Sales Strategy: Positioning

The Compass

The Value of Position: Why It Determines Success in Enterprise Sales

Sales strategy is about creating the power to achieve a successful outcome in an environment of uncertainty. It’s also about managing risk.

There are three primary elements of sales strategy that help you create the power to achieve your sales objectives: Time, Velocity, and Position. While all three are critical, Position is the cornerstone of effective sales strategy.

Shane Parrish, in his book Clear Thinking, states: “You don’t need to be smarter than others to outperform them if you can out-position them. Position is everything.” But what does it mean to out-position someone? And how can we apply this practically in sales?

Let’s explore the principles of positioning and how they can transform your approach to enterprise sales.

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Position as a Strategic Asset

Position in sales isn’t just about where you stand relative to your competition. It’s about your ability to align with the Buyer’s priorities, navigate risks, and influence outcomes. A strong position gives you clarity and options, empowering you to take proactive actions rather than reactive ones. Conversely, poor positioning forces you into corners where discounting and desperation become your only options.

High-performing sales professionals rarely find themselves backed into a corner. Why? Because they’ve mastered the power of positioning. They take deliberate steps to ensure every interaction—from the first discovery call to the final negotiation—improves their position.

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The Four Disciplines of Position

To master positioning, focus on four key Disciplines: People, Process, Profile, and Value. Each Discipline addresses a critical aspect of positioning that impacts sales outcomes.

1. People

• Engage the right buyer personas:

  • Executives (visionaries)

  • Users (primary beneficiaries)

  • Managers (budget owners)

  • Operations (legal and other risk-focused stakeholders).

• Align value, content, and relationships with each persona to address their unique needs, building trust and credibility. Each persona requires tailored positioning.

• Leverage Bridging Strategies by facilitating relationships between your company’s executives and the Buyer’s key personas (e.g., CEO to CEO, CTO to CTO).

2. Process

• Align your sales process with the Buyer’s process, including approval, procurement, and implementation.

• Most Buyers lack rigid buying processes, giving you the opportunity to guide them toward the best way to purchase your offering.

• Anticipating and aligning with these steps prevents delays and strengthens your position by mitigating risks.

3. Profile

• Build a comprehensive understanding of the Buyer’s organization, including stage of growth, risk tolerance, digital maturity, and competitive landscape.

• A strong profile gives you insight into how the Buyer operates, empowering you to guide their buying process.

• To develop your initial deal strategy, execute a detailed analysis with the Profile Discipline. Evaluate the 17 key elements (e.g., rate of growth) to uncover how they will buy and determine your optimal deal strategy.

• Perform the same profile analysis of your company, your competition and any potential partners.

• Periodically, update your profiles as things will probably change during the sales cycle.

4. Value

• Articulate the unique value your solution offers using frameworks like the Compass Value Chain.

• Move beyond Efficiency to emphasize Effectiveness, Risk Mitigation, and Strategic Growth, resonating with higher-level Buyer priorities.

• Only 10-20% of salespeople sell beyond Efficiency. Climbing the value chain positions you to increase deal velocity, compress time to close, and close at maximum value.

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How to Apply Positioning in Enterprise Sales

1. Start with Profile: Begin by evaluating the Buyer’s profile to uncover how they will buy and shape your initial strategy.

2. Use Bridging Strategies: Facilitate relationships between key personas from both organizations to build trust and alignment.

3. Align with Process: Avoid imposing a rigid sales process; instead, align with the Buyer’s process or guide them toward one that benefits both parties.

4. Climb the Value Chain: Move beyond Efficiency by positioning higher-value propositions to the right personas, mitigating deal risks and outpacing competitors.

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Addressing Deal Risk

One of the primary goals of positioning is identifying and mitigating deal risks. Ask yourself:

• Where is the weakest link in this deal?

• Which personas are not fully engaged?

• What elements of the profile or process are incomplete?

By addressing these gaps, you not only strengthen your position but also increase deal velocity and improve the likelihood of closing successfully.

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So What?

An interesting thing happens when you get good at sales strategy: your success rate increases dramatically. Your earnings can double, triple, or more. You’ll also start attracting more opportunities—managing bigger territories, strategic accounts, or even moving into leadership roles.

Get good at Sales Strategy. Mastering Position will transform your sales career and empower you to achieve success in any deal environment.

The Compass is a sales strategy system designed to coach, mentor and train sales professionals, your company and your AI Sales Agents so you close your must-win deals and make your number.

Navigation: This was written while listening to “Jealous Moon” by Sarah Jarosz.

Artwork: My Left Thumb. Peace.