DHM hard-to-copy test
BiddleA differentiator a rival can copy next quarter is a feature, not positioning. Frame the underlying need as a JTBD job-story.
Positioning · Launch · Enterprise sales
Positioning is an accident of history unless you derive it — five components, in order, each feeding the next.
Default positioning happens to you; deliberate positioning is built. Start from what the customer uses if you don't exist — including doing nothing — and work forward to the category that makes your value obvious.
01
Competitive alternatives
What the customer uses if you don't exist. Include "do nothing" — usually your #1 competitor.
02
Unique attributes
Capabilities only you have vs. those alternatives.
03
Value
What those attributes let the customer do — reach it with the "so what?" test.
04
Target market
The segment that cares most — best-fit, not all-addressable.
05
Market category
The frame of reference that makes the value obvious.
Dunford, Obviously Awesome · derive the 5 components in order
Above the fold
The three moves that carry go-to-market.
01
Derive positioning in order.
Competitive alternatives (incl. "do nothing") → unique attributes → value → target market → market category. Each component feeds the next; you can't skip to the category.
02
The enemy is indecision, not a rival.
40–60% of B2B deals end in no-decision (JOLT — Dixon & McKenna, not Dunford). Judge the indecision, recommend, limit options, take risk off the table.
03
Launch is risk reduction, not a date.
Prove it's valuable, adoptable and viable before committing. Any one unproven → the launch is theater, however coordinated the press hit.
Positioning · Dunford (Obviously Awesome)
Stress-test the attributes, then validate the statement.
Reach Value with the "so what?" test: ask "so what?" of each attribute until you land on a value worth paying for. Then check the differentiator holds and the statement survives a real customer.
PLG / bottom-up nuance
canonWhen buyer ≠ user you may need two positioning statements — one for the end-user (adoption), one for the economic buyer (purchase).
Living hypothesis
contrarianFormal positioning can be premature pre-PMF — treat the statement as a living hypothesis to test in sales calls, not a fixed artifact.
Validation battery · three falsification tests
Customer-mirror
Test
Does a real customer describe the value the way you wrote it?
Pass
Their words echo yours — the value lands unaided.
Substitutability
Test
Swap your name for a competitor's — does the statement still read true?
Pass
If it still reads true, it isn't differentiated — rewrite until only you can claim it.
Durability
Test
Will it survive the next 2–3 competitor moves?
Pass
The claim holds even after rivals react — not a position you'll lose next release.
Attribution warning · JOLT ≠ Dunford
"40–60% of B2B deals end in no-decision" is the JOLT Effect — Dixon & McKenna, not Dunford. The enemy is customer indecision / FOMU (fear of messing up), not a rival: judge the indecision, offer a recommendation, limit the options, take risk off the table. Position against the status quo, not only competitors.
Pick the category · 3 market-frame strategies
Choose the frame that makes your value obvious.
Head-to-head
Lowest ambiguity
- Win an existing market as defined — compete on the terms buyers already understand.
Big-fish-small-pond
Dominate a sub-segment
- Sub-segment a market you can dominate rather than fighting the whole field.
Create-a-new-game
Highest cost
- New category — highest cost; you must build the demand yourself.
Sell what's on the truck
Position the product you ship today, not the roadmap. AI capability is increasingly table stakes; in positioning, ignore future/competitor moves and frame on shipped value — address them on the roadmap, not in the pitch.
Launch · Perri
De-risk on three questions before committing.
Is it valuable (solves a real problem), adoptable (users find it and succeed with it), viable (you can support and sustain it)? Any one unproven → the launch is theater.
Feature-flag a subset first
PerriRelease behind a flag to a small cohort, watch real failure modes, then widen. No big-bang.
Cohesive bundle
PerriShip related changes as one coherent story, not a dribble of half-features — the launch should land as a narrative, not noise.
Cadence · directional
Pre
~8–12 wk
Beta, enablement, pricing + positioning locked, success metrics defined.
Launch
The moment
Coordinated product / mktg / sales / support; internal + external comms.
Post
~4–8 wk
Adoption metrics, iterate, retro.
Optics-velocity trap
Ship-count and launch velocity are vanity. A launch nobody adopts moved no outcome; measure adoption and retained value, not the press hit.
Enterprise / sales integration · B2B
One statement, one roadmap gate, one ownership split.
Moore positioning statement · the one-line output of the Dunford work
For [target] who [need], [product] is a [category] that [benefit]. Unlike [primary alternative], our product [differentiation].
Customer-committed roadmap
gateWhen sales promises a feature to close a deal, gate on (1) strategy fit, (2) how many other customers need it, (3) true cost incl. maintenance — separate "customer-funded" builds from the roadmap.
SOC 2 = Opportunity-Enablement
WSJFEnterprise-readiness / security posture isn't just for the deal on the table — it's an Opportunity-Enablement lever that unblocks a whole future cohort. Weight it as future revenue unlocked, not one-off cost.
Deal-breaker escalation
scriptWhen the CRO escalates, make opportunity cost visible: "Here's what we'd deprioritize to do this; want that trade?" Score one-off-vs-generalizable × deal value vs. maintenance/opp-cost × reversibility → build / yes-with-conditions / no-with-alternative.
Ownership split + monthly sync
PM owns positioning (what it IS, for whom), Marketing owns messaging (how to say it), Sales owns the narrative (how to tell it in context) — keep all three aligned. Run a monthly PM↔Sales sync: Sales brings top-5 loss reasons + top-5 customer requests; PM shares upcoming releases + positioning guidance. This prevents drift.
Try it
Assemble your own positioning statement.
The Dunford positioning builder, live: fill the five components in order, then run the substitutability test — swap a rival's name in and see if it still reads true.
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