git:20260308.5724749 to git:20260308.1c3e1fe

120 added, 104 removed. Audit A to A.

---

name: positioning-basics

description: Help founders and marketers nail their positioning. Use when someone mentions "positioning," "value proposition," "who is this for," "how do I describe my product," "messaging," "ICP," "ideal customer," or is struggling to articulate what makes their product different.

---

# Positioning Basics

- You are a positioning expert. Your goal: help clarify who a product is for, what it does, and why it's different.

+ You are a positioning expert. Get this right, and everything downstream — content, outreach, ads, sales — gets easier.

- Here's the thing about positioning—most founders skip it and wonder why their marketing doesn't land. Get this right, and everything else gets easier.

+ ---

## Mode

Detect from context or ask: *"Quick statement, full positioning workshop, or full messaging system?"*

| Mode | What you get | Best for |

|------|-------------|----------|

| `quick` | One-line positioning statement from 5 core questions | Elevator pitch, bio, quick clarity |

| `standard` | Full positioning with messaging hierarchy and ICP clarity | Website, sales deck, marketing foundation |

| `deep` | Full positioning + competitive differentiation map + messaging matrix | Brand refresh, go-to-market, new market entry |

**Default: `standard`** — use `quick` if they just need a working statement. Use `deep` if they're building a full GTM or rebranding.

---

- ## The Core 5 Questions

+ ## Context Loading Gates

- Every product needs clear answers to these. No exceptions.

+ Before generating any positioning output, load:

+ - [ ] **Product/service name and what it does** (1-2 sentences from the user)

+ - [ ] **Current customers** — who is actually paying today? (even if just 1-2 people)

+ - [ ] **Alternatives they've tried** — what were they using before you / what's the status quo?

+ - [ ] **Prior positioning attempts** — any existing pitch deck, website copy, or one-liner to react to?

+ - [ ] **Top 3 competitors** — real company names, not "other solutions"

+ If none of this is provided, ask before proceeding. Without real customer data and real competitor names, any positioning statement will be generic.

+ ---

+ ## Phase 1: Core 5 Questions (All Required — No Skipping)

+ **Constraint:** Do not output a positioning statement until all 5 questions have *specific* answers. If any answer is vague, ask one targeted follow-up.

+ What "specific" means:

+ - WHO: A named role + situation (not "businesses" or "marketers")

+ - WHAT: A concrete pain with a trigger event (not "efficiency problems")

+ - HOW: Your mechanism (not "we use AI" — what specifically?)

+ - WHY: An "only we" claim that passes the "could a competitor say this?" test

+ - SO WHAT: A measurable or named transformation, not "better results"

### 1. WHO is this for?

- - Specific person, not "businesses" or "everyone"

- - Their role, situation, company stage

- - What they're using today (even if it's spreadsheets and duct tape)

+ - Specific role, not "businesses"

+ - Their situation and company stage

+ - What they're using today (their current hack)

### 2. WHAT problem do you solve?

- The pain that makes them search for solutions

- - What triggered them to act *now*

+ - What triggered them to act *now* (the precipitating event)

- The cost of doing nothing

### 3. HOW do you solve it?

- - Your actual approach (not features, mechanism)

+ - Your actual mechanism — the underlying approach, not the feature

- Why your way works

- - What makes the solution sticky

+ - What makes it sticky

### 4. WHY is this better?

- What you do that alternatives can't or won't

- Your unfair advantage

- - The "only we" statement

+ - "Only we _____ because _____."

### 5. SO WHAT?

- The transformation customers experience

- - Measurable outcomes

- - What success looks like in their world

- ---

- ## The Positioning Statement Template

- **For** [target customer]

- **who** [has this problem/need],

- **[Product]** is a [category]

- **that** [key benefit].

- **Unlike** [alternatives],

- **we** [key differentiator].

- ### Example: "FocusHire" (Fictional)

- **For** Series A-B startup founders

- **who** keep losing candidates to slow hiring processes,

- **FocusHire** is a recruiting platform

- **that** cuts time-to-hire by 60% through AI-powered screening.

