Recently, I asked the people who read my writing across different platforms a direct question: how do you position me in your mind?
Several answered.
Six called me a storyteller. One called me an inspirational figure. One remembered a seminar years ago, chasing me to a car park to ask for my help, and told me she’d call me before almost anyone else if she needed judgment on something hard.
Only two mentioned business coaching — and even then, “a business coach who teaches through storytelling.”
I learned that my stories are doing the positioning, not the strategy work being done behind it.
I sat with that for longer than I expected to, because interestingly, very few people named the thing I charge for.
I’m glad I asked the question, but I was nervous before I pressed send.
I’m of the view that you must ask the uncomfortable question if you want to get the real answers. It saves time, and provides you with feedback you can use.
The biggest surprise however, was a cousin who reads my articles. She told me that how I behaved as a boy hasn’t changed much now as a man.
As I read it, I thought if you ask for feedback, you must be prepared to take the good and bad that comes with it.
Her note, more than any other, reminded me of the positioning principle Al Ries and Jack Trout wrote about decades ago: “…Positioning is what you do to the mind of the prospect.”
That is, “you position the product in the mind of the prospect;” because once a mind is made up about you, it’s almost impossible to change.
Imagine, after all these years, she still sees me the same way.
Now there’s an example of positioning if ever there was one.
It’s the same with your clients.
Here’s the thing: my stories are what built trust in the first place.
Each one is evidence of a principle — for example, the moments in a meeting with a client where a story like this is exactly the tool I’d reach for to help them see their own business differently.
So, here’s what I’m doing about it. For the next two weeks, I’m opening five spots for a 45-minute Positioning Snapshot.
A single, focused session where we do for your business what this post just did for me: find out, plainly, how your market sees you versus how you think it sees you, and what to do about the gap.
Not a general chat. Not a sales call. One question, one honest answer.
Until we meet.
Morton
