What Is a Positioning Statement?
Having compelling products is only one piece of the sales puzzle. Your organization likely has numerous competitors aiming to target the same customers you have. So why should prospective buyers turn to you instead of your biggest rivals, and how do you ensure that your messaging stays consistent across the board?
Positioning statements help provide the clarity your company needs to position itself as a major contender for your target audience. What is a positioning statement? It's an expression that describes your product, who you're selling to, and what it does to fill a unique market need. These statements are often mistaken for mission statements that identify a brand strategy. While seemingly similar, the two are very different.
Mission statements are about shaping a company's culture. Meanwhile, positioning statements focus on the outside perception of your product and brand identity. Think of it as a central value proposition that explains why your offering is unique and deserves attention.
How Are Sales Positioning Statements Used?
You might come across positioning statement templates and think they're nothing more than taglines or simple marketing expressions. But that's not the case. Your positioning statement defines your product and what it can do, cementing its place on the market. It's primarily used externally, but there are internal uses, too.
One of the most important ways your company will utilize your positioning statement is to align messaging between your marketing and sales teams. A good positioning strategy takes time and requires more effort to write than you think. It's a crucial part of your marketing plan that defines the image your company wants to make and the direction it needs to take to have a presence in your desired market. Once written, the statement then guides the sales team to ensure consistent communication between the two departments.
Think of it as a single source of truth about your messaging.
Do We Really Need One?
Absolutely! Think of it this way:
Would you allow your marketing and sales teams to develop their own plan of attack to attract customers? Of course not! You'd have mixed messages if you let these two teams work independently. A marketing strategy might focus on one feature and use case while the sales team prioritizes another. Not only does that create confusion for your customers, but it can severely harm your brand reputation.
Positioning statements are crucial for unification and success. It offers valuable information and a unified definition of your product to your prospective customers and ensures everyone is on the same page internally.
Examples of Key Elements for Your Position Statement
Writing a sales positioning statement is a challenging task. This expression is usually short and sweet, but considerable thought goes into it. Teams often deliberate a great deal to create the right message and do what they can to ensure that your company occupies the piece of the market it wants.
Here are several core elements you should include in your positioning statement.
1. Your Market
One of the most important things to decide is who your target audience is. What demographic are you hoping to attract? What segment would be most likely to invest in what you're offering?
You might want to attract a wide range of buyers, but casting a massive net usually isn't a wise choice. The more specific your statement is, the better it is for your marketing and sales team. It creates laser focus, directing sales reps to reach out to prospects that fit the bill.
2. Your Customers
After deciding the target market you're hoping to attract, you can narrow things down further by looking at the types of customers your product will benefit most. Here's where market research and well-developed buyer personas come in handy.
Instead of looking at basic demographics alone, your positioning statement should be more specific. Define the person who should buy your product, and your sales team can set their sights accordingly to maximize sales.
3. Their Pain Points
Understanding customer pain points makes all the difference. Modern sales environments are a lesson in empathy. No matter how excellent your product is, your sales team needs to approach its strategies from a customer's perspective. Otherwise, creating that human connection with prospects will take more work than needed.
What issues is your target customer facing? How does that relate to your product?
4. The Solutions Your Product Offers
Ideally, your product will provide solutions to customer pain points. But how?
Statement templates should have space to detail what your product can do and how it solves the unique challenges your target audience faces. This information will prove helpful when creating enablement resources and guiding sales teams in the right direction while connecting with customers searching for something to fit their needs. For example, you can use this element to create scripts for objection handling and competitive battle cards to let buyers know what your goods do differently than similar products.
5. The Outcomes Your Product Can Deliver
What's the big payoff when buying your product? What outcome will your customers experience when they finally decide to invest?
This element is one of the most important. It requires a deep understanding of who your customers are and what they need. Lean heavily into your market research and create a message that appeals to prospects on a personal level.
It's about making your product as alluring as possible and defining the point of differentiation that sets your goods apart from others on the market. Tell them what your product does and precisely what they can expect to get.
6. Your Company’s Values
Company core values matter now more than ever. Many consumers are warier about what organizations they support. They do their research, and many will only buy products with values that align with their own.
A sales positioning statement should give buyers a taste of what your company is all about. Whether that's diversity, social responsibility, or environmental protection, talk about it. Doing so does the heavy lifting for prospects and provides peace of mind that they're supporting a brand with similar values.
7. Your Company’s Vision
Finally, good positioning statements include a small blurb about the company's overarching vision. This action-based element states why your organization exists and how it serves customers.
Prospects will look at this aspect of your statement and possibly identify your company's reason for existing. Meanwhile, it'll help guide sales and marketing efforts with consistent messaging when communicating with your target audience.
Create Sales Content That Closes Deals
Effective positioning statements are valuable sales content that will leave an impact internally and externally. They provide a clear picture of your product and its place in a fiercely competitive market. When you're ready to develop your message and other sales content, turn to Flockjay.
The all-in-one sales platform will give you all the tools you need to run a thriving sales department. Share enablement content with your team, take advantage of training tools and empower every rep to do their best.
