Podcasts about nail product positioning

Episode SummaryIn this episode of OnBase, host Chris Moody sits down with Jacek Materna as they explore how account-based marketing (ABM) has evolved from traditional sales tactics to precision-driven strategies fueled by AI. Jacek reflects on his career in ABM, starting in enterprise sales during the 2000s, and shares practical advice for implementing effective ABM programs. The episode tackles common missteps, such as over-reliance on tools, and outlines the importance of aligning sales and marketing teams. Jacek also dives into real-world use cases of AI in ABM, from hyper-personalization to advanced measurement tactics, and how businesses can stay competitive in today's fast-paced Martech landscape.Key TakeawaysABM is Old School Personalization with a New Name: ABM is an extension of the enterprise sales motion that has existed for decades but now incorporates modern tools and strategiesAlignment is Critical: Sales and marketing teams need to collaborate closely, with shared goals and metrics, to make account-based strategies successful.AI Supercharges Personalization: AI enables cost-effective hyper-personalization but also risks oversaturating the market. Companies need to find ways to stand out amidst increasing competition.Intent Data Isn't a Silver Bullet: Many companies fall victim to “intent hangovers”—placing too much faith in intent platforms as a standalone solution without building strategy or alignment first.Tools Are Not the Starting Point: Businesses should focus on strategy and human connection before investing in costly tools they might not fully utilize.Quotes"The best marketers are sellers at heart, and the best sellers are masterful storytellers."Best Moments (03:25) – Jacek's Career Beginnings : Reflecting on how enterprise sales in the early 2000s laid the foundation for his passion for ABM.(09:00) – Enterprise Sales Meets AI : Jacek highlights moments when human storytelling intersected with cutting-edge digital tools.(15:45) – Tips for Aligning Sales and Marketing : Practical advice on simplifying strategies and focusing on shared metrics like pipeline and bookings to unite teams.(26:48) – The "Intent Hangover" Phenomenon: Jacek's critical analysis of businesses that over-invest in intent data without a coherent strategy.(33:20) – What's Next for AI in ABM? : A candid discussion about how AI will expand capabilities for teams while creating new challenges in a saturated market.Tech RecommendationsChatGPTResource RecommendationsBooks:The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by David Drummond Obviously Awesome by April Dunford: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love ItTrump: The Art of the Deal by Donald J. TrumpMovie: Glengarry Glen RossPodcasts:All-In PodcastInvest like the BestAbout the GuestJacek Materna is a 3x founder and seasoned technology executive who specializes in scaling growth-stage companies. With a track record of successful exits and deep experience in B2B SaaS, security, fintech, and edtech, Jacek brings a practical, no-fluff perspective on what it takes to drive real business outcomes.He's led global teams, launched products that generate tens of millions in ARR, and helped companies—from first-time founder startups to PE-backed platforms—unlock margin expansion, go-to-market velocity, and lasting cultural alignment. His leadership experience spans roles as CEO, COO, and CTO, with responsibilities across product strategy, corporate development, P&L oversight, and M&A.Jacek currently serves as CEO of Full Circle Insights and is passionate about helping organizations turn complexity into clarity. Whether he's advising boards, restructuring teams, or speaking on stage, his mission is always the same: drive value, move fast, and scale smart.Website: https://www.fullcircleinsights.com/Connect with Jacek.

In today's episode, I explore the crucial distinction between positioning your product's value and handling objections. I explain why understanding the buyer personas in a B2B deal is essential to tailor messaging for champions versus other stakeholders. I also highlight scenarios where objection handling can transform into a core value driver under certain market conditions. You will learn: (00:00) Why Value and Objection Handling Aren't the Same* Value drives purchase decisions, while objection handling removes potential blockers.* Focusing on core value themes helps customers remember what sets your product apart.(04:56) Turning Features into Meaningful Value* Product capabilities only matter when translated into business outcomes customers care about.* Asking “so what?” ensures features connect to tangible benefits.(07:24) Objections: Identifying, Anticipating, and Handling Them* Objections often arise from non-buying stakeholders like IT, legal, and end users.* Objection handling should occur after establishing value, not before.(14:18) Understanding the Roles in a B2B Buying Committee* Champions push deals forward, while other personas can stall or block decisions.* Equipping champions to navigate internal objections increases deal success rates.(20:49) When Objection Handling Becomes a Value Driver* Poor competitor performance can turn typical objections into selling points.* Listening to customer frustrations reveals opportunities for repositioning. —Connect with April Dunford and learn about practical positioning that accelerates marketing and sales: Work with April: https://www.aprildunford.com/contact April's newsletter: https://aprildunford.substack.com/ April's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/ April's Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/aprildunford —Get April Dunford's books and audiobooks: “Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It.”“Sales Pitch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win.”Amazon US: https://amzn.to/49l0ZRY Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/4ac9hgt Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3vosDzQ—The Positioning with April Dunford podcast: Want to make your product stand out in a crowded market? It all starts with great positioning. Using April's battle-tested methodology, she'll teach you the nitty-gritty of positioning so that you can unlock better marketing and sales performance.Podcast website: https://www.positioning.show/ Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3PFHcWx Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/4aqyDqI Subscribe on YouTube:

In today's episode, I dive into the art of transforming competitor strengths into weaknesses, a practice which I sometimes call “marketing jiu-jitsu.” You will learn: * How competitor strengths can double as weaknesses in different markets.* Opportunities for challenger brands to carve out niche markets.* The differences between platform and tool positioning and their respective advantages.* Competing with legacy brands.* Competing against free or low-cost products.* Appealing to end users versus decision-makers.* Using manager-level value propositions to win deals against free tools.* Focusing on high-value market segments to avoid a race to the bottom.* Examples of successful positioning from companies like Salesforce, IBM, and Snowflake.—If you want to skip ahead: (00:37) Marketing Jiu-Jitsu(01:51) Empowering End Users vs. IT(05:01) Market Leadership vs. Challenger Strategies(09:54) Niche Market Strategies and CRM Examples(13:26) Platform vs. Tool(21:05) Competing Against Free and Low-Cost Products(26:43) Focusing on High-Value Segments—Connect with April Dunford and learn about practical positioning that accelerates marketing and sales: Work with April: https://www.aprildunford.com/contact April's newsletter: https://aprildunford.substack.com/ April's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/ April's Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/aprildunford —Get April Dunford's books and audiobooks: “Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It.”“Sales Pitch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win.”Amazon US: https://amzn.to/49l0ZRY Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/4ac9hgt Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3vosDzQ—The Positioning with April Dunford podcast: Want to make your product stand out in a crowded market? It all starts with great positioning. Using April's battle-tested methodology, she'll teach you the nitty-gritty of positioning so that you can unlock better marketing and sales performance.Podcast website: https://www.positioning.show/ Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3PFHcWx Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/4aqyDqI Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@positioningshow —This episode was produced by Story On Media & Marketing: https://www.SuccessWithStories.com

In today's episode, I explore the frustrating yet common issue of competitors making false or exaggerated claims about their products. In this episode, I answer the question: When you want to discuss your differentiated product or service, what do you do if you've got a competitor who lies that they too have the same product or service, when in fact they don't? You will learn: * The misconception that competitors can easily replicate differentiated features.* How architectural and resource constraints make copying features harder than it seems.* Competitors often stretch the truth or outright lie about capabilities.* Focusing on the value delivered by features rather than just the features themselves.* Using proof points, data, and examples to expose dishonest competitors.* Real-world examples of combating competitors who misrepresent themselves.* The reputational risks for companies that stretch the truth.* Turning dishonest competition into an opportunity to gain trust and loyalty—If you want to skip ahead: (00:00) Welcome to Season Three!(04:12) The Myth of Easy Feature Copying(09:30) Why Competitors Appear to Copy You(13:55) Handling Competitor Lies(16:40) Focus on Value, Not Just Features(19:20) Educate Buyers to Expose Competitor Lies(22:10) Prove Your Claims with Data—Connect with April Dunford and learn about practical positioning that accelerates marketing and sales: Work with April: https://www.aprildunford.com/contact April's newsletter: https://aprildunford.substack.com/ April's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/ April's Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/aprildunford —Get April Dunford's books and audiobooks: “Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It.”“Sales Pitch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win.”Amazon US: https://amzn.to/49l0ZRY Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/4ac9hgt Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3vosDzQ—The Positioning with April Dunford podcast: Want to make your product stand out in a crowded market? It all starts with great positioning. Using April's battle-tested methodology, she'll teach you the nitty-gritty of positioning so that you can unlock better marketing and sales performance.Podcast website: https://www.positioning.show/ Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3PFHcWx Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/4aqyDqI Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@positioningshow —This episode was produced by Story On Media & Marketing:

iesmal geht's um die Jobsuche als Product Owner oder Produktmanager in den aktuellen schwierigen wirtschaftlichen Zeiten. Tim und Dominique beleuchten die momentanen Herausforderungen und geben wertvolle Tipps, wie sich Produktmenschen besser positionieren können, um eine neue Stelle zu finden. Ein Hauptgrund für die schwierige Situation vieler Product Owner ist der wirtschaftliche Druck, dem Unternehmen aktuell ausgesetzt sind. Stellenabbau in agilen Teams und das Zurückfahren von externen Beratungs- und Freelance-Verträgen gehören zu den häufigsten Szenarien. Vor allem Branchen wie die Automobilindustrie oder energieintensive Industrien wie Stahl sind stark betroffen. In vielen Unternehmen wird zusätzlich wieder verstärkt der Fokus auf die Arbeit vor Ort - anstelle von vorrangiger Remote-Tätigkeit - gelegt. Dies schränkt die Flexibilität der Jobsuche wieder oft eher auf einen lokalen Radius ein. Doch auch abseits solcher äußeren Faktoren stehen viele Product Owner vor einer Herausforderung: die eigene Rolle und ihren Wertbeitrag klar zu kommunizieren. Product Owner werden oft lediglich als "Backlog-Schubser" wahrgenommen, wenn es ihnen nicht gelingt, ihre tatsächliche Verantwortung für das Produkt und damit ihren Einfluss auf das Geschäftsergebnis sichtbar zu machen. Es erscheint derzeit besonders wichtig, den eigenen Beitrag zur Vermeidung von Fehlinvestitionen oder zur Steigerung der Produktqualität konkret darzustellen – etwa durch Kennzahlen oder Erfolgsgeschichten. Darüber hinaus raten Tim und Dominique, die eigene Positionierung zu schärfen. Es geht darum, eine klare Expertise zu vertreten - sei es in der Product Discovery, der Delivery oder anderen Schlüsselthemen der Produktentwicklung. Der Aufbau eines gepflegten LinkedIn-Profils ist dafür übrigens unerlässlich; genauso wie die Vernetzung innerhalb der Community. Events wie das Product Lean Coffee oder andere Austauschformate bieten Gelegenheiten, sich zu zeigen, von anderen zu lernen und potenzielle Jobmöglichkeiten zu entdecken. Ein weiterer Tipp: wagt den Blick über den Tellerrand! Die Unterschiede zwischen den Rollen eines Product Owners und eines Produktmanagers sind in vielen Unternehmen fließend. Aber auch Job Beschreibungen links und rechts davon sollten derzeit in Betracht gezogen werden. Wer seine Suche erweitert, hat meist bessere Chancen, eine passende Position zu finden. Zuletzt appellieren Tim und Dominique an die Community und ihr Netzwerk, eine aktive Unterstützung anzubieten – sei es durch das Teilen von Stellenangeboten oder durch die direkte Vermittlung. Gerade in schwierigen Zeiten können solche Verbindungen den entscheidenden Unterschied machen. Abschließend ermutigen sie, trotz aller Herausforderungen optimistisch zu bleiben und auch kleinere Rückschritte in Kauf zu nehmen, um durch diese wirtschaftliche Durststrecke zu navigieren. Denn eines ist klar: Die aktuelle Lage wird nicht von Dauer sein, und eine gute Vorbereitung ist der Schlüssel für zukünftige Chancen bei der Jobsuche als Product Owner und Produktmanager. Hier die Links zu erwähnten Empfehlungen: - Link zur Community Reihe "Product Lean Coffee", bei dem Tim und Dominique ehrenamtlich im Orgateam sind: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12524562/ - Buch von April Dunford: Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It Und auch noch die Links zu alten erwähnten Folgen: - Jobsituation für Product Owner & digitale Produktmanager - Sei dein eigenes Produkt! – Weiterentwicklung für Product Owner

