#38 Weekly Dan — 4 Levels of Positioning
The simple framework to get more sales
Hello there
This is the #38 Issue of Weekly Dan.
Ready to become a better Maker?
Every Tuesday, I share an actionable essay for Solopreneurs.
Today let’s talk about 4 levels of product positioning.
My course on product positioning is almost done.
Surprisingly, it took me more time to design the framework than to describe it. I wanted to create a holistic model for Solopreneurs to cover 80% of their marketing needs. And at the same time, keep it simple — so everyone can remember key parts.
I can’t wait to share this course with you. The launch is scheduled on 31 January. Will see you there 👋
Today I have a simple positioning framework for you.
So you can easily estimate where your product is right now and how you can get more sales from it. It’s called the “4 Levels of Positioning”.
Level 1. Ego
Sell the product
Founders who hate marketing end up there.
Their landing pages are centered around the product and its features. They think their product is so unique and innovative that everyone wants to buy it just for the sake of it.
And they are not entirely wrong. This approach works well with early adopters. These people are looking for a new To-Do App, and you are selling the To-Do App — a perfect match.
But the colder your traffic gets, the fewer sales you get. Because suddenly, people don’t understand the value of your To-Do App. Some of them don’t even know they need a new To-Do App. This is when you need to start selling results.
Level 2. Bright Future
Sell the result
Most Founders end up there.
They read a Twitter thread about selling the results instead of features. From some “marketing guru” with a pink profile picture. So they start doing it.
And it works exceptionally well at the beginning. Changing Heading 1 from “A To-Do App for Solopreneurs” to “Complete more tasks in your one-person business” resurrects the Conversion Rate from the dead. New sales are pouring in.
But it doesn’t last long.
Most people still don’t understand why they should “buy” this transformation. “Completing more tasks” is an excellent result, but why should I care about it? This is when you need to sell the benefits of completing the transformation.
Level 3. Negotiations
Sell the result and its benefits
Advanced Founders stick to this level.
They know that some people will buy the transformation immediately, but for most users, you must present the benefits of completing it. You need to negotiate.
Their positioning is getting more complex, “Complete more tasks in your one-person business so you can grow faster, feel calmer and enjoy more free time with your family”. Of course, not that straightforward. They mention different benefits in the different landing page blocks — but still.
Now cold traffic understands why they should care about this new product. They have the result in mind and know why it is awesome. But there is a but.
They don’t have a reason to switch from their current solution. It’s not perfect and often drives them mad. But switching requires a lot of mental capacity. They would only do this if the drawbacks of the current solution were crystal clear. Shall we tell them?
Level 4. Story
Sell the result and its benefits, on the contrast of pains from the nemesis
Only 1% of companies have this level of positioning. And these companies grow like crazy. Here is why.
Their positioning is a story that people can connect with. It’s not centered around the company or the product; it’s 100% about the customer. And people remember stories about themselves.
Want to have a Level 4 positioning? You need to add two components to the previous level.
The first one is the nemesis. Your product should have one solution that you are fighting against. Showing why this competitor is bad will make people switch from it faster.
And secondly, the pains of using this nemesis. These drawbacks drive your target audience mad. So we will make your users suffer a little bit so that they will appreciate your product more.
For example,
Complete more tasks in your one-person business so you can grow faster instead of feeling overwhelmed with your never-ending backlog of tasks in Notion
Our nemesis is task-tracking in Notion, and the pains are feeling “overwhelmed” and having a “never-ending” backlog. Now our solution looks more desirable because the nemesis makes it obvious that this is high time to switch. Even for the cold traffic.
And this is how it’s done.
We went from ego-centric positioning to customer-centric positioning. The first will satisfy the Founder, and the last will sell.
To make it clear — positioning is not a new Heading 1. You don’t need to have this big clumsy sentence on the first screen.
Positioning is the idea that will define your marketing. You will use specific copy on your landing page based on your positioning. You will create specific marketing content under a specific angle based on your positioning.
And having this sentence is just the first step.
The real magic begins when you apply it to the product, marketing, and sales.
This is what my course will be about.
Tune in on 31 January to learn more.
That’s it!
Thank you for reading Weekly Dan. That means a lot to me.
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See you on Friday with 5 golden nuggets for Solopreneurs ❤️
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Applied. We shall see.