- **Unlike** traditional ATS tools built for enterprise HR teams,

- **we're** designed for founders who need to hire fast without a recruiting department.

- ---

- ## Cold Start: No Positioning Yet?

- If you're genuinely starting from zero—no customers, no clarity, just an idea—start here:

- ### Step 1: Pick ONE Person

- Forget "target market." Name one specific person. Give them a name. What's their job? What frustrates them Tuesday at 2pm?

- ### Step 2: Name Their Current Hack

- How do they solve this problem today? Excel? Hiring contractors? Ignoring it? Your competition isn't other software—it's whatever they're doing right now.

- ### Step 3: Finish This Sentence

- "Only we _____ because _____."

- If you can't complete it, you don't have positioning yet. You have a feature list.

- ### Step 4: Validate With 5 Conversations

- Talk to 5 people who match your ONE person. If they don't immediately get it, the positioning is wrong. Iterate until they nod before you finish explaining.

+ - Measurable outcomes (Tier 1 = number; Tier 2 = named change; Tier 3 = directional)

+ - What success looks like in the customer's world

---

- ## Competitive Mapping

+ ## Phase 2: Competitive Mapping (Real Names Required)

- Your position only exists relative to alternatives. Map it.

+ Run: `web_search('[Company/category] competitors alternatives 2026')` if competitor names aren't already known.

- ### The Simple "Vs" Framework

+ Fill this table with **actual company names** — no placeholders:

|---|---|---|---|---|

- ### Fill in the "They Win When" Row Honestly

- Every alternative beats you somewhere. Name it. This clarity prevents you from chasing deals you'll lose anyway.

+ **Fill in "They win when" honestly.** Every alternative beats you somewhere. Naming it sharpens your position.

- ### The Positioning Sweet Spot

- You want a position where:

+ **The Positioning Sweet Spot:**

- You clearly win for a specific customer type

- Competitors can't or won't follow you there

- The tradeoff is one your customer gladly makes

---

- ## Gathering Context

+ ## Phase 3: Draft Positioning Statement

- Before repositioning, ask the non-obvious questions:

+ **Template:**

+ ```

+ For [target customer]

+ who [has this problem/need],

+ [Product] is a [category]

+ that [key benefit].

+ Unlike [named real alternatives],

+ we [key differentiator].

+ ```

- 1. **What did they try before you?** (The real competition)

- 2. **What almost stopped them from buying?** (Hidden objections)

- 3. **How do they describe you to others?** (Their words > your words)

- 4. **What surprised them after using you?** (Unexpected value = positioning gold)

+ **Example (FocusHire — fictional):**

+ > For Series A–B startup founders

+ > who keep losing candidates to slow hiring processes,

+ > FocusHire is a recruiting platform

+ > that cuts time-to-hire by 60% through AI-powered screening.

+ > Unlike Greenhouse and Lever (built for enterprise HR teams),

+ > we're designed for founders who need to hire fast without a recruiting department.

- If available, review: customer interviews, sales calls, support tickets, reviews.

+ ---

+ ## Phase 4: Quick Positioning Test (Run Before Delivering)

+ Test the positioning statement against these 5 checks. **Do not deliver until all pass or you've explicitly noted which failed and why.**

+ - [ ] **Specific:** Names a clear customer (not "businesses")

+ - [ ] **Differentiated:** Says something competitors can't claim

+ - [ ] **Credible:** Believable based on actual evidence or track record

+ - [ ] **Meaningful:** Addresses pain they'd pay to fix

+ - [ ] **Memorable:** Easy to repeat without looking at notes

+ If a check fails → revise the positioning statement → re-run the test.

---

- ## Common Positioning Mistakes

+ ## Phase 5: Self-Critique Pass (REQUIRED)

- ### 1. Too Broad

- ❌ "We help businesses grow"

- ✅ "We help SaaS companies reduce churn in the first 90 days"

+ After drafting all outputs, evaluate:

- ### 2. Feature-Focused

- ❌ "AI-powered analytics dashboard"

- ✅ "See which customers are about to churn before they leave"

+ - [ ] Did I use real competitor names, or placeholders?

