Episodes
The Role of Market Category in Differentiation
In today’s episode, I explore why market category is a good starting point for developing great positioning. You will learn: * Viewing your market category is context-setting for your products/company. * Thinking of your mark...
What Customer-Centric Positioning Looks Like
In today’s episode, I talk with a technology entrepreneur about lessons related to his product initially being mispositioned in the market and also the challenges of positioning both free and paid versions of software solutio...
Why Positioning Does Not Make the Jump From Marketing to Sales
Welcome to Season 2! In today’s episode, I explore why positioning fails to make the jump from marketing to sales in many companies, and what common misconceptions and mistakes in positioning work should be avoided. You will ...
A Marketers Guide To Using The Sales Pitch
Today, I’m going to discuss how to have consistent positioning and messaging across sales and marketing using tactics from my book Sales Pitch . You will learn: Why marketers at B2B companies should start with the sales pitch...
Mastering Strategy, Vision, and Positioning
It's frustrating to see the widespread misuse of business terminology in the corporate world. Terms such as strategy, positioning, and vision are frequently interchanged or confused. Today, I'll clarify these terms, discussin...
Using Trends To Enhance Your Positioning
Every business wants to cash in on the latest trend, and for good reason. Trends can be powerful tools to enhance your positioning. However, it's crucial to recognize that not all trends are a universal fit for every company....
How To Think About Competition
Today, I will talk about how to address your competition, which is commonly mismanaged. Once again, you’ll see it all comes back to positioning and differentiated value. I’ll share with you: Why it’s almost always a bad idea ...
How to Manage a Big Positioning Change
I get asked a lot by people about today’s topic on how to manage a positioning change within an organization. It applies to big and small companies and even those going through acquisitions. In today’s episode, I cover: The t...
Bruno Aziza (Google, CapitalG) Shares How He Helped Reach Scale At Startups and Big Tech
Today, I’m joined by Bruno Aziza, who has an incredible background in data and technology and is a dear friend of mine. He has held previous positions at Google, Oracle, Microsoft, and AtScale. He’s currently a Partner at Cap...
Master the Art of Selling With My New Book
My next book, Sales Pitch , is finally out! I’ve been working on this project for quite some time now and am beyond excited to share it with you all! If you’d like to support me and purchase the book, visit https://www.aprild...
How to Create Marketing and Sales Alignment
Today, I go deep on how to approach aligning your marketing and sales teams. It’s a topic I repeatedly hear most companies struggling with, and I’m excited to discuss the following: The definition of what a good lead is How t...
Mapping Positioning to a Story Using Insight
Today, I explore how to position your sales pitch storytelling arch. You’ll learn: What people get wrong when starting their sales pitch How not to start a sales pitch Why you should start your sales pitch with an insight tha...
How to Use Positioning in Sales Qualification and Discovery
Today, I share everything you need to know about how to use positioning in your sales qualification and discovery. I discuss: The different forms of qualification and BANT criteria The difference between qualification and dis...
Positioning at a Startup Vs. a Big Company
Today’s episode is all about how to position startups and big companies. While there is some overlap, the two can be very different. I cover a lot of ground, including: The three things startups need to focus on for positioni...
Mastering Jobs Theory With Bob Moesta
Today I’m joined by Bob Moesta, the co-creator of the Jobs To Be Done framework, a concept he developed alongside the late Clayton Christensen. Bob's expertise spans a wide range of accomplishments, including the successful l...
How To Avoid Bad Marketing and Sales
Today I dive deep into how to avoid bad marketing and sales and why sometimes this includes actively sharing who your product isn’t for. I go into greater detail about the following: Understanding that your product is only a ...
The Art of Discerning Sound Marketing and Sales Advice
Today I cover how to know if you're getting good marketing and sales advice, and why it’s so important to carve your own path. I discuss: • What I learned from traditional marketing advice • Why traditional marketing advice f...
How To Develop A Point of View For Your Company
Today I explore developing a point of view for your business. I cover: How to build your company’s points of view What to do if you don’t know your point of view Two examples from IBM and Sampler Why features don’t matter, va...
So you’ve nailed your product positioning. Now what?
Today I dive into what to do with your positioning once you’ve nailed it. I cover: • How to capture positioning • How positioning makes its way into messaging • Why you should create a messaging document and what ends up happ...
Help Scout's CEO Nick Francis Shares the Evolution of Their Positioning
I sat down with Nick Francis, the Co-Founder and CEO of Help Scout. A few years ago I worked directly with Nick and his team to tighten up their positioning and brought him on to share their story. Together we discuss: • What...
Crafting a Persuasive Sales Pitch (Part 2)
Today we continue our conversation on translating your positioning into a sales pitch. You’ll learn: • Popular pitch structures (discovery-led, problem-solution, venture-informed) and where they fall short • Common problems t...
How To Translate Your Positioning into a Persuasive Sales Narrative (Part 1)
In this episode, I talk about how to take your positioning and translate it into a powerful sales narrative. I cover the importance of testing your positioning and explain why it often fails to make the leap from marketing to...
Overcoming Customer Indecision and Challenging Conventional Sales Wisdom with Matt Dixon
Today I’m joined by renowned author and guest, Matt Dixon. We explore the concepts from his groundbreaking book, "The JOLT Effect," and uncover the secrets to winning deals and captivating customers. Matt shares how extensive...
Harnessing the Power of Differentiated Value: How To Win Over Customers and Outperform Competitors
In this episode, I go deep on one of my favorite topics: value. First, I’ll define value vs. differentiated value, and explain why the latter is key to everything. We'll explore how to find the right balance between features ...