-up question that reopens the conversation
Focus on handling objections such as price, missing features, implementation effort, and switching costs.
5. Proof Points and Social Evidence
Proof is at the center of trust-building. Add:
- Short customer quotes
- Mini case study snippets with hard metrics
- Logos or industry examples
HubSpot often showcases numbers and results; model your own proof to be just as specific.
6. Do’s, Don’ts, and Talk Tracks
Finally, provide practical guidance so reps do not guess under pressure.
- Key phrases to use when explaining your value
- Topics to avoid or defer to another resource
- Compliance or legal boundaries, if relevant
Short talk tracks, written in natural language, help reps sound confident and consistent.
Step-by-Step: Building a Hubspot-Inspired Battle Card
Use this process to design your first battle card or improve the ones you already have.
Step 1: Choose One Competitor or Scenario
Following the Hubspot style, start small. Select a single competitor, product alternative, or common objection scenario that your reps encounter most often.
Good starting points include:
- The competitor you lose to most frequently
- The “do nothing” or “status quo” situation
- A frequent budget or pricing objection
Step 2: Interview Your Sales Team
HubSpot builds content closely aligned with real seller conversations. Do the same by interviewing top-performing reps.
Ask them:
- What questions prospects usually ask about this competitor
- Where in the deal cycle this competitor shows up
- Which objections are hardest to overcome
- What messaging has worked best in the past
Use their language directly on the battle card to keep it practical and realistic.
Step 3: Collect Competitive and Customer Data
Gather data from public sources, customer interviews, win/loss analysis, and your CRM. A Hubspot-level battle card is grounded in facts.
Focus on:
- Pricing tiers and packaging differences
- Feature sets that actually matter to prospects
- Implementation time and support models
- Customer success metrics where you outperform
Step 4: Draft the First Version
Now assemble your battle card using the core sections above. Keep it to one page or one screen.
- Write a short summary of the competitor or scenario.
- List 3–5 concrete differentiators.
- Add 5–8 discovery questions.
- Include 5–10 common objections with responses.
- Insert 2–3 short proof points.
- Document critical do’s and don’ts.
Write clearly and avoid internal jargon so even new reps can use the content effectively.
Step 5: Test in Live Conversations
Hubspot emphasizes iteration based on real usage. Ask a small group of reps to use the battle card in calls for one or two weeks.
Have them track:
- Which parts they actually used
- Which talking points landed well
- Where they still felt unprepared
Collect feedback frequently and update the battle card to improve clarity and usefulness.
Step 6: Standardize and Scale
Once your first battle card is working, document a repeatable template so you can create more cards quickly.
Your template might include:
- Overview section with core details
- Value prop section with bullet points
- Discovery questions section
- Objection handling and responses
- Proof and case studies section
Deliver these cards via your CRM, sales enablement tool, or knowledge base so reps can access them in seconds.
Best Practices Inspired by Hubspot Battle Cards
To keep your sales battle cards relevant and effective over time, follow these ongoing best practices.
Keep Messaging Honest and Ethical
HubSpot’s competitive content follows strict guidelines to avoid misleading claims. You should:
- Base comparisons on verifiable information
- Avoid attacking competitors personally
- Update data regularly as markets change
Make Battle Cards Easy to Skim
Design cards with:
- Clear headings and subheadings
- Short bullet lists instead of long paragraphs
- Highlighting for critical talking points
Reps should be able to find what they need in seconds during a live conversation.
Align with Your Overall Sales Playbook
Battle cards should not conflict with your other enablement materials. Make sure they fit the same sales methodology, tone, and pricing policies you use elsewhere.
Consider integrating them into your broader content strategy, similar to how HubSpot aligns blog posts, product pages, and sales assets around a unified narrative.
Additional Resources on Battle Cards
To go deeper into sales battle cards and see how a mature enablement program approaches them, review the original reference resource from HubSpot here: HubSpot Sales Battle Cards Article.
If you need expert help building a scalable sales enablement system around your CRM and content stack, you can also explore consulting services at Consultevo.
With a clear template, honest data, and a Hubspot-style focus on real customer outcomes, your sales battle cards can quickly become one of the most powerful tools in your revenue strategy.
Need Help With Hubspot?
If you want expert help building, automating, or scaling your Hubspot , work with ConsultEvo, a team who has a decade of Hubspot experience.
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