What are April Dunford's five positioning components?
Competitive alternatives, differentiated capabilities, value for customers, target customers and market category. April Dunford, a positioning consultant and the author of Obviously Awesome and Sales Pitch, set them out in A quickstart guide to positioning, a guest post in Lenny Rachitsky's newsletter published on 26 January 2021. Dunford's definition there: "Positioning defines how your product is a leader at delivering something that a well-defined set of customers cares a lot about."
Dunford says each component depends on the others, and that the starting point has to be the competitive alternatives. The guide works through them in this order:
| Order | Component | Dunford's question (paraphrased) | Where we put it in a cold email |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Competitive alternatives | What would customers do if your product didn't exist? | Line 2: the status quo |
| 2 | Differentiated capabilities | What do you have that the alternatives don't? | Line 3: how you do it |
| 3 | Value for customers | So what for the customer? | Line 3: what they get |
| 4 | Target customers | Who cares a lot about that value, and why? | Your send list |
| 5 | Market category | What context makes your value obvious to them? | The few words that say what you are |
The updated edition of Obviously Awesome still has five components. In a 12 January 2026 announcement, Dunford wrote that the first edition's 10-step process now has five steps to match the five components, with an expanded differentiated value step and a longer section on turning positioning into a sales pitch. Dunford told newsletter subscribers on 26 February 2026 that the new edition was on Amazon.
Why does Dunford start with the alternatives?
Because differentiation only exists in comparison with something. Dunford wrote in the 2021 guide that positioning which starts anywhere else sounds good in the office but doesn't work with customers. The question to start from: "What would a customer do if your offering didn't exist?"
Sometimes the answer is to do nothing. Dunford says doing nothing really means sticking with the current way of solving the problem, such as a spreadsheet, a manual process or an intern, and that in enterprise software 25% of deals are typically lost to no decision. In an October 2023 guest post for Lenny's Newsletter, Dunford cited The JOLT Effect, in which Matthew Dixon and Ted McKenna analysed over 2 million sales calls: 40% to 60% of B2B purchase processes ended in no decision, and in most of those cases the buyer couldn't work out how to decide with confidence.
Dunford also warns against phantom competitors: companies that could compete with you in theory but that you never actually meet or lose to in deals. Positioning against them, Dunford says, waters down your positioning. So the alternatives line in a cold email should name what this reader most likely uses today, which may well be a spreadsheet, an inbox or a person.
What is Dunford's eight-step sales pitch?
A first-call pitch in two parts: a setup that aligns the buyer with your point of view on the market, then a follow-through on your differentiated value. Dunford's books page describes Sales Pitch, launched on 4 October 2023, as an eight-step structure, and Dunford walked through all eight on Lenny’s Podcast on 22 October 2023:
| Step | Part | What happens (Dunford's description, paraphrased) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Insight | Setup | Your point of view on the market: what a buyer needs to know to see why your differentiated value matters |
| 2. Alternatives | Setup | The pros and cons of the other ways to do the job; also where the rep does discovery |
| 3. Perfect world | Setup | Agreement on what a really good solution should do |
| 4. Introduce your product | Follow-through | Who you are, including your market category |
| 5. Differentiated value | Follow-through | Here's the value, here's how we do it; Dunford expects it to take more than half of a 30 to 45-minute call |
| 6. Proof | Follow-through | Often a customer case study, or independent third-party data |
| 7. Objections | Follow-through | Optional: unspoken worries such as cost, adoption or security |
| 8. The ask | Follow-through | Whatever the next step in your sales process is |
Dunford's worked example in the October 2023 guest post is Help Scout, which sells customer service software. The insight: for digital businesses, customer service is a growth driver. The alternatives: a shared inbox, which is easy to start with but gets outgrown, and a traditional help desk, which has the features but is harder to use and was designed to reduce costs. The perfect world: easy to use, never outgrown, and built for a great customer experience. Only then does Help Scout show its product.
The insight need not be dramatic. In an 18 October 2023 post, Dunford wrote that for five- and six-figure deals the insight doesn't need to be particularly challenging; often it is enough to point a spotlight at it.
How do you fit an eight-step pitch into a cold email?
By compressing it, and the compression is ours. Dunford designed the structure for a first sales call with a buyer who is already in a purchase process, with room for discovery and back-and-forth. We have not found a cold email version in Dunford's own writing. Dunford's Sales-First Storytelling (29 November 2023) does say it is much easier to start with a sales story and work backward to marketing content, such as a buyer's guide or a point-of-view paper, than to do the opposite. The four-line email follows that direction:
| Dunford's step | Cold email line | What changes in email |
|---|---|---|
| Insight | Line 1 | One sentence of point of view about the reader's world |
| Alternatives | Line 2 | The status quo this reader most likely uses: what it does well and where it stops |
| Perfect world | Folded into line 3 | No room to ask for agreement, so line 3 has to imply it |
| Introduction and differentiated value | Line 3 | What only you do, and how, in one sentence |
| Proof | Line 4 | One customer and one result you can show |
| Objections | Left out | Answer them when the reader replies |
| The ask | Last line | A small next step, such as a reply |
Two of Dunford's warnings keep the four lines honest. First, give the alternative its due. Dunford's 22 October 2023 newsletter lists the shortcomings of old way/new way as a sales pitch structure among the podcast's topics. On the podcast, Dunford says that structure assumes the old way is bad, when for most companies the old way feels safe, and that buyers want to know what is better about yours. Second, make sure line 3 is differentiated value, which Dunford defines in a 6 February 2025 post as the value you can deliver that no other vendor can. In the same post, Dunford often classes great support, professional services, onboarding training, SOC2 or HIPAA support and pre-built integrations as objection handling: a prospect might disqualify you without them, but they typically aren't the main reason you win.