My guest today is the globally renowned marketing expert April Dunford.April has probably advised more B2B tech companies on positioning than anyone in the world.April's book Obviously Awesome is one of the biggest best-selling marketing books out there - and I'm so happy we had time to dig into everything you need to know to nail Product Positioning so that customers get it, buy it, and love it.Every founder, marketing, sales, and product person should listen to this episode!We discussed:* Why companies fail with positioning* Why positioning is a team sport* April's step-by-step process to nail product positioning* How to find your ICP (ideal customer profile)* Common pitfalls when defining positioning* Messaging vs branding vs positioning* How to align Product, Marketing, Sales, and Executive leadership on positioning and why it's important* How to translate your positioning to a killing Sales pitch—Afonso's profileApril's profile and websiteApril's books:* Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It* Sales Pitch: How to craft a story to stand out and win This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afonsofranco.substack.com

In today's episode, I explore product differentiation and the common misconception that some products have no unique value. I also explore the potential root causes when companies fail to see their own differentiation. You will learn: * The myth of having no product differentiation and what it means for B2B technology companies.* The importance of understanding competitive alternatives and translating capabilities into customer value.* Why a lack of differentiation leads to poor sales and business growth issues.* How irrational buyer decisions are influenced by the need to avoid risks.* The concept of "value blindness" and its impact on the marketing team.* The dangers of focusing solely on losses while ignoring the importance of analyzing wins.* How "product pessimism" can spread within teams and damage overall morale.* The significance of cross-functional collaboration in aligning a company's positioning strategy.—If you want to skip ahead: 02:30 - Question of Differentiation in B2B Products 04:29 - The Stakes of Differentiation in Buyer Decisions 06:39 - Recognizing Value in a Product 09:25 - Addressing Misconceptions About Differentiation 12:50 - Understanding True Competitive Alternatives 17:44 - The Importance of Analyzing Wins 22:47 - The Role of Segmentation in Positioning—Connect with April Dunford and learn about practical positioning that accelerates marketing and sales: Work with April: https://www.aprildunford.com/contact April's newsletter: https://aprildunford.substack.com/ April's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/ April's Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/aprildunford —Get April Dunford's books and audiobooks: “Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It.”“Sales Pitch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win.”Amazon US: https://amzn.to/49l0ZRY Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/4ac9hgt Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3vosDzQ—The Positioning with April Dunford podcast: Want to make your product stand out in a crowded market? It all starts with great positioning. Using April's battle-tested methodology, she'll teach you the nitty-gritty of positioning so that you can unlock better marketing and sales performance.Podcast website: https://www.positioning.show/ Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3PFHcWx Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/4aqyDqI Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@positioningshow —This episode was produced by Story On Media & Marketing:

In this episode of the Funky Marketing Podcast, we sit down with Anthony Pierri, Co-founder of Fletch PMM, to dive deep into B2B SaaS messaging, product positioning, and the importance of focus in early-stage companies. Anthony shares actionable insights on how to align your team, improve customer communication, and bring clarity to your product's value proposition, starting with your homepage. Overview: - Why B2B companies struggle with segmentation and how to approach it effectively. - The importance of focusing on workflows instead of just firmographics in your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). - Key steps to position your product and how to reflect that positioning on your homepage. - How Anthony and his team have helped over 300 companies rework their messaging for better alignment and growth. - Common mistakes companies make on their homepage and how to avoid them. Key Actionable Steps: - Focus on workflows: Identify the key activities your product supports instead of relying solely on company size or revenue. - Use case-based segmentation: Narrow down your audience based on specific use cases to improve messaging clarity. - Rewrite your homepage: Ensure that your homepage clearly communicates the product category and key job-to-be-done. - Speak to your target customer: Focus on making your messaging resonate with the specific problems your customers face. Connect with Anthony: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonypierri/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/anthonypierri Website: https://www.fletchpmm.com/before-after Subscribe to the FUNKY MARKETING podcast on any podcast platform and drop a question here in the comments.

In today's episode, Georgiana Laudi and I explore the failings of traditional sales funnels and why companies should instead focus on a customer-led approach to growth.My guest, Georgiana Laudi, is the ultimate marketing guru with a passion for turning customer value into cash for SaaS companies. She helps SaaS leaders grow smarter through her consultancy, Forget the Funnel. You will learn: * Why traditional funnels are lazy and ineffective for understanding customers.* The concept of customer-led growth and how it differs from funnel-based approaches.* The importance of mapping critical moments of value in the customer journey.* The pitfalls of ignoring pre- and post-funnel customer experiences.* How to align teams around a profound understanding of customer needs.* The role of KPIs in tracking customer success, not just business success.* Why optimizing customer onboarding can lead to dramatic improvements in growth.—If you want to skip ahead: 02:30 - Why Funnels Don't Work06:45 - Introducing Customer-Led Growth12:30 - Mapping Customer Journeys17:15 - Jobs to Be Done: A Game Changer23:10 - The Importance of Onboarding28:00 - Measuring Success: KPIs That Matter35:30 - How to Focus on the Right Customers—Learn more about Georgiana Laudi and her Forget the Funnel team: https://forgetthefunnel.com/ Connect with Georgiana on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgianalaudi/ —Connect with April Dunford and learn about practical positioning that accelerates marketing and sales: Work with April: https://www.aprildunford.com/contact April's newsletter: https://aprildunford.substack.com/ April's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/ April's Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/aprildunford/ April's Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/aprildunford April's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@positioningshow—Mentioned in this episode: * Georgiana Laudi and Claire Suellentrop's book, Forget the Funnel: A Customer-Led Approach for Driving Predictable, Recurring Revenue: https://amzn.to/3QOTP2z * The Jobs-to-Be-Done methodology. —Get April Dunford's books and audiobooks: “Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It.”“Sales Pitch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win.”Amazon US: https://amzn.to/49l0ZRY Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/4ac9hgt Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3vosDzQApple Books: https://apple.co/3xihSzCGoogle Play:

In today's episode, I dive into the art of framing a sales conversation. I explore three common ways salespeople start their pitches and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each. By the end, I share my preferred approach to leading with a unique insight, helping you differentiate your sales pitch from the competition.You will learn: * Three common ways to open a sales pitch: defining the problem, presenting market changes, and starting with discovery.* Pros and cons of starting with the problem statement in a sales conversation.* Why focusing on market changes might not be as effective as it seems in sales.* The challenges of relying solely on discovery at the beginning of a sales call.* How starting with your company's specific value can shape the conversation.* Differences in framing strategies for enterprise vs. small businesses.* The importance of positioning yourself as an expert rather than following generic sales approaches.—If you want to skip ahead: 02:30 - Defining the Problem in Sales Conversations06:15 - Presenting Market Changes to Frame Your Pitch10:00 - Starting with Discovery in Sales Pitches14:20 - Why Problem Framing Can Fall Short22:10 - Benefits of Leading with a Unique Insight27:00 - Using Your Value to Frame Discovery30:00 - Practical Tips for Structuring Your Sales Pitch—Connect with April Dunford and learn about practical positioning that accelerates marketing and sales: Work with April: https://www.aprildunford.com/contact April's newsletter: https://aprildunford.substack.com/ April's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/ April's Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/aprildunford/ April's Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/aprildunford April's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@positioningshow—Mentioned in this episode: * April's most recent book, “Sales Pitch” (see links below). —Get April Dunford's books and audiobooks: “Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It.”“Sales Pitch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win.”Amazon US: https://amzn.to/49l0ZRY Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/4ac9hgt Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3vosDzQApple Books: https://apple.co/3xihSzCGoogle Play: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=%22April%20Dunford%22&c=books Barnes & Noble: https://www.bn.com/s/%22April%20Dunford%22 Bookshop:

In today's episode, I speak with product marketing expert and consultant Tamara Grominsky, who is the former Vice President of Product Marketing at Kajabi and Unbounce. Have you ever asked questions such as: “How do I hire a good product marketer? What skills should they have? And how should we measure product marketing?” In this episode, Tamara and I answer those questions and more.You will learn: * The key responsibilities of a good product marketer.* Why product marketers should know the product better than product managers.* The differences between sales-led and product-led go-to-market strategies, plus the importance of mapping the buying journey and equipping the sales team with the right messages.* The need for founders to be realistic about the skills and experience required for a startup product marketer.* Why product launches don't need to be big or expensive to succeed, but they do need to be intentional about who the launch is for.* Lessons from how Michelin Guide was launched to encourage more driving, with star ratings for destinations.* The benefits of analyzing existing customers to identify best fit for product and value proposition.* Why you should avoid creating marketing personas that are too fictional and instead create segment profiles that are based on quantitative data.—If you want to skip ahead: (3:27) Product marketing role and responsibilities. (6:47) Product marketing challenges and hiring tips. (12:24) Product launch strategies. (16:08) Identifying target audience for product launches. (20:13) Segmentation in marketing. (25:10) Identifying customer segments. (29:01) Product marketing personas. —Connect with Tamara Grominsky on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamaragrominsky/ Subscribe to “PMM Camp,” Tamara's newsletter for product marketing leaders: https://newsletter.pmmcamp.com/subscribe —Connect with April Dunford and learn about practical positioning that accelerates marketing and sales: Work with April: https://www.aprildunford.com/contact April's newsletter: https://aprildunford.substack.com/ April's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/ April's Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/aprildunford —Mentioned in this episode: * PMM Camp, Tamara's community for product marketing leaders: https://www.pmmcamp.com/ * The Leap, a platform by Thinkific that creators can use to create and sell digital products: https://www.theleap.co/ —Get April Dunford's books and audiobooks: “Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It.”“Sales Pitch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win.”Amazon US: https://amzn.to/49l0ZRY Amazon Canada:

