Positioning is dead! Long love positioning! Well, despite what some people are shouting, positioning will never die. It cannot. Because people will always want to know why they should choose one over the other, and that’s the job of positioning.
Here’s the reality. Almost every professional service company is positioned way too broadly and vaguely. You too, probably.
The problem, if you ask me, is how positioning is taught, and therefore how it is practiced. We’re also dealing with beliefs here. For some reason, we tend to think that targeting a larger TOM (total addressable market) makes us likelier to attract more clients. The opposite is true.
Let’s say you are a brand consultancy. One among tens of thousands. How will you stand out and get chosen? Ok, let’s say you give this some thought and conclude you will be “the boutique brand consultancy for scale-ups”. Way too broad. There are a ton of scale-ups in a ton of industries, and to become the most relevant, viable choice, you need to get more specific.
Why does this matter? Because the best place (position) in business is to be considered the only viable choice by your ideal clients. When you are seen “the only choice”, or, one among “only a few “viable choices, you start to have power with clients. When you’re considered “one of many”, you have no leverage with clients, and you’re likely running a commodity business. And commodities get priced like, well, commodities: low margins, high churn, and a client roster that makes you want to fake your own death and move to Portugal.
The Positioning Advantage: Why It Isn’t Just a Buzzword
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: the market doesn’t reward the best. The market rewards the best at something specific. If you want to win better clients, you need to stop trying to be everything to everyone and start being indispensable to someone.
But you already knew that, didn’t you?
This is how far most of the positioning advice goes. So let’s go deeper. The secret is, you need to define your position in specific terms.
Here are some questions to get started with:
Who is your ideal client specifically?
Which specific problem are you solving for them?
When specifically do these problems (and pains) show up?
Where specifically do the problems show up?
What kind of results specifically do you create?
How do you solve the problems, specifically?
What specific capabilities do you have that makes you their best/only choice?
In other words, the secret to making positioning work is the get specific. Very specific.
Let’s unpack this with a little algebra of value creation:
Brand Value = (Expertise × Relevance) / Competition
If your expertise is broad and your relevance is vague, you’re dividing by a very large number. Spoiler: that makes your brand value approach zero. But if you specialize-if you become the go-to for a defined audience with a specific pain point-suddenly, you’re dividing by a much smaller number. Your value spikes. So do your fees.
Clarity Is the New Currency
Ask yourself: Can you explain what you do, who you do it for, and why you’re the best specifically in sixty seconds? If not, you don’t have positioning-you have a LinkedIn profile in search of a pulse.
“We are known by specific audience for solving specific pain point and delivering specific outcome, thanks to our unique specific approach.”
If you can’t fill in those blanks, gather your team, order some bad takeout, and don’t leave the room until you can. Because here’s the hot take: If you can’t explain it, your clients won’t remember it-and if they can’t remember it, they won’t pay a premium for it.
The Compounding Power of Positioning
Strong positioning does three things for you:
• Attracts the Right Eyeballs: Your marketing becomes a magnet for clients who actually want what you’re selling, not just anyone with a pulse and a budget.
• Converts Interest into Opportunity: When prospects feel seen and understood, they trust you more. Trust is the most undervalued currency in B2B services.
• Seals the Deal at Higher Margins: Specialists get paid more, have more leverage, and work with clients who value their expertise-not just their availability.
Brand Is A Strategic Asset
Your brand is the sum of your reputation, your expertise, and your ability to make a prospect say, “Finally, someone who gets it.” In a competitive market, your brand should do three things: differentiate, unify, and inspire. If it doesn’t, you’re just another firm with a nice website and an existential crisis.
How to Brand Like A Pro
1. Audit Your Current Positioning: Be brutally honest. Does your messaging sound like everyone else’s? If yes, start over.
2. Define Your Unique Value Proposition: What do you do better than anyone else? Hint: “Client service” doesn’t count.
3. Know Your Audience: Get specific. The riches are in the niches. If you’re for everyone, you’re for no one.
4. Consistent Messaging: Every touchpoint-website, proposals, LinkedIn-should reinforce your positioning. Consistency builds trust.
5. Prioritize Experience: Boutique brands win by making clients feel understood and valued, not just serviced.
Final Thought: Be the Only, Not the Best
The goal isn’t to be the best. The goal is to be the only. The only firm that comes to mind for your ideal client’s biggest problem. That’s how you win better clients, command higher fees, and build a business that doesn’t just survive-but thrives.
Or, as I like to say: If you want to charge more, be more. More specific, more relevant, more memorable. Brand your shop-or get priced like a commodity. Your move.
If you want help with this stuff, this is what I do at my core. I’m a recovering brand strategist-turned consultancy for professional service firms.
Contact me: Email
