A practical positioning worksheet for a technical business.

Start with a buying situation, not a capability list.

A list of services tells a buyer what you can do. Positioning helps them understand when they should call you. For a technical business, that difference can be easy to miss: the expertise is obvious internally, but a prospect still needs to connect it to a specific problem.

This worksheet is a way to draft that connection. It is not a validated formula or a substitute for buyer conversations. Use it to produce a working message, then test whether real prospects understand it.

Work through five decisions.

1. Which company is this for?

Be more specific than “businesses that need technology.” Describe the type of company, the person making the decision, and the situation that makes your work relevant. Company size alone is rarely enough.

Write: We are a good fit for [type of company] when [situation]. Then list the companies that would be a poor fit. Exclusions make the target more useful.

2. What is making that buyer act now?

Look for an observable problem. A backlog, an unreliable process, a difficult handoff, or an upcoming change gives the buyer something concrete to recognize. Avoid jumping straight to the solution you want to sell.

Write the problem in the language a customer might use in a first conversation. If you have call notes or inquiry emails, review those before choosing your wording.

3. What changes after the work?

Describe the intended improvement without pretending it is guaranteed. Separate the deliverable from its purpose: a documented workflow is a deliverable; making handoffs easier is the reason it matters.

Make sure the improvement is within the scope of what you do. A website project can clarify a service and reduce contact friction. It cannot guarantee demand for an offer.

4. Why is your approach a credible fit?

Choose a reason you can support. Relevant project experience, a clear delivery approach, or deep familiarity with a particular kind of problem can be more useful than “innovative” or “customer focused.”

Beside each claim, write the evidence you could show. If there is no evidence yet, narrow the claim or explain the approach directly.

5. What is the next reasonable step?

The action should fit the buyer’s readiness. A prospect evaluating a complex engagement may need a focused conversation about the problem before requesting a proposal. Explain what that conversation is for.

Combine the answers into a working message.

The second version names an audience, a situation, and an intended improvement. It is only appropriate if the company can genuinely deliver that work. Specific language cannot repair a mismatch between the message and the service.

Test understanding before polishing the words.

Show the draft without an explanation. Ask someone in the target audience: Who is this for? What problem do they solve? When would you contact them? What would you need to know next?

Record the answers in their words. If they repeat the wrong audience or infer a service you do not provide, revise the underlying decision before tweaking the headline. Keep dated versions so future changes can be linked to the feedback that prompted them.

Once the message is clear, carry it into the homepage, service descriptions, and outreach. Website strategy gives the message a path; outbound preparation takes it to a defined audience.