Today's episode is a repost of one of my favorite topics: why value is important for positioning for B2B technology companies. In this episode, first I define value vs. differentiated value, and explain why the latter is key to everything. Next I explore how to find the right balance between features and value, and I share tips on mastering your product walkthrough and proving your claims to customers. I also cover common mistakes to avoid when segmenting your audience, the job of a market category, and how a strong understanding of your differentiated value will inform successful messaging that resonates with your customers. Lastly, near the end of the episode, I discuss my book, “Sales Pitch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win,” which you can get from Amazon https://amzn.to/49l0ZRY and wherever good books are sold—see more links below. (When I originally published this episode, my book wasn't out yet. But it's been out for 10 months now and has received hundreds of 5-star reviews.) —If you want to skip ahead: (00:15) Defining value.(01:14) A story about Janna Systems and their biggest competitor, Siebel Systems.(04:19) How one sales rep changes everything.(07:35) How Janna Systems shifted their positioning and won over Siebel Systems.(08:34) Customers don't care about your features.(10:28) Value vs. differentiated value and what really matters.(13:15) Value buckets.(14:06) Why value is difficult to understand.(16:06) Helping customers translate value on their own.(18:21) Mastering your product walkthrough.(20:00) The importance of proving your value to customers. (21:47) Finding your best-fit customer.(23:50) Common mistakes to avoid. (25:11) Differentiated value and the job of a market category.(27:43) How differentiated value informs messaging.(29:30) My book about sales pitches. —Connect with April Dunford and learn about practical positioning that accelerates marketing and sales: Work with April: https://www.aprildunford.com/contact April's newsletter: https://aprildunford.substack.com/ April's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/ April's Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/aprildunford —Get April Dunford's books and audiobooks: “Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It.”“Sales Pitch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win.”Amazon US: https://amzn.to/49l0ZRY Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/4ac9hgt Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3vosDzQApple Books: https://apple.co/3xihSzC—The Positioning with April Dunford podcast: Want to make your product stand out in a crowded market? It all starts with great positioning. Using April's battle-tested methodology, she'll teach you the nitty-gritty of positioning so that you can unlock better marketing and sales performance.Podcast website:

In today's episode, my guest and I explore the intricate relationship between positioning, messaging, and copywriting for B2B tech companies. I'm joined by Emma Stratton, the founder of a consulting firm that helps-growing B2B tech companies win on positioning and messaging. You will learn: * How B2B and B2C are different and each comes with their own unique challenges and opportunities.* How to differentiate between positioning, messaging, and copywriting.* The value of flexible messaging across different channels. * The importance of being concise in marketing messaging, particularly in the tech industry.* How punchy language is easier for consumers to absorb and remember, making it more effective in conveying complex ideas.* Why marketing professionals should avoid jargon and overused words like "leverage," "utilize," "transform," "accelerate," and "game changer."* Why some people struggle with narrowing down on a specific customer persona.* How taglines and headlines need to speak to customer perspectives.* Formulas and tricks to make your headlines more interesting and attention-grabbing. —If you want to skip ahead: 0:01 Positioning and messaging in B2B. 8:32 Marketing terminology. 13:04 Using simple language in marketing and avoiding jargon. 17:20 Tech language clarity and messaging for specific customer types. 22:18 Messaging for technical products. 30:27 Emma's book about messaging and marketing. 35:29 Messaging strategy. —Connect with Emma Stratton. Emma's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-stratton-punchy/ Punchy: https://punchy.co/ Learn about Emma's book, Make it Punchy: How to Write Simple Tech Messaging That Wins Hearts, Minds, and Markets, which will be published in September 2024: https://pagetwo.com/book/make-it-punchy/ —Connect with April Dunford and learn about practical positioning that accelerates marketing and sales: Work with April: https://www.aprildunford.com/contact April's newsletter: https://aprildunford.substack.com/ April's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/ April's Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/aprildunford —Mentioned in this episode: * Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, a book by Chip Heath and Dan Heath: https://amzn.to/4cNPDsx —Get April Dunford's books and audiobooks: “Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It.”“Sales Pitch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win.”Amazon US: https://amzn.to/49l0ZRY Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/4ac9hgt Amazon UK:

Bringing your CEO into a sales deal can be a game-changer, but only if done strategically. When executed correctly, involving the CEO can provide the gravitas and assurance needed to close complex deals, especially when selling to large organizations. However, without proper preparation, it can backfire, causing misalignment and confusion. Key triggers for involving the CEO include high-dollar deals, prestigious accounts, and significant lifetime value. The CEO's role should be clearly defined to convey confidence, vision, and commitment to the prospective client. Proper orchestration and practice are essential to ensure the CEO enhances rather than hinders the sales process. Alice Heiman, the Chief Sales Energizer, is an expert in elevating sales for companies with exceptional growth potential. With over two decades of experience, Alice works closely with CEOs and sales leadership to build strategies that drive new business and grow existing accounts. Known for her energetic and strategic approach, Alice's clients benefit from her extensive knowledge in sales, which she also shares as a board member for several companies and as a lecturer at the University of Nevada. What you'll learn: What are the key indicators that it's time to bring the CEO into a sales deal? How can sales leaders effectively prepare their CEO for a sales meeting to ensure alignment and success? What strategies can sales leaders use to manage and guide the CEO's involvement without losing control of the sales process? We want to hear from you! Sales leaders: What are the challenges you are faced with? Would you like some ideas on how to solve them? Hamish will shortly be releasing our first "Listener questions" episode and we want to hear from you! What's the burning question you want an answer to? What do you think of the show? Whatever your questions, comment on social media or email us at the address below, and we will possibly add your questions to future episodes.  Please submit your questions at: https://share.hsforms.com/1bauMW6liRNKbrZR0w6FPNwbn9ta Resources:  Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love it, by April Dunford. Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men - by Caroline Criado Perez --- Connect with Hamish on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamishknox/ Meet Hamish at a Sandler Summit: https://www.hamish.sandler.com/orlando Fathom: https://fathom.video/invite/72CZPA Humanic: https://app.humantic.ai/login/?referral_code=HamishKnox_SA

In today's episode, I explore gathering product market insights directly from customers and crafting effective product marketing strategies with Martina Lauchengco, a partner, teacher, author, speaker, mom, and native Californian. You will learn: * How a VP of Marketing required team members to talk to two customers every week.* Observing customers in the field to deepen your knowledge about how they use your products. * Conducting customer interviews to understand the bigger context.* Win/loss analysis. * Collaboration between marketing and sales teams.* How companies can stay ahead of the curve by being responsive to customer needs.* How the rapid pace of technological change and AI is transforming go-to-market strategies. * Understanding how a product intersects with the market and identifying key activities to amplify its reach.* Product marketing's intersection with lead generation strategy. * The crucial role that product marketers play in shaping go-to-market strategies.* The limitations of positioning statements.* Understanding the context and audience for messaging. * The dynamic nature of messaging in the early stages of a company. * Using storytelling frameworks in sales pitches. * Investor positioning. * Borrowing techniques from successful peers, even if they seem unconventional.* How product marketing is misunderstood in many companies. —If you want to skip ahead: (0:00) Customer insights for product marketing. (4:16) Customer interviews. (9:38) Understanding market changes. (16:39) Product marketing and go-to-market strategies. (20:19) Lead generation. (26:15) Positioning for companies. (29:57) Sales pitches. (36:01) Testing new pitches. (39:23) Product marketing function. —Connect with Martina Lauchengco on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinalauchengco/ Learn more about Martina: https://martinalauchengco.com/ Get Martina's book, Loved: How to Rethink Marketing for Tech Products: https://amzn.to/3RIr5s2 —Connect with April Dunford and learn about practical positioning that accelerates marketing and sales: Work with April: https://www.aprildunford.com/contact April's newsletter: https://aprildunford.substack.com/ April's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/ April's Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/aprildunford —Mentioned in this episode: * Gong call recording software: https://www.gong.io/ * The Jobs-to-be-done (JTBD) framework: https://strategyn.com/jobs-to-be-done/ —Get April Dunford's books and audiobooks: “Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It.”“Sales Pitch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win.”Amazon US: https://amzn.to/49l0ZRY Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/4ac9hgt Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3vosDzQApple Books: https://apple.co/3xihSzC—The Positioning with April Dunford podcast: Want to make your product stand out in a crowded market? It all starts with great positioning. Using April's battle-tested methodology, she'll teach you the nitty-gritty of positioning so that you can unlock better marketing and sales performance.Podcast website: https://www.positioning.show/ Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3PFHcWx Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/4aqyDqI Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@positioningshow —This episode was produced by Story On Media & Marketing: https://www.SuccessWithStories.com

In today's episode, I discuss how sales and marketing interact with Loren Padelford, a sales, marketing, cashflow, and revenue expert. You will learn: * The limitations of the predictable revenue playbook and alternative approaches.* How Salesforce pioneered cloud-based software and introduced a new way of thinking about how software gets delivered and sold.* How the rise of ad networks and digital ads made it easier to reach many potential customers faster. * Why the traditional sales process and long sales cycles are frustrating and failing. * That startups founders should design their own sales system based on their product and customer needs.* Shopify's approach to hiring sales reps involved looking for personality traits like curiosity, intelligence, work ethic, and success.* That research shows no correlation between education and success in sales. * The limitations of Product-Led Growth (PLG) approach.* The role of sales reps as tour guides of e-commerce platforms.* The need for marketing, sales, and product to work together in the software industry. —If you want to skip ahead: (0:01) The predictable revenue sales model and alternative models. (4:49) Sales and marketing strategies in the software industry. (10:52) The limitations of the predictable revenue model in software sales. (15:44) Sales strategies and personality traits for success in sales. (23:01) Sales strategies for Shopify businesses. (27:35) The role of sales reps in e-commerce, with a focus on Shopify's experience. (33:05) Sales and marketing collaboration. (36:51) Sales and marketing alignment. —Connect with Loren Padelford on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorenpadelford/ —Connect with April Dunford and learn about practical positioning that accelerates marketing and sales: Work with April: https://www.aprildunford.com/contact April's newsletter: https://aprildunford.substack.com/ April's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/ April's Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/aprildunford/ April's Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/aprildunford April's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@positioningshow—Mentioned in this episode: * Predictable Revenue: Turn Your Business Into a Sales Machine with the $100 Million Best Practices of Salesforce.com, a 2011 book by Aaron Ross: https://amzn.to/4bXcBMP —Get April Dunford's books and audiobooks: “Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It.”“Sales Pitch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win.”Amazon US: https://amzn.to/49l0ZRY Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/4ac9hgt Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3vosDzQApple Books: https://apple.co/3xihSzCGoogle Play: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=%22April%20Dunford%22&c=books Barnes & Noble: https://www.bn.com/s/%22April%20Dunford%22 Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/contributors/april-dunford —The Positioning with April Dunford podcast: Want to make your product stand out in a crowded market? It all starts with great positioning. Using April's battle-tested methodology, she'll teach you the nitty-gritty of positioning so that you can unlock better marketing and sales performance.Podcast website: https://www.positioning.show/ Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3PFHcWx Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/4aqyDqI Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@positioningshow —This episode was produced by Story On Media & Marketing: https://www.SuccessWithStories.com

