Positioning Canvas

What this is

A one-page printable worksheet with eight questions that force clarity on positioning. Not theory — the same canvas I facilitate during paid Strategy Sprints with founders and marketing leads.

Most positioning exercises fail because they ask the wrong questions or ask too many. This canvas is deliberately constrained: eight questions, one page, done in under 90 minutes.

The eight questions

1. Who specifically are you for?

Not “SMBs” or “everyone who needs marketing.” Name the person — their role, their industry, their stage. If your answer applies to more than one vertical, you haven’t narrowed enough.

2. What situation triggers their search?

The moment they start looking for someone like you. A funding round? A competitor launching? A campaign that failed? The trigger shapes the messaging.

3. What do they believe right now?

The existing worldview you’re working with (or against). You don’t get to install new beliefs — you can only redirect existing ones.

4. What alternatives are they actually comparing you to?

Not your competitors — their alternatives. This might be “hire a full-time person,” “do nothing,” or “ask a friend.” Your positioning competes against the real alternative, not the one you wish they were considering.

5. What is your unfair advantage?

The thing that is genuinely hard to copy. Not “great service” — everyone says that. Think: proprietary data, unusual background, specific process, existing relationships, geographic advantage.

6. What do you want to be known for saying?

The one sentence people repeat when they refer you. If you can’t write it, they can’t say it.

7. What are you deliberately not doing?

Positioning is as much about what you refuse as what you offer. Name the services, markets, or approaches you explicitly exclude — and why.

8. What proof do you have?

Case studies, numbers, testimonials, credentials — the evidence that makes the above credible. If you don’t have proof yet, this question tells you what to go build first.

How to use it

Solo founder (45 minutes)

1. Print the PDF or open it on a tablet
2. Set a 5-minute timer per question — write fast, edit later
3. Circle the answers that feel uncomfortable. Those are usually the honest ones.
4. Sleep on it. Revisit the next morning and see which answers still hold.

Team workshop (90 minutes)

1. Print one canvas per person
2. 20 minutes: everyone fills in individually (no talking)
3. 30 minutes: share answers question by question — note where the team disagrees
4. 20 minutes: converge on a single version as a team
5. 20 minutes: write the positioning statement using the formula on the back of the sheet

The positioning statement formula

For [audience from Q1] who [trigger from Q2], we are the [category] that [unique value from Q5]. Unlike [alternative from Q4], we [key differentiator]. And we can prove it because [proof from Q8].

This formula isn’t original — it’s a riff on Geoffrey Moore’s positioning template from Crossing the Chasm. What’s different is that the eight questions above make it impossible to fill in with vague, generic language.

Common mistakes

• Being too broad on Q1. “Startups” is not a positioning. “Series A B2B SaaS founders in India with 10-50 employees” is.
• Skipping Q7. What you don’t do is as important as what you do. Clients feel safer when they know you’re focused.
• Confusing features with positioning on Q6. “We use AI” is a feature. “We find the customers your competitors overlook” is positioning.

Version history

Version	Date	Notes
2.0	May 2026	Redesigned layout, added team workshop instructions
1.0	January 2026	Initial release