Positioning Skill

The /cm:position skill is the foundation of everything else. It uses April Dunford's "Obviously Awesome" framework to define what you are, who it's for, and why you win.

What It Does

Positioning is not your tagline. It's not your messaging. It's the context you set in your customer's mind so they understand your value.

Bad positioning:

"We're a better project management tool."

Better for whom? Better how? Compared to what?

Good positioning:

"For remote-first engineering teams (50-200 people) who've outgrown Asana but don't need Jira's complexity, we're the async-first project management workspace built for distributed teams. Unlike Asana (too simple) or Jira (too complex), we're the only tool optimized for async collaboration across time zones."

That's positioning. It answers:

• Who it's for (remote eng teams, 50-200)
• What you are (async-first PM workspace)
• What you replace (Asana or Jira)
• Why you win (only tool for async distributed work)

The April Dunford Framework

April Dunford's Obviously Awesome breaks positioning into 5 components:

1. Competitive Alternatives

What do customers use today if they don't use you?

Not "our competitors" — their current solution. Could be:

• A different product category (spreadsheets, not PM tools)
• Manual process (email threads, not a tool)
• Nothing (they live with the pain)

Why it matters: Understanding the alternative reveals what you're REALLY competing against.

Example: Slack's alternative wasn't Skype. It was email. They positioned against email overload, not IM apps.

2. Unique Attributes

What can you do that alternatives can't?

Not "features everyone has." Not "we're faster/cheaper" (table stakes).

Unique = hard to copy, or you do it 10x better than anyone else.

Example:

• Superhuman: Keyboard shortcuts for every action (others have shortcuts, but not designed-for-speed-first)
• Notion: Databases inside docs (others have docs or databases, not both in one)
• Figma: Real-time multiplayer editing (others have collaboration, not true multiplayer)

3. Value (Theme)

How do those unique attributes translate to customer value?

Features → Benefits. "Multiplayer editing" isn't the value. "Design teams ship 2x faster because they're not waiting on file handoffs" is the value.

Group similar benefits into value themes:

• Speed
• Cost savings
• Risk reduction
• Collaboration
• Simplicity

4. Who Cares? (Best-Fit Customers)

Which segment cares MOST about your value themes?

Not "everyone" — your best-fit customers. The ones who:

• Feel the pain most acutely
• Value your differentiation highest
• Convert fastest
• Stick longest

Example:

• Figma's best-fit: Design teams at product companies (not freelancers, not agencies)
• Superhuman's best-fit: Founders and execs who live in email (not casual users)
• Notion's best-fit: Startups with 10-50 people (not enterprises, not solopreneurs)

5. Market Category

What category do you compete in?

This is where positioning gets strategic. You can:

A) Compete in an existing category

• Pros: Customers understand it ("oh, it's like [known thing]")
• Cons: You're compared to the leader. You need a wedge.

B) Create a new category

• Pros: You define the game. You're the leader by default.
• Cons: Customers don't understand it yet. You have to educate the market.

April's rule: If you can't win in an existing category, create a new one.

Example:

• Airtable didn't compete in "spreadsheets" (Excel wins) or "databases" (Oracle wins) → created "spreadsheet-database hybrid"
• Slack didn't compete in "chat" (too crowded) → created "work communication platform"

Input: What the Skill Needs

/cm:position reads your .cm-context file:

Required fields:

• Company: Your company name
• Product: What you do (one line)
• ICP: Who it's for
• Pain: What problem they face
• Differentiator: What makes you different
• Category: What category you compete in

Optional but helpful:

• Alternatives: What customers use today
• Why Us: Why you win vs alternatives

See the Configuration Guide for how to write these.

Output: What You Get

A deliverables/positioning.md file with:

1. Positioning Statement

One paragraph that captures your positioning:

For [best-fit customers] who [have this pain], [Product] is a [category] that [unique value]. Unlike [alternatives], we [key differentiator].

Example (AuthorityMax):

For technical founders and executives at B2B SaaS companies who need to build personal brand but find writing LinkedIn posts and newsletters a chore, AuthorityMax is an AI-native personal branding workspace that learns your voice and helps you research → write → publish high-quality content at scale. Unlike generic AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude) that sound generic, or ghostwriters who are slow and expensive, we're the only platform that trains on YOUR past writing to produce content that sounds like you — at 10x the speed.

2. Value Prop Breakdown

• Target customer: [who]
• Pain point: [what problem]
• Product category: [what you are]
• Unique value: [why you win]
• Competitive alternatives: [what you replace]
• Key differentiator: [your moat]

3. Messaging Pillars

3-5 core messages you can use across all channels.

Example:

1. Your voice, not AI voice — we train on YOUR writing
2. Research + writing + publishing in one place
3. Ship 10 posts a week without burning out
4. For founders who need to build in public but hate writing

4. Category Definition (if creating a new one)

If you're creating a new category, the skill will draft:

• Category name
• Category description
• Why this category matters (the pain it solves)
• Why existing categories don't work

5. Competitor Comparison

A table comparing you vs alternatives on key dimensions.

| Dimension | Generic AI | Ghostwriters | Social Tools | AuthorityMax | |-----------|-----------|--------------|--------------|--------------| | Voice match | ❌ Generic | ✅ Perfect | ❌ Can't write | ✅ Trained on you | | Speed | ✅ Instant | ❌ Days | ✅ Instant | ✅ Instant | | Research | ❌ Manual | ✅ Full service | ❌ None | ✅ Built-in | | Publishing | ❌ Copy-paste | ✅ They handle it | ✅ Scheduling | ✅ One-click |

How to Use the Output

1. Share with your team — everyone should understand your positioning
2. Use in pitches — investors, partners, new hires
3. Inform all copy — landing pages, ads, emails should reflect this positioning
4. Run other skills — /cm:headlines, /cm:landing-page, etc. will pull from positioning.md

How Positioning Feeds Into Other Skills

Once you have positioning.md:

Copywriting skills (/cm:headlines, /cm:landing-page):

• Pull your category definition
• Use your value themes
• Reference your differentiators

Outreach skills (/cm:cold-email, /cm:linkedin-dm):

• Target your best-fit customers
• Lead with your unique value
• Position against alternatives they're using

Launch skills (/cm:launch-plan):

• Define your beachhead (best-fit segment)
• Pick channels where that segment hangs out
• Craft messaging around your differentiators

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Mistake 1: Too Broad

❌ "For businesses that need better software" ✅ "For remote-first engineering teams (50-200 people) who've outgrown Asana"

Fix: Be specific. If you say "everyone," you say no one.

Mistake 2: Feature-Focused

❌ "We have real-time collaboration and AI" ✅ "Design teams ship 2x faster because they're not waiting on file handoffs"

Fix: Features → Value. Answer "so what?"

Mistake 3: Generic Differentiator

❌ "We're faster and easier" ✅ "We're the only tool that trains on your past writing to match your voice"

Fix: Unique + defensible. "Faster" isn't unique. "Voice training" is harder to copy.

Mistake 4: Wrong Category

❌ Airtable competing in "spreadsheets" (Excel wins) ✅ Airtable creating "spreadsheet-database hybrid"

Fix: If you can't win in the category, create a new one.

When to Re-Run /cm:position

Positioning isn't static. Re-run when:

• You've learned more about your ICP (after 10-20 customer calls)
• You've pivoted or changed your core differentiator
• You're entering a new market segment
• Competitors have caught up and your old positioning no longer differentiates

Update .cm-context with new insights, then re-run /cm:position.

Next Steps

• Copywriting Skills — turn positioning into copy
• Run /cm:position
• Configuration guide — write better context