In today's episode, I explore the different types of competitors you face and how you can position yourself against each of them. You will learn: * How different departments or groups in a company (e.g. sales, product development, etc.) view and define competitors differently. * The 3 types of competitors: (1) status quo competitors, (2) direct competitors, and (3) “do nothing” competitors.* Positioning yourself against status quo competitors requires nailing your value versus the status quo, and understanding a customer's pain of changing from the status quo over to you. * Positing yourself against direct competitors entails leaning into your differentiated value, as compared to your competition. * Positioning yourself against “do nothing” competitors involves understanding why customers evaluated you and your competitors, yet became indecisive and didn't pick any solution/product/service.—If you want to skip ahead: (4:36) Positioning against competitors in B2B sales. (9:59) Winning strategies for B2B sales, including disqualifying unqualified leads and addressing indecision in purchasing decisions. (14:45) Handling objections, increasing confidence in purchase decisions, and educating customers on trade-offs. (19:56) Ways to reduce customer indecision in sales deals. (24:53) Sales strategies for tech companies, focusing on positioning, best-fit customers, and risk mitigation. —Connect with April Dunford and learn about practical positioning that accelerates marketing and sales: Work with April: https://www.aprildunford.com/contact April's newsletter: https://aprildunford.substack.com/ April's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/ April's Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/aprildunford —Mentioned in this episode: * April Dunford's article/newsletter about this topic: https://aprildunford.substack.com/p/a-buyer-centric-approach-to-competitive * To get the free templates related to April Dunford's two books, go to https://www.aprildunford.com/books and sign up for the newsletter; then you'll receive an email to download the free templates. —Get April Dunford's books and audiobooks: “Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It.”“Sales Pitch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win.”Amazon US: https://amzn.to/49l0ZRY Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/4ac9hgt Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3vosDzQ—The Positioning with April Dunford podcast: Want to make your product stand out in a crowded market? It all starts with great positioning. Using April's battle-tested methodology, she'll teach you the nitty-gritty of positioning so that you can unlock better marketing and sales performance.Podcast website: https://www.positioning.show/ Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3PFHcWx Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/4aqyDqI Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@positioningshow —This episode was produced by Story On Media & Marketing: https://www.SuccessWithStories.com

What should you do if you have 10+ years of working experience but are looking for an MBA-type experience to build your skills and network? Richard Campbell, Founder and CEO of 10Adventures, joins the show to discuss his experience with three mid-career MBA alternatives: Harvard Business School's Program for Leadership Development (HBS PLD), London Business School's Sloan Masters in Leadership and Strategy (LBS Sloan Masters), and 500 Global's Accelerator program. Listen on to learn more about the learning experience, alumni networks and benefits of attending each of these programs! Topics Introduction (0:00) Richard's career arc before business school (4:40) Harvard Business School Program for Leadership Development (8:40) The London Business School Sloan Masters in Leadership and Strategy (22:45) 10 Adventures and the 500 Global Accelerator Program (48:00) Richard' advice for entrepreneurs considering mid-career MBA alternatives (59:00) About Our Guest Richard Campbell is Founder and CEO of 10Adventures, which helps people book personalized, active vacations worldwide. Before 10Adventures, Richard worked as COO of Vista Projects, an industrial engineering firm that helps clients navigate the digital transformation of their operations. Richard got his Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Calgary; after ten years growing Vista Projects, he took Harvard Business School's Program for Leadership Development and then completed London Business School's Sloan Masters in Leadership and Strategy. In 2023, he joined 500 Global's Accelerator program in Calgary, where he currently resides. Richard also hosts the 10Adventures Podcast and serves on the Board of Directors for The Alpine Club of Canada. Show Notes Richard Campbell on LinkedIn 10Adventures Harvard Business School Program for Leadership Development The LBS Sloan Masters in Leadership and Strategy 500 Global Richard's Review of HBS LDP program Richard's Review of the LBS Sloan Masters program Richard's Review of 500 Global's Alberta Accelerator John Kotter's 8-Step Change Model from Leading Change Verne Harnish's Scaling Up Platform How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton Christenson Dan Cable Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It by April Dunford Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick Entrepreneur's Organization (EO) Young Presidents' Organization (YPO) Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com Learn proven strategies to get into top-ranked MBA programs and optimize every part of your application through Touch MBA's Admissions Edge Course. See resumes, essays and case-studies of admitted MBAs. Save thousands of dollars on consulting fees: https://go.touchmba.com/edge 

  April Dunford is the founder of Ambient Strategy, a consulting firm that helps technology companies grow. She has led marketing, product, and sales teams at companies like IBM, Siebel, and Sybase. April's work is focused on early and growth-stage startups—recognizing that weak positioning can be the difference between success and failure. She also works with large global companies, helping them develop deeper positioning expertise in their product and marketing teams. April's best-selling book, Obviously Awesome, captures her ideas about positioning and provides a methodology that any startup can follow. Today, April is focused on giving back as much as she can. She mentors and advises dozens of startups and is an enthusiastic board member at a handful of startups. April resides in Toronto, Canada, where she enjoys spending time with her kids and small dog in a cabin in the woods.   Today, April joins me to discuss positioning for B2B tech companies. She explains how to position a product to the current market, rather than the company's vision of the future. She discusses what product managers need to understand about their vision and the current market to craft a successful position. She explains why product positioning is most important in B2B and why positioning is different from messaging. We discuss the importance of positioning to improve marketing and sales performance and why you need to continually refine and evolve positioning over time. April also suggests the best way to develop a positioning thesis and calculate the value it will deliver to the customer.   “The best way to test positioning if you're B2B and you have a sales team is to take that positioning and translate it into a sales pitch, then test it out on qualified prospects in a sales call.” - April Dunford   This week on Innovation Talks:   ●     How to explore the best positioning strategy for your company ●     How B2B tech companies can position themselves for their specific market ●     Why weak positioning makes your sales process harder ●     April's five components of positioning ●     April's methodology for positioning that any company can follow ●     How to test your positioning ●     The benefits of structured sales pitches   Connect with April Dunford:   ●     April Dunford's Website (https://www.aprildunford.com/) ●     Book: Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It by April Dunford (https://www.amazon.com/Obviously-Awesome-Product-Positioning-Customers/dp/1999023005/) ●     April Dunford on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/) ●     April Dunford on Twitter (https://twitter.com/aprildunford)   This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon   Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.   Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/innovation-talks/id1555857396) | TuneIn (https://tunein.com/podcasts/Technology-Podcasts/Innovation-Talks-p1412337/) | GooglePlay (https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9pbm5vdmF0aW9udGFsa3MubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M%3D) | Stitcher (https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=614195) | Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1dX5b8tWI29YbgeMwZF5Uh) | iHeart (https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-innovation-talks-82985745/)   Be sure to connect with us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SopheonCorp/) , Twitter (https://twitter.com/sopheon) , and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/sopheon/) , and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.   For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon's newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com (https://www.sopheon.com/) and click here (https://info.sopheon.com/subscribe) .  

  April Dunford is the founder of Ambient Strategy, a consulting firm that helps technology companies grow. She has led marketing, product, and sales teams at companies like IBM, Siebel, and Sybase. April's work is focused on early and growth-stage startups—recognizing that weak positioning can be the difference between success and failure. She also works with large global companies, helping them develop deeper positioning expertise in their product and marketing teams. April's best-selling book, Obviously Awesome, captures her ideas about positioning and provides a methodology that any startup can follow. Today, April is focused on giving back as much as she can. She mentors and advises dozens of startups and is an enthusiastic board member at a handful of startups. April resides in Toronto, Canada, where she enjoys spending time with her kids and small dog in a cabin in the woods.   Today, April joins me to discuss positioning for B2B tech companies. She explains how to position a product to the current market, rather than the company's vision of the future. She discusses what product managers need to understand about their vision and the current market to craft a successful position. She explains why product positioning is most important in B2B and why positioning is different from messaging. We discuss the importance of positioning to improve marketing and sales performance and why you need to continually refine and evolve positioning over time. April also suggests the best way to develop a positioning thesis and calculate the value it will deliver to the customer.   “The best way to test positioning if you're B2B and you have a sales team is to take that positioning and translate it into a sales pitch, then test it out on qualified prospects in a sales call.” - April Dunford   This week on Innovation Talks:   ●     How to explore the best positioning strategy for your company ●     How B2B tech companies can position themselves for their specific market ●     Why weak positioning makes your sales process harder ●     April's five components of positioning ●     April's methodology for positioning that any company can follow ●     How to test your positioning ●     The benefits of structured sales pitches   Connect with April Dunford:   ●     April Dunford's Website (https://www.aprildunford.com/) ●     Book: Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It by April Dunford (https://www.amazon.com/Obviously-Awesome-Product-Positioning-Customers/dp/1999023005/) ●     April Dunford on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/) ●     April Dunford on Twitter (https://twitter.com/aprildunford)   This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon   Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.   Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/innovation-talks/id1555857396) | TuneIn (https://tunein.com/podcasts/Technology-Podcasts/Innovation-Talks-p1412337/) | GooglePlay (https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9pbm5vdmF0aW9udGFsa3MubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M%3D) | Stitcher (https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=614195) | Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1dX5b8tWI29YbgeMwZF5Uh) | iHeart (https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-innovation-talks-82985745/)   Be sure to connect with us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SopheonCorp/) , Twitter (https://twitter.com/sopheon) , and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/sopheon/) , and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.   For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon's newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com (https://www.sopheon.com/) and click here (https://info.sopheon.com/subscribe) .

