Positioning
"What do you do?" You say "I'm a coach" or "I do marketing." So does everyone else. Positioning is how you define yourself and your business in the market. Strong positioning makes "why you" obvious and allows higher prices; vague positioning = commodity pricing. You're not for everyone—you're for a specific someone with a specific outcome.
Same skill, different position. A coach who says "I help people get clarity" competes with thousands. One who says "I work with first-time founders raising a seed round on positioning and pitch" has a position. A consultant who does "marketing" gets compared to agencies and freelancers. One who does "go-to-market for B2B SaaS in healthcare" gets compared to specialists. Narrow positioning attracts better fits and supports value pricing. It's the foundation of authority building and niche positioning.
Who are you for? What outcome do you deliver? Why you and not someone else?
How to sharpen it
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Who are you for? Not "everyone" or "small businesses." Be specific: "first-time founders," "Series A CTOs," "hotels with 50+ rooms." The narrower, the easier to message and the higher you can charge.
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What outcome do they get? Not "strategy" but "a positioning doc and 90-day launch plan they can execute." Not "coaching" but "clarity on their next hire and a decision framework." Outcome is something they can hold or use.
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Why you? Your expertise, your track record, your founder visibility. This is where authority building and content come in—you make "why you" visible before the sales call.
What breaks
Trying to be for everyone. "I can help anyone" means you're compared to everyone. Narrow the who and the outcome; the right clients will find you and pay more.
Positioning that doesn't match delivery. If you say you're the "high-touch strategy partner" but you're too busy to respond, the position crumbles. Align what you say with what you do.