Three cold emails rewritten in Dunford's structure
The products, names and emails below are made up for this post. They are labelled examples of the method; none is a real email from a real company. Proof lines are left in brackets: fill them with a real customer and a result you can show, or cut the line.
Example 1: a shift-scheduling app for café groups. Status quo: a spreadsheet and a group chat.
Example 2: a CRM for recruitment agencies. Status quo: a general-purpose CRM plus a spreadsheet. The before email leans on great support, which is on Dunford's objection-handling list, and on price, which says nothing about what the agency gets.
Example 3: a support-ticket analysis tool for SaaS teams. Status quo: someone reads tickets by hand.
In all three, the product appears in line 3, after the reader has a reason to care. That mirrors where Dunford puts the introduction in a sales pitch.
How to test your rewrite this week
Pitch it to new prospects and listen to what comes back. On Lenny's Podcast, Dunford described testing a new pitch by training the best sales rep on it, using it with qualified prospects instead of existing customers, who have already heard the old positioning, and huddling after every pitch to ask what worked and what didn't. Dunford added that when a sales pitch isn't working, it is generally because the positioning was weak. In a small team the best rep is often the founder; our founder-led sales guide covers that role.
List the real alternatives
Go through your last ten deals, won or lost, and write down what each buyer used before talking to you. Leave out any competitor you have never met in a deal.
Write one differentiated value
Name a capability the alternatives lack, then answer Dunford's so-what question for the customer. Keep items from Dunford's objection-handling list, such as support, onboarding, integrations and compliance, out of line 3. The same post notes an exception: buyers leaving a vendor that failed them on one of those, when you can back your claim with numbers.
Work back to the insight
On the podcast, Dunford says you can take the differentiated value and reverse it out to the insight: the context that makes the value important.
Write the four lines and a small ask
Insight, alternative, value, proof, then an ask that takes one line to answer. Our cold email templates show short asks and subject lines to pair with it.
Send to people who have never heard your pitch
Send to 30 to 50 qualified prospects who aren't customers yet (our number, not Dunford's). Note which line people answer or push back on, and change one line at a time.
Frequently asked questions
What are the five components of positioning, according to April Dunford?
Competitive alternatives, differentiated capabilities, value for customers, target customers and market category. Dunford's 2021 guide in Lenny's Newsletter works through them starting with the alternatives, meaning what customers would do if your product didn't exist, because the other components depend on that comparison. Dunford's January 2026 announcement says the new edition of Obviously Awesome still has five components.
What is the difference between value and differentiated value?
In Dunford's terms, value is what your offering can do for a customer's business, and differentiated value is the value no other vendor can deliver: the reason to pick you over the alternatives. Dunford's February 2025 post adds that things customers care about, such as great support or pre-built integrations, are often objection handling, because many buyers would not pick a vendor for them alone.
What is the perfect world step in April Dunford's sales pitch?
It is the third and last step of the setup. After the insight and a discussion of the pros and cons of the alternatives, the seller asks the buyer to agree on what a really good solution should do. Dunford says on Lenny's Podcast that if the buyer agrees, the seller is in a strong position, because the setup was built so only their product fits.
Can you use April Dunford's sales pitch structure in a cold email?
Only in a compressed form. Dunford built the eight steps for a first sales call with a buyer already in a purchase process, with time for discovery. Dunford does say it is easier to adapt a sales pitch into marketing content than the reverse. A four-line email of insight, status quo, differentiated value and proof is our adaptation; we found no cold email format in Dunford's writing.
What changed in the 2026 edition of Obviously Awesome?
Dunford's January 2026 announcement lists the changes: the five components now match five steps, replacing the first edition's 10-step process; a longer pre-work section on decisions to make before a positioning exercise; material for multiproduct companies; an expanded differentiated value step; and a bigger final section on turning positioning into a sales pitch and messaging. It also comes in hardcover for the first time.
Sources
- Lenny's Newsletter: A quickstart guide to positioning, by April Dunford (published 26 Jan 2021)
- Lenny's Newsletter: How to build a killer sales pitch, by April Dunford (paid post; opening sections public) (published 17 Oct 2023)
- Lenny's Podcast: A step-by-step guide to crafting a sales pitch that wins, with April Dunford (episode page; the transcript loads from a transcription.json file linked in the page source) (published 22 Oct 2023)
- April Dunford: Sales-First Storytelling (published 29 Nov 2023)
- April Dunford: Sales Pitch Book Available Today! (published 4 Oct 2023)
- April Dunford: Market Insight and Communicating Your Company's Point of View (published 18 Oct 2023)
- April Dunford: Special Lenny's Podcast Drop and How to Manage A Big Positioning Change (published 22 Oct 2023)
- April Dunford: Value vs. Objection Handling (published 6 Feb 2025)
- April Dunford: Announcement: Obviously Awesome, the new updated and expanded edition (published 12 Jan 2026)
- April Dunford: New Book Available (early announcement for subscribers) (published 26 Feb 2026)
- April Dunford: Books (checked 20 Oct 2026)