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 market category as being similar to the opening scene of a movie. (See link below for my article about this idea, which includes the opening scene of the movie Baby Driver.) * Understanding your product/company's unique value proposition before determining market category.* Why positioning involves identifying what sets your product apart from competitors and the status quo.* Why positioning in an underserved segment of an existing market category is easier than creating a new category.* Communicating the differentiated value of your product or service.* Why companies need to go deeping into their value props to help customers understand how they can deliver unique value for their business.—If you want to skip ahead: (3:50) Market categories and their role in positioning products/companies, with a focus on differentiated value. (7:46) Positioning and messaging for startups, focusing on understanding customer needs and differentiated value. (11:26) Positioning and market categories in business.—Connect with April Dunford and learn about practical positioning that accelerates marketing and sales: Work with April: https://www.aprildunford.com/consultantApril's newsletter: https://aprildunford.substack.com/ April's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/ April's Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/aprildunford —Mentioned in this episode: * My article about market category in which I discuss the opening scene of the movie Baby Driver: https://aprildunford.substack.com/p/understanding-the-job-of-a-market * Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, a book by Al Ries and Jack Trout: https://amzn.to/3JrR4zJ —Get April Dunford's books and audiobooks: “Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It.”“Sales Pitch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win.”Amazon US: https://amzn.to/49l0ZRY Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/4ac9hgt Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3vosDzQ—The Positioning with April Dunford podcast: Want to make your product stand out in a crowded market? It all starts with great positioning. Using April's battle-tested methodology, she'll teach you the nitty-gritty of positioning so that you can unlock better marketing and sales performance.Podcast website: https://www.positioning.show/ Subscribe on Apple Podcasts:

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 solutions. Joining me is Abhinav Asthana, founder and CEO of Postman, an API platform for software developers to build and use APIs.In today's episode: * How Postman's positioning evolved from a product-focused approach to a platform-focused approach, with different positioning for end-users and executives.* Building Postman with the conviction that modern software is built on APIs, and evangelizing (positioning) this idea to investors.* Why top-down positioning needs to align with company strategy. * The value of working with analysts to understand customer needs and improve products.* Positioning software in terms of satisfying customer needs.* The importance of staying ahead of competitors in the enterprise software market.* The challenges of competing with free products and prioritizing user experience.* Abhinav advises talking to 50-100 customers per year to gain insights and build conviction in product decisions.—If you want to skip ahead: (2:24) Origin story of Postman. (7:19) Postman's growth, fundraising, and positioning challenges. (12:57) API platform growth and top-down sales strategies. (18:03) Taking an API-first approach in software development and marketing strategies. (28:19) Scaling velocity, competitors, and customer engagement in the enterprise software space. —Connect with Abhinav Asthana on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abhinavasthana/ Learn about Postman's API platform: https://www.postman.com/ —Connect with April Dunford and learn about practical positioning that accelerates marketing and sales: Work with April: https://www.aprildunford.com/contact April's newsletter: https://aprildunford.substack.com/ April's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/ April's Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/aprildunford/ April's Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/aprildunford April's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@positioningshow—Mentioned in this episode: “Breaking Changes,” a podcast where Postman Chief Evangelist Kin Lane and guests talk about the API universe: https://www.postman.com/events/breaking-changes/“The API-First Transformation,” a book by Kin Lane with a foreword by Abhinav Asthana: https://amzn.to/3PZzEOy —Get April Dunford's books and audiobooks: “Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It.”“Sales Pitch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win.”Amazon US:

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 learn: * Why sales teams often lack a deep understanding of positioning and its importance in the sales process.* Communicating value and positioning product consistently across all sales calls, even for new sales reps.* What happens when marketing creates positioning without consulting sales, leading to disconnect between the two teams.* The disconnect between sales teams and marketing teams, as marketing decks often don't account for the need for discovery and objection handling during sales calls.* Two common unspoken objections in sales pitches: pricing and change management.* Common challenges in transitioning positioning from marketing to sales, including inadequate decks. * In enterprise and B2B deals, multiple stakeholders involved in a deal can lead to multiple pitch decks, making the process more complicated.* Customizing pitch decks for the champion, with a focus on resonating with their needs and concerns, rather than trying to address the objections of other stakeholders in the deal.—If you want to skip ahead: (0:01) Positioning in B2B marketing and sales. (4:25) Sales strategy and customer understanding. (8:55) Why marketing and sales positioning often doesn't align. (13:18) Sales pitches and unspoken objections. (18:00) B2B purchase process and positioning for sales. (23:24) Customizing sales pitch decks for different personas. —Connect with April Dunford and learn about practical positioning that accelerates marketing and sales: Work with April: https://www.aprildunford.com/contact April's newsletter: https://aprildunford.substack.com/ April's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/ April's Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/aprildunford/ April's Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/aprildunford April's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@positioningshow—Get April Dunford's books and audiobooks: “Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It”“Sales Pitch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win”Amazon US: https://amzn.to/49l0ZRY Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/4ac9hgt Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3vosDzQApple Books: https://apple.co/3xihSzGoogle Play: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=%22April%20Dunford%22&c=books Barnes & Noble:

 April Dunford is the founder of Ambient Strategy, a consulting firm that helps technology companies grow. She has led marketing, product, and sales teams at companies like IBM, Siebel, and Sybase. April's work is focused on early and growth-stage startups—recognizing that weak positioning can be the difference between success and failure. She also works with large global companies, helping them develop deeper positioning expertise in their product and marketing teams. April's best-selling book, Obviously Awesome, captures her ideas about positioning and provides a methodology that any startup can follow. Today, April is focused on giving back as much as she can. She mentors and advises dozens of startups and is an enthusiastic board member at a handful of startups. April resides in Toronto, Canada, where she enjoys spending time with her kids and small dog in a cabin in the woods. Today, April joins me to discuss positioning for B2B tech companies. She explains how to position a product to the current market, rather than the company's vision of the future. She discusses what product managers need to understand about their vision and the current market to craft a successful position. She explains why product positioning is most important in B2B and why positioning is different from messaging. We discuss the importance of positioning to improve marketing and sales performance and why you need to continually refine and evolve positioning over time. April also suggests the best way to develop a positioning thesis and calculate the value it will deliver to the customer. “The best way to test positioning if you're B2B and you have a sales team is to take that positioning and translate it into a sales pitch, then test it out on qualified prospects in a sales call.” - April Dunford This week on Innovation Talks: ●     How to explore the best positioning strategy for your company ●     How B2B tech companies can position themselves for their specific market ●     Why weak positioning makes your sales process harder ●     April's five components of positioning ●     April's methodology for positioning that any company can follow●     How to test your positioning ●     The benefits of structured sales pitches  Connect with April Dunford: ●     April Dunford's Website●     Book: Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It by April Dunford●     April Dunford on LinkedIn●     April Dunford on Twitter This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts. Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify | iHeart Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you. For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon's newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

Are you ready to navigate the shifting marketing landscape of 2024? In this episode I sit down with April Dunford, an authority on market positioning, to talk about crafting a value proposition that cuts through the noise. April brings her wealth of experience to the table, discussing not only the strategic pivot but also her journey from in-house marketing maven to sought-after consultant. Discover the hurdles she overcame in building a client base and the undeniable power of a robust professional network. Listen in as April reveals how public speaking and authoring a self-published book have cemented her status as an industry thought leader, and learn how you too can leverage podcasting to propel your business and personal brand to new heights. Join us for this insightful conversation that's all about positioning yourself for success in the tech world of 2024.Learn more about April:April Dunford is the world's leading expert on product positioning. She has worked with hundreds of fast-growing technology companies to accelerate their growth through clear, compelling positioning. Previously April has run marketing and product teams at a series of seven successful technology startups. She is also a board member, investor, and advisor to dozens of high-growth businesses and is the author of the bestselling book Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get it, Buy it, Love it.April's Links:Twitter: https://twitter.com/aprildunfordLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunfordYouTube: https://youtube.com/@positioningshowInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/aprildunford/Check out April's Books: https://www.aprildunford.com/books Connect with Veronica on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vromney/If you're serious about advancing your career in marketing and you're looking for some personal insights into how then I invite you to schedule a free Pathway to Promotion call with me: https://pathwaycall.com/If you found value in today's episode, I would appreciate it if you could leave a rating and review.

April Dunford is the author of the best-seller, Obviously Awesome, How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, and Love It. April spent the first 25 years of her career as a startup executive running marketing, product, and sales teams. During that journey, April positioned, repositioned, and launched 16 different products. Today, April is a business owner. She's an independent consultant, and she's worked with more than 100 early and growth-stage startups to help them position their products. In this episode, you'll learn How she built her consulting business How she attracts high caliber clients The process she uses for qualifying them And April's experience publishing her 1st book Full transcript and show notes April's Website / Twitter / Instagram / YouTube / LinkedIn *** CONNECT

We're back this week with one of our most popular episodes of 2023, featuring April Dunford. Product positioning will make or break your startup. Go toe-to-toe with multinational trillion-dollar behemoths and the likelihood of success is minute. Restructure your approach to target a different group and you can one-day “dab [your] tears with the money”. Researched ways on how to develop your product position and still feel stuck? Don't fret! Yaniv and Chris are back this week with a super special guest - April Dunford, author of “Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get it, Buy it, Love it” and podcast host “Positioning with April Dunford”. Sit back and get ready to take some notes as April, Chris and Yaniv break down product positioning for startup. Along the way she shares the concept of positioning baggage, the three styles of product positioning from her book, why product market fit is not a useful thing for startups - just a vibe created by VC, discuss examples of Salesforce and Snowflake and share snippets from Jack Trout's Positioning the Battle for Your Mind and Peter Thiel's Zero to One. There is so much to learn from this episode we highly recommend listening to it twice! Episode Links Order April's book “Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get it, Buy It, Love it”: https://www.amazon.com.au/Obviously-Awesome-Product-Positioning-Customers/dp/1999023005/  Checkout April's website: https://www.aprildunford.com/ Listen to April's podcast “Positioning with April Dunford”: https://www.positioning.show/ Follow April on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/  Follow April on Twitter: @aprildunford The Pact  Honour The Startup Podcast Pact! If you have listened to TSP and gotten value from it, please: Follow, rate, and review us in your listening app Follow us on YouTube Give us a public shout-out on LinkedIn or anywhere you have a social media following  Key links The Startup Podcast is sponsored by Vanta. Vanta helps businesses get and stay compliant by automating up to 90% of the work for the most in demand compliance frameworks. With over 200 integrations, you can easily monitor and secure the tools your business relies on. Go to www.vanta.com/tsp  for 20% off their incredible offer. Follow us on YouTube for full-video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNjm1MTdjysRRV07fSf0yGg  Get your question in for our next Q&A episode: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A The Startup Podcast website: https://tsp.show  Learn more about Chris and Yaniv Work 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/  Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/  Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/  Credits Lovingly handcrafted for the global startup community by: Editor: Justin McArthur Associate Producer: Aidan Cousins Intro Voice: Jeremiah Owyang  

