Positioning is a Key Pillar of SaaS Growth with Bob Wright - Ep. 42
Hey! Sell the Problem, NOT the Product!
What’s your company’s POV? Not sure? Then we’ve got just the episode for you!
Here’s what’s on deck this week:
An Ask for the Transaction Community
What Craig’s Reading
Recent Insights from Past Guests
Latest Episode: Positioning is a Key Pillar of SaaS Growth with Bob Wright
Did someone forward you this newsletter? I’m sorry about that, but since you’re here you might as well subscribe…
An Ask for the Transaction Community:
Craig and his company, Scale Venture Partners, in partnership with GTMFund, Benchmarkit, and Pavilion have launched an important GTM Benchmark Survey
Our goal is to use this survey to produce a quarterly set of benchmarks that everyone can use to better understand and analyze their own GTM metrics and to talk about on the Transaction!
In order to successfully do this, we need your help by filling this survey out for your organization.
Some important points:
1. It’s quick and should mostly consist of data you're already tracking.
2. You don’t have to answer every question–you can skip as many questions as you want. We just want to collect whatever you have top of mind.
3. It’s anonymous and confidential.
Thank you for your help!
What Craig’s Reading - 100+ Signals to Capture from Common Room
There is no registration required to check this out. The use of selling signals is one of the AI use cases you can implement now. We heard about signal selling quite a bit over the last year. This is a great resource to get you thinking about what types of signals can be captured and might be right for your business.
Recent Insights from Past Guests
Brent Adamson, Co-Author of The Challenger Sale, Brent’s Episode of The Transaction
Chris Orlob, Co-Founder & CEO of pclub.io, Chris’ Episode of The Transaction
Sydney Sloan, CMO of G2, Sydney’s Episode of The Transaction
Latest Episode: Positioning is a Key Pillar of SaaS Growth with Bob Wright
Without a real point of view, your company, your product, and all of your amazing features will drift into irrelevance amidst the soothing currents of the sea of sameness we see in the state of SaaS. (Just learned about this thing called alliteration!)
To help you avoid that terrible fate and aid you in developing your positioning, we are thrilled that Bob Wright, the Founder of Firebrick Consulting, joined co-hosts Craig Rosenberg and Matt Amundson on the show. Bob has helped hundreds of B2B companies define and refine their positioning over the last several decades and is one of the foremost authorities on the subject working today.
In this episode, Bob illuminates the criticality of ‘selling the problem, not the solution’, why positioning should be a CEO-led initiative, and the three questions that your positioning must answer for buyers.
Also, Craig eats the world’s loudest piece of chocolate and Matt tries to hire another guest while live on the podcast.
Critical Takeaways
Sell the Problem, Not the Product. Focus on identifying and articulating the key problem your product solves for the customer. This creates urgency and relevance in the buyer's mind, making them more likely to engage with your solution.
Your positioning should answer three key questions: 1. Why now? 2. How are you different? 3. Why does it matter to the customer? These answers create a compelling narrative that drives customer interest and action.
Stop focusing on the features. Emphasize the broader business impact and outcomes rather than detailed product features. This approach resonates better with executive buyers who are more concerned with strategic advantages.
Shift from explaining how your product works, to inspiring the customer on why it matters to them. This makes your message more compelling and memorable, driving stronger customer engagement and commitment.
Chapters
00:00 - Highlights
01:57 - Introducing Bob Wright, the Founder of Firebrick Consulting
07:36 - Differentiate or Die
17:22 - Portfolio Positioning Challenges
22:00 - Targeting the Right Buyers
23:55 - Expanding into New Markets
28:56 - Maintaining Focus While Growing
31:06 - The Importance of CEO Involvement
33:34 - Effective Positioning Strategies
37:15 - AI’s Impact on Positioning
41:52 - Measuring Positioning Success
42:48 - Analyst Influence and Market Trends
44:51 - Explaining Positioning to the Board
47:11 - The Role of Storytelling in Positioning
Epic Quotes
“Sell the problem, not the product.” - Bob Wright
“ Don't waste all your go to market investments on shitty messaging.” - Bob Wright
Connect with Bob
Shoutouts
AJ Gandhi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anjaigandhi/
Okta
Microsoft
Oracle
SAP
HPE
Gartner
Sponsored Segment
Ringmaster Conversational Marketing - The Transaction is sponsored by Ringmaster, on a mission to create connections through Branded podcasts. Learn more at https://ringmaster.com/
Interested in becoming a sponsor of The Transaction? Contact thetransaction@samguertin.com
Follow the Hosts
Craig’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigrosenberg/
Matt’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-amundson-91657236/
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