In today’s post, I want to show you how I use distinct question sets to craft a differentiated POV, message, value proposition and sales story.
The core focus of your GTM is grounded in a relentless pursuit of specificity in your product positioning. Instead of working on surface-level problems (i.e. Tools, channels, etc), you need to work on acute GTM challenges. These are ICP, positioning, messaging, value proposition, unique POV and offers.
The benefit of getting this loop right is that your target audience is more likely to resonate with your solution and be more likely to convert into revenue. This process is underpinned by asking “the right questions,” internally and externally.
Let me show you a simple way to get this done.
It’s simple: use the framework below yourself to build out your proposition statements.
Questions To Unlock Your Differentiated POV
1. What can we be the best in the world at?
2. What is the core of what we do?
3. What is our core POV?
- What's the niche we want to own (or don’t pick a niche; pick a problem to be solved)
- What is our POV
- Where do we focus
- What’s our differentiator
- What’s our polarity
- Who are my [buyers/customers]
- Where does the budget come from?
- What's the big idea here?
- What's my product/service's most significant benefit?
- What emotion am I trying to create?
4. What problem are you trying to solve, and what’s the value?
5. What are the most significant internal problems we solve?
6. What’s the market trend and future challenge
7. Category Battle Strategy:
- Are we creating a category, or which category and where do we want to play?
8. Where does the budget come from?
Questions To Unlock Your Unique Value
The key behind these question sets is learning from customers the specific “languaging” and descriptors used for your product/service/value. You then weave these into your positioning, messaging, and sales stories.
1) What is a broad topic I know extremely well?
2) What's a niche I know even better?
3) How have I helped?
4) What problem have I helped you overcome?
5) What outcome, specifically, do you want to achieve?
Questions to Unlock Sales Insights
The key behind these question sets is enabling you to understand WHY your prospect made the purchase decision entirely. If you can get a decent sample size, you can embed it into your top-of-funnel demand creation, conversion and closing processes. The result is better win rates to revenue. The more specific, the better.
Interview buyers; everything they did and thought about (narrow it down to why you selected). Structured and unscripted interviews and aggregate what they tell you. Build a persona on those experiences.
- Take me back to the day you first decided to solve this problem; what triggered your action?
- What changed in you or the organisation
- The key is insight into the trigger moment
- What did you do first to understand what providers to consider
- Content they find helpful, words, messages.
- What did your peers tell you that was helpful to you (what did you learn on the internet)
You aim to pull the levers from the above answers in net new logo prospects.
Start with the end goal in mind. “Clarity”: Summary Actions
Most of my work with customers is to show how to clarify their positioning to the market and sales angles.
To go a bit deeper.
- You start by working through questions to unlock your differentiated POV (internal).
- In parallel, you seek customers or prospects to answer questions that unlock your value and sales insights.
- You craft all outputs into a final ‘clarity’ document, forming your GTM plans' foundation.
I recommend this process to be continuous. It’s never complete, and the value of continuous refinement will make or break your growth.