Do you feel your marketing efforts are not getting you the results you need? Are you frustrated by the lack of customer engagement and differentiation in the market? But what if there's a better way to achieve clear differentiation and increased customer engagement? This week on The Melting Pot, we invited the world's foremost authority on product positioning and author of the book Obviously Awesome and Sales Pitch, April Dunford. In this episode, April delves into the significance of effective positioning in marketing and its impact on the success or failure of tactical execution. She shares her journey of learning about positioning and the frustration she faced when existing resources did not provide a clear process for implementation, leading her to develop her own methodology. April emphasises the critical role of positioning in marketing and the need for a clear and effective process to determine and implement positioning strategies. Her insights provide valuable guidance for companies struggling with positioning and developing impactful sales pitches, highlighting the importance of understanding markets, competition, and customer value. Download and listen to learn more. On today's podcast: Mastering the art of positioning for marketing success.Crafting compelling sales pitches that win over clients.Tailoring product value to meet customer needs effectively.Uncovering untapped niche markets through experimentation.Streamlining the process for clear and impactful positioning. Follow April Dunford: WebsiteLinkedInApril's booksBook recommendations: The Challenger SalePositioning The Battle For Your Mind Enjoyed the show? Leave a Review

Have you ever wondered why, despite having amazing products, customers still struggle to understand your company's value?April Dunford, an authority on product positioning, discusses the critical role of positioning in sales and marketing. Known for her first book "Obviously Awesome" and her expertise in positioning, April shares her insights on why companies often struggle with positioning their products. She emphasizes that most companies have positioning, but it's not deliberate, leading to misalignment and missed opportunities. April highlights the transformative power of effective positioning, using an illustrative story from her early career where repositioning a product from enterprise CRM to CRM for investment banks led to significant business growth and acquisition by a major player.The episode underscores the common disconnect between how companies perceive their products and how customers understand them. April points out the importance of involving sales teams in positioning discussions, as they have direct insights into customer perceptions and competitors. And describes in her second book, Sales Pitch, how to translate the marketing work done for positioning into sales speak. April advises CEOs to routinely reassess their company's positioning, even if it seems satisfactory, to ensure alignment with market realities. She stresses the need for a cross-functional team approach to redefine positioning involving sales, marketing, and product teams. The episode serves as a crucial reminder for CEOs and sales leaders of the importance of clear and strategic positioning in today's competitive market. April Dunford's insights offer valuable guidance on how to approach this process thoughtfully and effectively to drive business growth and customer satisfaction.This podcast is a must listen and her books are both must reads. Chapters05:26 Lack of methodology and squishiness surrounding positioning in marketing0:09:02 Naming of April Dunford's books: "Obviously Awesome" and "Sales Pitch"11:12 Importance of aligning positioning with customer perception14:01 Components of positioning: competition, differentiation, value, customer, market19:07 Example of a company positioned as Enterprise CRM but found success in investment banking22:36 Shifting positioning to target specific industries led to success25:51 Understanding the buyer's perspective and guiding them through the buying process31:20 Buyers are overwhelmed with information and struggle to make decisions33:56 Poor positioning and difficult buying process on websites.39:07 Cross functional team approach to positioning.42:45 Leveraging product knowledge to identify unique value propositions.44:59 Characteristics of a Best Fit customer and market categories46:13 Mapping positioning to a sales narrative for effective storytellingSocial Links You can learn more about and connect with April Dunford in the links below.Connect with April on LinkedIn:(99+) April Dunford | LinkedInCheck out April's website:April Dunford - Positioning for B2B Tech CompaniesCheck out April's Podcast:Positioning With April DunfordCheck out April's NewsletterPositioning with April Dunford | SubstackYou can learn more about and connect with Alice Heiman in the links below.Connect with Alice on LinkedIn:(99+) Alice Heiman | LinkedInCheck out Alice's website:Alice Heiman - Alice HeimanAbout GuestI spent the first 25 years of my career as a startup executive, running marketing, product, and sales teams. I led teams at seven successful B2B technology startups. Most of those startups were acquired (DataMirror to IBM, Janna Systems to Siebel Systems, then SAP, Watcom to Sybase via Powersoft, to name a few), and I ran big teams at IBM, Siebel, Sybase, and others. The total of those acquisitions is more than two billion dollars. Across that journey, I positioned, re-positioned, and launched 16 products, and created dozens of sales pitches.I have a deep curiosity about what makes the difference between a winning product and a loser. Developing a systematic way of positioning technology products and companies has become my life's work. As a consultant, I have had the privilege of working with more than 200 companies, allowing me to go even deeper and broaden my positioning expertise. The bulk of my work is with growth-stage startups and larger technology companies. Companies where the stakes are high - and weak positioning can mean the difference between success or failure.My first book, Obviously Awesome - How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get it, Buy it, Love it (aprildunford.com), captures my ideas about positioning and a methodology for doing it that any startup can follow. It's become a best-seller and popular among entrepreneurs, product, and marketing folk. My second book, Sales Pitch, was designed to teach a step-by-step way of building a sales pitch that reflects that positioning, and helps make a clear compelling case for why prospects should pick you over the competition.I studied Engineering at the University of Waterloo. If you had told me back then that someday I would be an author, I would have said you were nuts. It turns out my grade 6 English teacher was wrong about the importance of grammar. I'm at the stage of my career where I'm trying to give back as much as I can. I am a mentor and advisor to dozens of startups and folks that work in them. I am also an enthusiastic board member at a handful of startups. I live in Toronto, Canada. I have kids, a small dog, and a cabin in the woods.

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 first An overview of buyer's guides and the components of the best ones How to create an explainer video using the sales pitch structure Why all content should target the proper persona  Examples of graphics used to educate buyers  Other types of content that can be structured around the sales pitch  You'll also hear that this is the final episode of Season 1, as I'm excited to take a break from podcasting for the rest of the year. Thanks for listening and supporting the podcast, and I look forward to recording more content next year! — If You Want To Skip Ahead: (00:21) An overview of my consulting work and season 1 finale (01:11) Why marketing should center their storytelling on what works for sales (05:30) How and why to use a buyer's guide with customers  (09:13) How to incorporate the Sales Pitch structure into explainer videos  (10:20) Other places pieces of the sales narrative may work well (11:07) The significance of different personas   (12:10) Leveraging the sales narrative set up phase for conference talks (13:30) How graphics can enhance understanding of differentiated value  (14:09) The graphics Postman created to illustrate its features and capabilities  (16:20) Gitlab's infinity graphic (17:16) Salesforce's confusing infographic  (19:30) Other ways to use my Sales Pitch structure (21:13) Closing thoughts — Where To Find April Dunford: Podcast Website: ⁠https://www.positioning.show/⁠  Personal Website: ⁠https://www.aprildunford.com/⁠  LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/⁠  Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/aprildunford/⁠  Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/aprildunford⁠ — Referenced: Sales Pitch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Pitch-Craft-Story-Stand/dp/1999023021⁠ Postman: ⁠https://www.postman.com/⁠ What is Postman: ⁠https://www.postman.com/product/what-is-postman/⁠ The API platform landscape: ⁠https://blog.postman.com/2022-api-platform-landscape-trends-and-challenges/⁠ Gitlab Infinity: ⁠https://gitlab.com/infinity7x⁠ Salesforce Customer 360: ⁠https://www.salesforce.com/ap/blog/what-is-salesforce-customer-360/⁠ Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/Obviously-Awesome-Product-Positioning-Customers/dp/1999023005⁠ — Production and marketing by ⁠https://penname.co/

This episode is for all of my Product Marketing friends

Bu bölümde Oppenheimer filmi, ürün konumlandırma, Twitter'ın isim değişikliği ve sinemada film izlemek üzerine sohbet ettik.Bizi dinlemekten keyif alıyorsanız, kahve ısmarlayarak bizi destekleyebilir ve Telegram grubumuza katılabilirsiniz. :)Yorumlarınızı, sorularınızı ya da sponsorluk tekliflerinizi info@farklidusun.net e-posta adresine iletebilirsiniz. Bizi Twitter üzerinden takip edebilirsiniz.Zaman damgaları:00:00 - Giriş01:45 - Oppenheimer ve sinemada film izlemek21:25 - Foundation25:09 - A2428:10 - Dune37:10 - Positioning54:30 - The Apple II Age1:09:03 - Arc kullanamamak1:14:40 - Twitter -> X1:25:05 - Google hesaplarının 2 yıl sonra silinmesiBölüm linkleri:OppenheimerZodiacDune: Part Two | Official Trailer 2DuneDune MessiahObviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love ItJonathan NolanAmadeusMindhunterEvery Frame a PaintingHow A24 took over HollywoodBox Office MojoApril DunfordWrite Useful BooksThe Category Design Toolkit: Beyond Marketing: 15 Frameworks For Creating & Dominating Your NicheThe Apple II Age: How the Computer Became PersonalDavid Heinemeier Hansson at Startup School 08SequoiaArcInactive Google Account Policy

Bu bölümde Mert'in Not For Me uygulaması, Gumroad'un hikayesi, TikTok'ta yükselen yeni akım ve Hollandılı elektrikli bisiklet şirketi VanMoof'un batış hikayesi üzerine sohbet ettik.Bizi dinlemekten keyif alıyorsanız, kahve ısmarlayarak bizi destekleyebilir ve Telegram grubumuza katılabilirsiniz. :)Yorumlarınızı, sorularınızı ya da sponsorluk tekliflerinizi info@farklidusun.net e-posta adresine iletebilirsiniz. Bizi Twitter üzerinden takip edebilirsiniz.Zaman damgaları:00:00 - Giriş02:30 - Podsum ve Positioning06:20 - Not For Me16:00 - Okuduklarımız ve izlediklerimiz21:30 - Writers' Strike40:16 - Hype Treni45:06 - TikTok'taki Çılgınlık ve Gösteriş Toplumu1:03:09 - Gumroad'un hikayesi1:18:00 - VanMoof'un Batışı1:31:50 - Microsoft'un Activision Blizzard satın alımı1:44:45 - RiversideBölüm linkleri:Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love ItNot For MeCreating a content blockerThe Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of EntitlementHijackHollywood Actors Strike TV and Movie Actors Vote for Biggest Walkout in Four DecadesActors say Hollywood studios want their AI replicas — for free, foreverWhy Do TikTokers Beg For Virtual Gifts on TikTok LIVE? The Weird 'NPC Stream' Phenomenon ExplainedThe Minimalist Entrepreneur: How Great Founders Do More with LessNo Meetings, No Deadlines, No Full-Time EmployeesVanMoof, the e-bike darling, skids off track: Sales paused, execs departJobRadCourt denies FTC's last-ditch attempt to stop Microsoft buying Activision BlizzardRiverside