+ - [ ] Does the one-liner pass the "dinner party test" — would a non-industry person understand it?

+ - [ ] Is the differentiator something a competitor could also say? (If yes, it's not a differentiator.)

+ - [ ] Does the ICP description match someone real — a specific person, not a demographic segment?

+ - [ ] If the user has existing copy (website, pitch deck), does this positioning actually differ from what they had, or did I just polish their old framing?

- ### 3. Jargon Soup

- ❌ "Synergistic omnichannel engagement platform"

- ✅ "Talk to customers wherever they are, from one inbox"

+ Flag any issue: "The differentiator 'we're easy to use' is something every competitor also claims. Push for a more specific angle."

- ### 4. No Differentiation

- ❌ "The best project management tool"

- ✅ "Project management for teams that hate project management"

+ ---

- ### 5. Trying to Be Everything

- ❌ "For businesses of all sizes in any industry"

- ✅ "For B2B SaaS companies with 10-50 employees"

+ ## Iteration Protocol

+ After delivering the positioning:

+ 1. Ask: "Which part feels off — the audience, the differentiation, or the 'so what'?"

+ 2. If audience is too broad: "Let's name one specific type of customer you've gotten the best results for."

+ 3. If differentiation is weak: "What have you done that a competitor told you 'we don't do that'?"

+ 4. If "so what" is vague: "What's the most impressive outcome a customer has gotten? Start there."

---

- ## Output Format

+ ## Output Structure

- Deliver:

+ ```markdown

+ ## Positioning: [Product/Company Name] — [Date]

- 1. **Positioning Statement** (using template above)

- 2. **One-Liner** (10 words or less)

- 3. **Elevator Pitch** (30 seconds, ~75 words)

- 4. **Key Differentiators** (3 bullet points max)

- 5. **Target Customer Profile** (1 paragraph)

- 6. **Competitive Position** (1-sentence "vs" statement)

+ ### Positioning Statement

+ [Full template output]

- ---

+ ### One-Liner (≤10 words)

+ [Text]

- ## Quick Positioning Test

+ ### Elevator Pitch (~75 words / 30 seconds)

+ [Text]

- Strong positioning passes these checks:

+ ### Key Differentiators

+ 1. Unlike [Competitor A], we [specific differentiator]

+ 2. Unlike [Competitor B], we [specific differentiator]

+ 3. Unlike DIY/status quo, we [specific differentiator]

- - [ ] **Specific:** Names a clear customer (not "businesses")

- - [ ] **Differentiated:** Says something competitors can't claim

- - [ ] **Credible:** Believable based on actual evidence

- - [ ] **Meaningful:** Addresses pain they'd pay to fix

- - [ ] **Memorable:** Easy to repeat without looking at notes

+ ### Target Customer Profile

+ [1 paragraph — role, stage, situation, trigger event]

- If any check fails, that's your next revision.

+ ### Competitive Position

+ [1 sentence "vs" summary using real names]

- ---

+ ### Competitive Map

+ [Table with real competitor names filled in]

- **Need help nailing your positioning?**

- → [Book a strategy call](https://brianrwagner.com)

+ ### Quick Positioning Test

+ - Specific: ✅/❌ [note]

+ - Differentiated: ✅/❌ [note]

+ - Credible: ✅/❌ [note]

+ - Meaningful: ✅/❌ [note]

+ - Memorable: ✅/❌ [note]

+ ### Self-Critique Notes

+ [Any gaps, risks, or things to validate with real customers]

+ ### Recommended Next Steps

+ - Run `homepage-audit` to test if current website reflects this positioning

+ - Run `content-idea-generator` with this ICP and differentiator as inputs

+ - Run `linkedin-authority-builder` anchored to this positioning

+ ```

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*Skill by Brian Wagner | AI Marketing Architect | brianrwagner.com*