Competitive positioning is literally part of any positioning exercise—yet it’s a step most companies breeze through.

If you are lucky enough to work at a company with a very specific use case, category and ICP, congrats! You’re probably doing it right. But most folks tend to operate in fuzzier areas. This framework will come in handy.

How to be honest about your competitive positioning

1. Find out who you’re really competing against (same ICP)

   Simple, not easy. this requires a complete competitive research to find out which of your competitors solve the same pain for the same ICP as you.

2. Make a list of your distinct capabilities (product and non)

   It doesn’t have to be a list of things no one can do. But it should be a list that shows where you shine. Think about:

   • Why you win deals

   • What makes your customers successful

   • Why your customers don’t churn.

3. Spell out why each matters

   If you listed your top-notch implementation and migration process, is it because your direct competitors don’t offer that at all? Is it because their customers aren’t successful in getting traction, churning and coming to you? Be specific.

   Bonus (for later) - write features or processes that enable each capability

   This will help later with talk tracks or product pages.

4. Put in a table with your competitors (not all of them, only the ones from step 1).

   Do not forget the status quo and/or doing nothing; you’re competing with that too. This could take up more than one column and that’s a-okay.

5. For each capability x competitor answer: is it possible or impossible to achieve?

   Capability that is impossible for buyers to achieve with the competitors earns you a green box. Repeat for each capability with each competitor.

Now you know:

1. How to articulate a common denominator that sets you apart from all of them

   Is there one thing no one else has? Amazing. But if not it’s okay—you don’t have to get a full strike to win.

2. Where to draw buyers attention in competitive situation

   So you can highlight the relevant things only. Nothing more annoying than sellers or website that tells you things that don’t help you buy.

3. Where to invest in sales enablement vs. campaigns

   Where you win easily, focus on making sure it’s well-articulated in the buying journey.

   Truly competitive situations might call out for targeted campaigns: reach out to unhappy customers of said competitors, focused positioning, etc.