Three Steps to A Perfect Positioning Statement

Kevin Shabaar Smith Author

Sometimes things are just difficult to sort out.

I first started by business back in 2009. 

Right around that time, I received my MBA from Penn State as an adult student.  I was taking night classes while raising two little boys and working in management in the manufacturing industry.

I was fortunate to have gained a ton of experience in just about every aspect of business operations…

So, I knew a bunch of “stuff”.

So when I got my MBA…and made the decision to go out on my own, I thought I was ready.

I networked…

I mingled…

I rubbed elbows with other business leaders.

I did everything I thought I needed to do to start getting consulting clients…

…Except get clear on what exactly my consulting WAS!

See, I knew I wanted to help businesses be more efficient and effective….and I thought that was enough.

Bu when people would ask me what I did, or how I could help….I really didn’t have an answer….

…or at least an answer they could really understand.

My response typically sounded like….

“it depends…..”

“well, it’s sorta like…”

“anything from….. to…..”

….it was kinda awful.

I would literally ramble on for minutes trying to articulate what I did  while slowly watching the interest drain from the face.

I needed to change.

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD.

The good news is time-tested advice typically holds true… so I took some of my own!

When in doubt go toward your strengths.  


My strength was looking at problems, breaking them down into manageable parts, and simplifying a solution.


So that’s what I did.

Confusion was the problem.

So I broke down what was so confusing and I rebuilt it in a better way.

See, I could talk about the activities I would engage clients in, but nobody cared about that.  

Talking about that stuff was like talking about chapter 7 of the book before even reading the cover!

I new I had to develop a clear, concise, and universal message around my business.  

…a message that went from big picture to details…and included the transformation that would take place along the way.

And it worked.  In no time at all I had created a positioning statement that became a part of my natural dialogues and could be easily inserted into any conversation with relative ease.

I did it by utilizing what I call the FOUR Ps.  Three of which make up a solid positioning statement.

THE FOUR P’s.

PURPOSE

The first of the four Ps is Purpose.  

It’s important that we understand and communicate the big picture….

…that one big reason you serve your clients.  

Clearly stated, the purpose is the ONE thing you want for your clients more than anything else in the world.

This is a big picture word, like:

• Empowerment
• Freedom
• Fulfillment
• Happiness
• Confidence
• Peace
• Love

…you get the picture.

This is going to resonate with a certain type of person and will open their ears to what you have to say.

POINTS OF DEFINITION

The problem with the big picture “purpose” word is that it’s…well…big picture.

It can seem kind of fluffy.  

Let’s face it, some people hear words like that and cringe.  They see “salesperson” as soon as they hear it.

So it’s important to communicate exactly what you mean by that purpose.

I typically break down the definition into three parts….

…why? Because people like to think and remember things in groups of three!

So you want to try to come up with three very short words or phrases that define your “purpose” word.

This brings us to the next P…

PILLARS

It’s one thing to tell people hope will come true for them.  It’s another to clear on what that means…

…and it’s yet another thing to communicate “HOW” you’re going to help them without going on a tangent.

So, you can tackle this by grouping the “how” into three main categories of activities…

…I call these pillars.

When you describe your how, simply state the three pillars.

And there you have it! I three phase positioning statement that goes from big picture to the tangible “how” in a matter of seconds!

Now, I know you may be thinking…that sounds great, but how do I specifically go about crafting the actual statement???

I got your back!  I created a tool that can help you if you need it…

You can check it out here!

All the best,

Kevin

Categories: Model