# How often should you update a battlecard?

Refresh each battlecard field when its source changes, using a field-specific review cadence instead of one quarterly sweep.

URL: https://www.hiresteve.ai/blog/battlecards-sales-actually-uses/how-often-to-update-battlecards
Part of: A three-line battlecard format for live sales calls (https://www.hiresteve.ai/blog/battlecards-sales-actually-uses)
Updated: 2026-10-12

Update a battlecard when a source changes something a rep may be asked about.
Use a field-specific review cadence to catch changes between events instead of
waiting for one quarterly sweep.

The honest version of the answer is that the calendar is the wrong trigger
entirely. A card should be refreshed when the thing it describes changes, and
the only way to know that is to watch.

## Why the quarterly cycle fails

In an illustrative 13-week cycle, a quarterly review means the average claim is
six and a half weeks old when the card is used, assuming use is spread evenly
between reviews. That age may be acceptable for slower-moving positioning. For a
price, stale wording may surface when a prospect corrects the rep during a call.

**The asymmetry that matters**

A stale card can surface during a confident answer. One visible error can make
the rest of the card harder to trust.

## A cadence that holds

[Compato's battlecard workflow](https://compato.app/blog/battlecard-creation-and-update-workflow)
separates review timing by field and gives urgent changes a shorter deadline.
[Content Camel's battlecard guide](https://www.contentcamel.io/blog/sales-battlecard-examples/)
warns against treating a quarterly update as the whole maintenance process. Use
the weekly and monthly checks below as an editorial starting point, then adjust
them to the volatility of your sources.

  **Watch weekly, edit on change**

Pricing pages, changelogs and packaging pages. Most weeks nothing moves and
there is nothing to do.

  **Review monthly, whether or not anything moved**

Reverify each dated claim. Cut any claim that can no longer be verified.

  **Rewrite on a release**

A competitor release that closes a claimed gap invalidates the card that
same day, not at the next review.

- Pricing and packaging — weekly
- Changelog and release notes — weekly
- Security and trust pages — monthly
- Named customers — monthly
- Everything else — quarterly

## What this costs

Manual workload rises with page volume, change rate and review effort. Missed
checks are a clearer signal to evaluate automation than a competitor-count
cutoff.

Steve creates in-app stale-diff proposals after a resource update and
in a weekly news pass. A proposal does not change the card until someone accepts
it; this path does not send a customer Slack notification.

## Frequently asked

### Is a quarterly battlecard review enough?

No. In an illustrative 13-week cycle with use spread evenly between reviews, the average claim is six and a half weeks old. Pricing and packaging can move sooner.

### What triggers an update outside the cycle?

A pricing or packaging change, a new named customer, a security or compliance announcement, and any competitor release that closes a gap the card claims exists.

### Who approves the update?

Our default is one named approver. Add another only when policy or risk requires it, and define what the second review is meant to catch.