Positioning Mastery

When This Skill Activates

• Defining product positioning
• Writing value propositions
• Choosing market category
• Differentiating from competitors

Core Frameworks

1. April Dunford's Positioning Framework

• Specific segment, not "everyone"
• Define ideal customer profile

• Existing category or new?
• Sets expectations

• What do customers use now?
• Don't say "no competitors"

• What's different?
• Why does that matter?

• Evidence/metrics
• Customer stories

Action Templates

Template: Positioning Canvas

# Positioning: [Product]

## 1. Best For (Target Customer)
**Ideal customer:**
- Industry: [specific]
- Role: [specific]
- Problem: [specific pain]
- **NOT for:** [who should avoid]

## 2. Category
**It's a:** [category name]
**Context:** [how customers understand it]

## 3. Alternatives
**Customers currently use:**
- [Alternative 1]
- [Alternative 2]
- [Alternative 3]

**Why they're insufficient:**
- [Reason]

## 4. Unique Value
**We're different because:**
- [Differentiator 1]
- [Differentiator 2]

**Why that matters to customers:**
- [Customer benefit 1]
- [Customer benefit 2]

## 5. Proof Points
- [Metric/case study]
- [Metric/case study]
- [Metric/case study]

## One-Sentence Positioning
"For [target customer] who [need/problem], [product] is a [category] that [unique value]. Unlike [alternatives], we [key differentiator]."

Quick Reference

🎯 Positioning Checklist

• Who it's for (specific)
• What category (clear)
• What alternatives (honest)
• Unique value (different)
• Proof (credible)

• Customer understands it
• Sales team can pitch it
• Differentiation is clear

Key Quotes

"Positioning is the first thing you need to get right. Everything else flows from it."

"When you say 'we have no competitors,' customers hear 'there's no demand for what you do.'"