Product positioning will make or break your startup. Go toe-to-toe with multinational trillion-dollar behemoths and the likelihood of success is minute. Restructure your approach to target a different group and you could one-day be the industry-leader yourselves. Researched ways on how to develop your product position and still feel stuck? Don't fret! Yaniv and Chris are back this week with a super special guest - April Dunford, author of “Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get it, Buy it, Love it” and podcast host “Positioning with April Dunford”. Sit back and get ready to take some notes as April, Chris and Yaniv break down product positioning for startup. Along the way she shares the concept of positioning baggage, the three styles of product positioning from her book, why product market fit is not a useful thing for startups - just a vibe created by VC, discuss examples of Salesforce and Snowflake and share snippets from Jack Trout's Positioning the Battle for Your Mind and Peter Thiel's Zero to One. There is so much to learn from this episode we highly recommend listening to it twice! Episode Links Order April's book “Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get it, Buy It, Love it”: https://www.amazon.com.au/Obviously-Awesome-Product-Positioning-Customers/dp/1999023005/  Checkout April's website: https://www.aprildunford.com/ Listen to April's podcast “Positioning with April Dunford”: https://www.positioning.show/ Follow April on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/  Follow April on Twitter: @aprildunford The Pact  Honour The Startup Podcast Pact! If you have listened to TSP and gotten value from it, please: Follow, rate, and review us in your listening app Follow us on YouTube Give us a public shout-out on LinkedIn or anywhere you have a social media following  Key links The Startup Podcast is sponsored by UntilNow, a next-generation agency and venture studio https://www.untilnow.com.au/  Follow us on YouTube for full-video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNjm1MTdjysRRV07fSf0yGg  Get your question in for our next Q&A episode: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A The Startup Podcast website: https://tsp.show  Learn more about Chris and Yaniv Work 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/  Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/  Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/

Abi Noda, Co-founder & CEO @ DX returns to the show to discuss his latest research on measuring & improving developer productivity, and provides a practical, developer-focused framework to give you clear, actionable insights into what to measure and where to focus in order to improve developer productivity. Abi reveals the inspiration behind his whitepaper / research, elements of their new DevEx framework, and how eng leaders can implement it into their org's practice in order to increase developer productivity. We also cover the evolution of measuring developer experience (including output metrics, DORA & SPACE frameworks) and the benefits / shortcomings of each approach. In addition, learn not only the importance of having a dedicated DevEx team, but also how to implement these insights if your org isn't ready to have a dedicated team yet.ABOUT ABI NODAAbi (@abinoda) is the CEO and co-founder of DX, the world's first developer experience management platform. He was previously the CEO and founder of Pull Panda, which was acquired by GitHub in 2019. At GitHub he led research collaborations with Dr. Nicole Forsgren, McKinsey, and Microsoft Research, which was the impetus for founding DX."Oftentimes, organizations that are larger that get started with these types of measurements in their framework, they're really surprised. They realize that, 'Oh man, there's all these opportunities we didn't even realize and developers are telling us these are the most important things. These aren't the things we're working on and we need to shift our focus.' So, I think there's a huge opportunity to refocus by getting a holistic picture of the developer experience.”- Abi Noda   Join us at ELC Annual 2023!ELC Annual is our flagship conference for engineering leaders. You'll learn from experts in engineering and leadership, gain mentorship and support from like-minded professionals, expand your perspectives, build relationships across the tech industry, and leave with practical prove strategies.Join us this August 30-31 at the Fort Mason Center in San FranciscoFor tickets, head to https://sfelc.com/annual2023SHOW NOTES:The background behind Abi's developer productivity research & why it matters (2:50)The evolution of measuring developer productivity (5:50)Moving beyond output metrics to DORA (and how that fell short of solving engineering measurement problems) (7:43)Challenges, drawbacks, and limitations to current measurement approaches (like DORA & SPACE) (11:51)What is the SPACE framework & how it manifests in eng orgs (15:14)Distinction between measuring the notion of productivity vs. focusing on measurements that improve productivity (17:07)Overview of Abi's new DevEx framework & examples of it in use (19:52)Recommendations for frontline managers, ICs, engineers, etc. to apply the DevEx framework (22:26)How DevEx uncovers blind spots (like requirements quality) (24:21)When engineering orgs should consider separating out productivity (27:44)Strategies for broad-scope leaders to apply the DevEx framework (29:21)Using local teams to address specific DevEx issues (31:30)Why the VP of Eng / org leadership's values drive developer experience (33:00)Tips for implementing the DevEx framework as a startup vs. mature company (35:06)How Abi is incorporating DevEx strategies into his own company @ DX (37:47)What positive developer experience looks like within an eng team (39:35)The most important step a team w/o a DevEx team can take (41:29)Rapid fire questions (43:17)LINKS AND RESOURCESAbi's new DevEx whitepaper - “DevEx: What Actually Drives Productivity” by Abi Noda, DX, Margaret-Anne Storey, University of Victoria, Nicole Forsgren, Microsoft Research, Michaela Greiler, DXObviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It - Obviously Awesome goes beyond teaching you what positioning is and why you should care. It gives you a step-by-step process that any startup can follow to position their product, service or company. This book will teach you how to find your product's “secret sauce” and then sell that sauce to those who crave it.Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind - The first book to deal with the problems of communicating to a skeptical, media-blitzed public, Positioning describes a revolutionary approach to creating a "position" in a prospective customer's mind-one that reflects a company's own strengths and weaknesses as well as those of its competitors.This episode wouldn't have been possible without the help of our incredible production team:Patrick Gallagher - Producer & Co-HostJerry Li - Co-HostNoah Olberding - Associate Producer, Audio & Video Editor https://www.linkedin.com/in/noah-olberding/Dan Overheim - Audio Engineer, Dan's also an avid 3D printer - https://www.bnd3d.com/Ellie Coggins Angus - Copywriter, Check out her other work at https://elliecoggins.com/about/

 April Dunford is the founder of Ambient Strategy, a consulting firm that helps technology companies grow. She has led marketing, product, and sales teams at companies like IBM, Siebel, and Sybase. April's work is focused on early and growth-stage startups—recognizing that weak positioning can be the difference between success and failure. She also works with large global companies, helping them develop deeper positioning expertise in their product and marketing teams. April's best-selling book, Obviously Awesome, captures her ideas about positioning and provides a methodology that any startup can follow. Today, April is focused on giving back as much as she can. She mentors and advises dozens of startups and is an enthusiastic board member at a handful of startups. April resides in Toronto, Canada, where she enjoys spending time with her kids and small dog in a cabin in the woods. Today, April joins me to discuss positioning for B2B tech companies. She explains how to position a product to the current market, rather than the company's vision of the future. She discusses what product managers need to understand about their vision and the current market to craft a successful position. She explains why product positioning is most important in B2B and why positioning is different from messaging. We discuss the importance of positioning to improve marketing and sales performance and why you need to continually refine and evolve positioning over time. April also suggests the best way to develop a positioning thesis and calculate the value it will deliver to the customer. “The best way to test positioning if you're B2B and you have a sales team is to take that positioning and translate it into a sales pitch, then test it out on qualified prospects in a sales call.” - April Dunford This week on Innovation Talks: ●     How to explore the best positioning strategy for your company ●     How B2B tech companies can position themselves for their specific market ●     Why weak positioning makes your sales process harder ●     April's five components of positioning ●     April's methodology for positioning that any company can follow●     How to test your positioning ●     The benefits of structured sales pitches  Connect with April Dunford: ●     April Dunford's Website●     Book: Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It by April Dunford●     April Dunford on LinkedIn●     April Dunford on Twitter This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts. Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify | iHeart Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you. For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon's newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here. 

In episode 656, join Rob Walling for another solo adventure, where he revisits a few topics from earlier episodes. These topics range from balancing having taste while shipping consistently to the only two keys to being remembered for something. Topics we cover: 1:39 - What founders need to know about the Section 174 tax change 5:03 - Balancing developing taste with shipping 10:47 - If you want to be remembered for something, you either have to be the first or the best. 17:13 - Lifestyle bootstrapper vs. ambitious bootstrapper vs. the billion-dollar entrepreneur and why you need to get clear on the path you aspire to take. Links from the Show: Small Software Business Coalition Letter To Congress  Episode 652 I Mixing No-code with Code, Developer Superpowers, $5k Angel Check, and More Listener Questions Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It  The SaaS Playbook  TinySeed  MicroConf Youtube Channel ...Read more... »Click the icon below to listen.  

Be sure to subscribe to the Dog Whistle Brand Newsletter on Substack here: www.dogwhistlebranding.comOrder my book, “Black Veteran Entrepreneur” here: https://amzn.to/3gme7kgCheckout April's book here: https://amzn.to/3x4sJd4

In episode #2357, Neil and Eric break down how to fix your marketing funnel. There are plenty of useful tools that can help you identify where your marketing funnel needs to be improved. The trick is knowing how to improve them. In our conversation, we examine some of the best tools for collecting both quantitative and qualitative information, and how to use customer feedback to take your marketing funnel to the next level. To get started on fixing your funnel, be sure to tune in for this episode!TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:20] Today's topic: How To Fix Your Marketing Funnel. [00:42] An overview of marketing funnels and how they work. [01:22] What Google Analytics can teach you about where your funnel needs to be improved. [02:43] How marketing funnels work on platforms like YouTube. [03:08] Examples of how to conduct AB tests on YouTube. [04:49] Why getting feedback from your customers is essential for improving your marketing funnel. [06:50] That's it for today! Go to https://www.levelingup.com/founders to join Neil and Eric in Miami from the 12th to the 14th of February! [07:15] Go to https://www.marketingschool.io to learn more! Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Google Analytics TubeBuddy Typeform b2b message testing platform Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It Crazy Egg Subscribe to our premium podcast (with tons of goodies!): https://www.marketingschool.io/pro Leave Some Feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with Us:  Neilpatel.com Quick Sprout  Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel  Twitter @ericosiu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In episode #2357, Neil and Eric break down how to fix your marketing funnel. There are plenty of useful tools that can help you identify where your marketing funnel needs to be improved. The trick is knowing how to improve them. In our conversation, we examine some of the best tools for collecting both quantitative and qualitative information, and how to use customer feedback to take your marketing funnel to the next level. To get started on fixing your funnel, be sure to tune in for this episode! TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:20] Today's topic: How To Fix Your Marketing Funnel. [00:42] An overview of marketing funnels and how they work. [01:22] What Google Analytics can teach you about where your funnel needs to be improved. [02:43] How marketing funnels work on platforms like YouTube. [03:08] Examples of how to conduct AB tests on YouTube. [04:49] Why getting feedback from your customers is essential for improving your marketing funnel. [06:50] That's it for today! Go to https://www.levelingup.com/founders to join Neil and Eric in Miami from the 12th to the 14th of February! [07:15] Go to https://www.marketingschool.io to learn more! Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Google Analytics TubeBuddy Typeform b2b message testing platform Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It Crazy Egg Subscribe to our premium podcast (with tons of goodies!): https://www.marketingschool.io/pro Leave Some Feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with Us:  Neilpatel.com Quick Sprout  Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel  Twitter @ericosiu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on DWB, I discuss why poor positioning can kill your revenue. If your sales and marketing isn't working, then your positioning is broken. Luckily, we're going to discuss how to fix it. Be sure to subscribe to the Dog Whistle Brand Newsletter on Substack here: www.dogwhistlebranding.comOrder my book, “Black Veteran Entrepreneur” here: https://amzn.to/3gme7kgPurchase “Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It” here: https://amzn.to/3XmHt2v

