Many of us just don’t know when to stop. We have product messaging overload. We are so proud of our babies and the myriad of features and amazing benefits we can talk, or write forever. But what we say doesn’t stick!
SO STOP.
Your listener only can remember so many things. There is a reason why phone numbers are only 10 digits long!
Messaging that breaks through needs discipline. Structure can force this on you. Try this simple structural rubric to ensure meaning and breakthrough:
Product Positioning Statement
- Value Statement 1
- Sub-bullet 1
- Feature/proofpoint 1.1 , Feature/proofpoint 1.2, Feature/proofpoint 1.3
- Sub bullet 2
- Feature/proofpoint 2.1, Feature/proofpoint 2.2, Feature/proofpoint 2.3
- Sub bullet 3
- Feature/proofpoint 3.1, Feature/proofpoint 3.2, Feature/proofpoint 3.3
- Sub-bullet 1
- Value Statement 2 ….
Then repeat the above structure for Value Statements 2 and 3. THAT’S IT!
3 Benefit statements, 3 sub-statements for each, and 3 features for each.
So that’s still a lot, that’s 9 benefits and 27 features.
I’ve always said, messaging and positioning is as much about what you say as what you don’t. Buyers can’t remember more than 9 things about you anyways. The rest is all about filling in detail to support the 3 main bullets, which is the value you deliver that matters most anyways.
One of the reasons you need to spend time doing value filtering like I teach in my LinkedIn Learning course and write about in a whole section of Launching to Leading is to find the right 3 main messages.
So do the hard work, force yourself into this 3x3x3 messaging matrix and you’ll say less, but what you say will matter more and stick much better.