This talk was given at Business of Software Conference Europe Online 2020, on March 24th.

1. Positioning Jujitsu
How to compete and win against powerful competitors
April Dunford aprildunford.com @aprildunford

2. We are Startups and We Have Competition

3. It’s a Challenge for Us….and Buyers
Startups Customers
Get Known/Considered
Get Selected
Narrow down a Shortlist
Get the Sale Switch
Pick a Winner

4. At Each Step We are Up Against
a Different Type of Competition
Startups Customers
Get Known and
Considered
Get Selected
Narrow down a
Shortlist
Get the Sale Switch
Pick a Winner
Competition
The Hoards
The Ghost
The Giant

5. PART 1: THE HORDES

6. We’ve got a LOT of
Competitors

7. In Every Market

8. Even in New Markets

9. Even “Obscure”
Markets

10. How to Beat
the Hordes (Part 1)
Only Fight Where
You Can Win

11. Are you Unintentionally Positioned
For a Fight you Can’t Win?

12. Products are Often Created with
a Market Category in Mind

13. But Markets and Products Transform

14. Our “Default” Market Category
Masks our Strengths

15. Example: Cake Innovation

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23. What You Said You Built

24. What Customers Think

25. Cake Not Cake
Positioning in a Category
Determines how you are Evaluated

26. LOLLIPOP LOLLIPOP
MADE OUT OF CAKE

27. Lollipop Cakepop
Your Best Category
Puts Your Strengths in the Center

28. What if I told you…..
Nobody Wants a New Spreadsheet

29. How do we Find our Best Market Category?

30. MARKET CATEGORY IS ONE
COMPONENT OF POSITIONING
Positioning
Alternatives
Unique
Attributes
ValueCust.
Segments
Market
Category
@aprildunford

31. Your Happiest Customers
Hold the Key
To Figuring out What You Are

32. Follow a Process
@aprildunford

33. MORE DETAILS HERE
@aprildunford

34. How to Beat
the Hordes (Part 2)
Teach Prospects
How to Buy

35. Most Customers Have
Never Purchased a
Solution Like Yours
Before

36. This was Not Built to
Help Customers BUY

37. Is this Helpful to
Prospects?

38. Should lead
generator sites own
the definition of
your market?

39. Your (Biased but Honest)
Point of View on a Market
Can be Hugely Helpful for Prospects

40. Instead of this…

41. You could
create this…

43. PART 2: THE GIANT

44. How to Beat
the Giant
(Part 1)
Use Their Strength
Against Them

45. You can Position Your Competitors, Just like You
Position Yourself – Including the Big Ones

46. Every Competitive Strength is a Weakness
(for Certain Buyers)
“Established” “Legacy”
“Market-Leading”
“Feature-Rich”
“Unspecialized”
”Trusted by many” “Slow to innovate”
“Complex”

47. Example: Canvas vs. D2L

48. Example: Canvas vs. D2L

49. How to Beat the Giant (Part 2)
Let them Win (But NEVER on Your Turf)

50. Example – Janna vs. Siebel

51. PART 3: THE GHOST

52. For Buyers – Change is Hard
For Sellers – the Status Quo is Deadly
Richardson’s Selling Challenges Research Survey 2019
22%
21%
19%
Building a Case
for Change
Combating the
Status Quo
Comparing their
Options
Top 3 Challenges for Buyers
20%
Deals lost to
“No Decision”
CSO insights 2017 World- Class Sales Practices Report

53. How to Beat the Ghost
Find a Train and Jump Onboard

54. Example – Making a First Step Easier by Focusing on
a Trend

55. The Hordes
The Ghost
The Giant
How to Win Against Strong Competitors
Position Deliberately
Leverage Trends
Turn Strength to Weakness