In this week's episode, Melissa Perri invites April Dunford, author of the best-selling book Obviously Awesome, How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It on the podcast. April has 25 years of experience leading marketing, product, and sales teams and now runs her consulting firm, helping companies of all shapes and sizes, including Google, IBM, Postman, and Epic Games, nail their positioning.  Here are some key points April and Melissa talk about: April talks about her academic and professional background and what led her to write her book on product positioning, Obviously Awesome. According to April, product positioning is how your product is the best in the world at delivering some value that a well-defined set of target customers cares about. “Positioning is really about taking a customer that doesn't know too much about our [product] and orienting them towards it,” she tells Melissa. April describes an example of good positioning that a company can execute and how to assess if your product's positioning is weak or strong. One of the key concepts in product positioning is looking at your product from the perspective of the consumer to determine what makes your product unique. It is best to build your product according to a positioning thesis based on information about your competitors and consumers. However, the thesis is usually wrong, so use your initial launch to improve it. The essence of product marketing is product positioning. Producing positioning can only succeed when the market managers work harmoniously with the product managers and sales team, to truly understand the products' place in the market. If we don't have an actionable segmentation, it doesn't matter if we have product market fit.  April shares her expertise on what product teams and marketing teams should be doing to truly understand and leverage their product positioning. Resources April Dunford on the web | Twitter

In this week's episode, Melissa Perri invites April Dunford, author of the best-selling book Obviously Awesome, How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It on the podcast. April has 25 years of experience leading marketing, product, and sales teams and now runs her consulting firm, helping companies of all shapes and sizes, including Google, IBM, Postman, and Epic Games, nail their positioning.  Here are some key points April and Melissa talk about: April talks about her academic and professional background and what led her to write her book on product positioning, Obviously Awesome. According to April, product positioning is how your product is the best in the world at delivering some value that a well-defined set of target customers cares about. “Positioning is really about taking a customer that doesn't know too much about our [product] and orienting them towards it,” she tells Melissa. April describes an example of good positioning that a company can execute and how to assess if your product's positioning is weak or strong. One of the key concepts in product positioning is looking at your product from the perspective of the consumer to determine what makes your product unique. It is best to build your product according to a positioning thesis based on information about your competitors and consumers. However, the thesis is usually wrong, so use your initial launch to improve it. The essence of product marketing is product positioning. Producing positioning can only succeed when the market managers work harmoniously with the product managers and sales team, to truly understand the products' place in the market. If we don't have an actionable segmentation, it doesn't matter if we have product market fit.  April shares her expertise on what product teams and marketing teams should be doing to truly understand and leverage their product positioning. Resources April Dunford on the web | Twitter

Amy Hardison White has been in the startup world since before the bubble, with a background in copywriting and content marketing. Her focus today is helping accounting startups and payment providers acquire new users with targeted content strategy. Recap / Takeaways Take notes on what is happening in customer conversations. Where are your target customers hanging out online? Consider the strengths and weaknesses of your team (writing, video, etc) Repurposing your content (make your podcast into an article or video) If you don't have time to write it, have someone on your team interview you. It's okay to lower your own expectations on production value—just get it out there! Check out "Obviously Awesome" book (about product positioning) Links:https://www.amyhardisonwhite.comAmy's Podcast: Scrappy Fintech Marketing https://www.amyhardisonwhite.com/podcastObviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love ItGo to TheFridayHabit.com where you can also find links to our websites and ways to get in touch. At the bottom of the page you can download our guide to the Friday Habit system that will show you how to set aside one full day each week dedicated to working on your business instead of in your business.Subscribe & ReviewIf you enjoyed this episode please subscribe and leave us a review in the Apple podcasts 

Amy Hardison White has been in the startup world since before the bubble, with a background in copywriting and content marketing. Her focus today is helping accounting startups and payment providers acquire new users with targeted content strategy. Recap / Takeaways Take notes on what is happening in customer conversations. Where are your target customers hanging out online? Consider the strengths and weaknesses of your team (writing, video, etc) Repurposing your content (make your podcast into an article or video) If you don't have time to write it, have someone on your team interview you. It's okay to lower your own expectations on production value—just get it out there! Check out "Obviously Awesome" book (about product positioning) Links:https://www.amyhardisonwhite.comAmy's Podcast: Scrappy Fintech Marketing https://www.amyhardisonwhite.com/podcastObviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love ItGo to TheFridayHabit.com where you can also find links to our websites and ways to get in touch. At the bottom of the page you can download our guide to the Friday Habit system that will show you how to set aside one full day each week dedicated to working on your business instead of in your business.Subscribe & ReviewIf you enjoyed this episode please subscribe and leave us a review in the Apple podcasts

April Dunford is a consultant and author who helps companies make complicated products easy for customers to understand and love. She is a globally recognized expert in Positioning, having launched 16 products across her 25-year career running marketing, product and sales teams at a series of successful startups. She is the author of the best-selling book Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get it, Buy it, Love it. Here are a few of the topics we'll discuss on this episode of Long Story Short: April's detailed product positioning framework  The root cause of most weak positioning — and how to fix it How positioning is different from messaging and branding The misalignment that occurs across marketing, sales, and product teams within companies — and the issues that causes for buyers How to paint your product in the right light The dominant emotion for B2B buyers (and how to tap into it) Resources:April's WebsiteObviously Awesome by April DunfordThe Challenger Sale by Brent Adamson and Matthew DixonThe Challenger Customer by Brent Adamson, Pat Spenner, Nick Toman, and Matthew DixonThe Four Steps to the Epiphany by Steve BlankPositioning by Al Ries and Jack TroutLenny's NewsletterLenny's PodcastConnect with April: TwitterLinkedInConnect with Jeff:LinkedInConnect with Sirkin Research:WebsiteTwitterInstagramLinkedIn

It's All About Positioning Baby. April Dunford is the world’s leading expert on product positioning. She has worked with over 200 fast-growing technology companies to accelerate their growth through clear, compelling positioning. Previously April has run marketing and product teams at a series of seven successful technology startups. She is also a board member, investor, and advisor to many high-growth businesses. She is the author of the bestselling book Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning, so Customers Get it, Buy it, Love it. https://www.aprildunford.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/ Main Questions Practical positioning April Dunford #1 - April, how did you get into the semi-crazy world of technology and startups? #2 - I've learned that positioning your product, service, or plugin correctly is all-important; got any quick insights/tips on how to achieve this? #3 - I think you really got to be prepared to pivot great quickly when it comes to positioning; what are your thought about this? #4 - What are some basic mistakes you see people making on a semi-regular basis for product positioning? #5 - Are there any processes or mythologies that you can share with the listeners that you feel can help in the process of successful product positioning? #6 - Is there one particular semi-big mistake you have made in business that you feel you can share with the audience that you have learned a lot from? https://www.aprildunford.com/

CoSchedule started the Actionable Marketing Podcast (AMP) in 2015 and has recorded and published more than 300 episodes. CoSchedule has worked with some of the smartest minds out there that share their stories with you through this podcast. This season, CoSchedule brings back some of the best of the best evergreen content.  The success of your company depends on the marketing you do, how you choose to present the benefits of a product or service, and which audience to target. How you position a product or service can make or break your company. Stop right there. Forget everything you thought you knew about product positioning. Connecting your product or service with buyers is not a matter of following trends, selling harder, or trying to attract the widest customer base. Today, my guest is April Dunford, who has launched more than a dozen products and shares some of the biggest mistakes that startups, marketers, and entrepreneurs make with product positioning. Also, she's the author of Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning So Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It. April's book describes her point of view on positioning and offers a step-by-step process to perfectly position your product or service.   Some of the highlights of the show include: Career Change: Fake it til you figure it out. How hard can it be? Do it right, and the company grows quickly, gets acquired; you get bored and do another startup Definition of Positioning: How to win at doing something that a well-defined market cares about Perfect marketing execution won't save you from weak positioning; marketing execution and results are only as good as positioning that feeds into them Who should decide the positioning for your product? Everybody Siebel Story: Too small to buy out beyond a billion dollars Positioning Pitfalls: People don't do positioning deliberately; and when they try to fix it, they don't follow a process but wing it or write a “Positioning Statement” Positioning Statement Components: Who's your competitive alternatives? What are the unique capabilities or features that your product has? What's the value that those features can enable for customers? Who's my target customer? Is this a market that I'm going to win? Signs of weak positioning include: How a customer reacts to your product/service They compare you to a non-competitor; not in the right market Customer knows what you do, but not the value or why they should care   Links: April Dunford Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning So Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It CoSchedule   Quotes by April Dunford: “Not only is positioning a thing I should figure out, it's potentially a super powerful thing.” “Two years after graduating from engineering, I'm running this great big marketing team. It's global. I've got this giant budget...even though I was completely unqualified for it.” “I focus on positioning, mainly because I think people do a really terrible job at positioning. There's not many people that know how to do it right.” “A shift in positioning can totally result in a shift in the product roadmap, a shift in your pricing, a shift in a way you sell, a shift in your channels.” "You see signs of weak positioning across your entire sales marketing funnel, but often the place where it's most obvious is looking at how a customer reacts when they first encounter your product or your offering."

In episode #2027, Neil and Eric unpack their methods for how to drastically improve customer retention. If you're struggling with customer retention then there are several things that could be causing it, from your positioning to your customer service. Tune in to find out how to identify what is causing more churn than you'd like and how to turn things around! TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:20] Today's topic: How to Drastically Improve Customer Retention. [00:30] A summary of our definition for customer retention. [01:11] The recommended metrics for customer retention in B2B and SaaS businesses. [01:36] Seven Powers, the concept of switching costs, and how they help retention. [02:27] How communicating with customers and finding out about their needs can improve retention. [03:02] How to use LinkedIn to improve customer retention through your hires. [03:20] Why you need to do continual customer development to ensure retention. [04:18] Why product customer fit and positioning are essential for retention. [06:16] That's it for today! Don't forget to rate, review and subscribe! [06:26] Go to https://marketingschool.io/live to learn more!   Links Mentioned in Today's Episode:   7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It Subscribe to our premium podcast (with tons of goodies!): https://www.marketingschool.io/pro   Leave Some Feedback:     What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review.     Connect with Us:    Neilpatel.com Quick Sprout  Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel  Twitter @ericosiu