How to Craft a Sales Pitch That Wins in Competitive Markets w/ April Dunford | S4 E3

In this episode of The Marchitect, we dive into the art and science of tech messaging with two industry powerhouses: Emma Stratton and Devin Reed.Emma, on the brink of launching her new book on crafting simple yet impactful tech messaging, shares her insights on how to win hearts, minds, and markets with clear communication. Devin, a maestro in creating memorable content that drives growth, discusses his journey in building brand loyalty and pipeline at Gong and Clari.

In today’s competitive landscape, how do you make your solution the clear choice for your best-fit customers?Join us as we uncover the secrets to a compelling sales pitch with April Dunford, author of Obviously Awesome and her latest, Sales Pitch.April reveals how to transform your pitch into a story that helps customers navigate their options, understand the trade-offs, and confidently choose your solution. She also explains why many companies struggle to carry their positioning into sales conversations and how to bridge that gap.Hosts: Rowan Noronha & Morgan J IngramGuests: April DunfordProducer: Grayson OttenbreitEditor: Stephen DespinsTimestamps:TIMESTAMPS:(00:04:15) What is positioning?(00:06:15) What are the 5 components of positioning?(00:07:38) Why start with competitive alternatives?(00:10:35) How do you tackle positioning when dealing with multiple personas/buyers?(00:18:58) Has your engineering background impacted how you approach positioning?(00:21:55) Difference between positioning and messaging?(00:26:05) Who owns positioning? Is it sales? Product marketing?(00:34:40) How do you combat sales teams who just want to pitch product features?(00:42:31) Walk us through your sales pitch framework.(00:49:13) Can you break down the main components of your pitch?(00:56:20) While building your ICP, how do you handle research?(01:00:51) What is one thing folks get wrong when rolling out a sales pitch?

Anthony Pierri and Rob Kaminski are the people you want building your homepage. They don’t mess around when it comes to positioning and messaging in product marketing and it’s why they’re on The Marchitect for this unmissable episode.Unfortunately, there’s no place where companies lose their positioning and messaging more than their homepage. We’re here to fix that.Credits:The Compete Network by Klue is your home for the best content, events, and resources on competing. From building your first battlecards to enabling thousands of reps to product marketing at a Fortune 500, the Compete Network brings together the biggest names in the competitive enablement and competitive intelligence community.Guests: Sangram Vajre, Trinity Nguyen and Yi Lin PeiProducer: Grayson OttenbreitEditor: Stephen DespinsTimestamps:TIMESTAMPS:(00:00:19) Introduction(00:04:44) What is positioning?(00:06:20) The difference between positioning, messaging, and copywriting(00:10:17) How to segment your audience(00:18:20) Positioning based on category maturity(00:28:55) Positioning multiple products(00:37:54) Homepage best practices(00:46:26) Tearing down a real Homepage(00:50:48) Audience Questions(00:55:23) Key Takeaways

There’s so much confusion around what a modern go-to-market is, and what marketing’s role is in developing and executing against a successful GTM strategy.In the first episode of The Marchitect, Sangram Vajre, Founder at GTM Partners, Trinity Nguyen, VP Marketing at UserGems, and Yi Lin Pei, Founder at Courageous Careers share:the modern go-to-market, and the role of the CMO and their PMM leaderthe difference between marketing the business, and the business of marketingthe key characteristics of a modern CMO & PMM leaderwhat GTM motions should be top of mind for modern marketersCredits:The Compete Network by Klue is your home for the best content, events, and resources on competing. From building your first battlecards to enabling thousands of reps to product marketing at a Fortune 500, the Compete Network brings together the biggest names in the competitive enablement and competitive intelligence community.Guests: Sangram Vajre, Trinity Nguyen and Yi Lin PeiProducer: Grayson OttenbreitEditor: Stephen Despins

When was the last time your marketing team talked to an actual customer? It’s time to change that. And Kevin ‘KD’ Dorsey is here to tell you why.With over a decade of experience in sales and marketing, current SVP of Sales & Marketing at Bench Consulting, KD is well-versed in how to elevate your sales and marketing alignment. From driving urgency to strengthening your sales and marketing alignment, KD has tips, practical advice, and real-life stories to share. You won’t want to miss this one.In this episode, you’ll learn:Why you can never know too much about your customersHow to multithread your sales process and speak to each person on the buying committeeAnd understand the connection between urgency and conversion.Jump into the conversation:[02:40] Why you MUST understand your customer[05:40] KD’s 6 must-ask questions[09:40] Optimizing conversion with ‘want’[12:09] What is multithreading?[24:30] The friend zone of salesConnect with KD: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kddorsey3/Connect with Rowan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rowan-noronha/Product Marketing Community: https://www.productmarketingcommunity.co/Presented by Pavillion https://www.joinpavilion.com/Powered by Casted https://www.casted.us/Produced by Share Your Genius https://www.shareyourgenius.com/

In this replay episode, join our host, Rowan Noronha, as he discusses how to price with confidence with Jason Oakley (Founder, Productive PMM), Mark Stiving (Founder, Impact Pricing), and Kyle Poyar (Operating Partner, OpenView).Your pricing structure is your top profit lever. It can boost profits much more than increasing sales or cutting costs can. But most companies leave money on the table because they don’t charge the right price.Why is pricing underdeveloped in most companies? And how can companies do better?In this episode, pricing gurus Mark and Kyle explain which function should own pricing (cough, product marketing) and how to choose the right pricing strategy.

“Product marketing needs to captain your product launch.”A bold statement. And one that our host, Rowan Noronha, and our guests, Jason Oakley and Yi Lin Pei stand behind wholeheartedly.There are so many misunderstandings when it comes to the product marketing team’s execution—from their role in early development to planning and executing a release versus a launch. And without a successful product marketing launch, your business’ growth can’t create its maximum impact.Jason Oakley, founder of Productive PMM, and Yi Lin Pei, Career Coach and founder of TechGrowthCoach, are both seasoned product marketers who share their own personal experiences and journeys in the field of product marketing, as well as their passion for driving diversity and growth within the industry. Jason and Yi Lin share their frameworks and step-by-step instructions to help product marketers get the most impact from a product launch.

Did you know that 40-60% of B2B software purchases end in no decision?Oftentimes, buyers let the deal go because they can't figure out how to confidently make a decision—they’re more worried about messing up than they are about missing out. And we can do better.Enter April Dunford, best-selling author, founder at Ambient Strategies, and Queen of Positioning sits down with our host, Rowan Noronha to to recap her core tenets of successful positioning and share tangible insights from her latest book, Sales Pitch.April shares how well-defined positioning can be a powerful efficiency tool for B2B companies because positioning means focus, and focus avoids waste. But positioning alone is not going to ensure your success in 2023 and beyond. You need a second tool to drive growth efficiency—a sales pitch. If positioning is your tool for efficient acquisition and go-to-market, a sales pitch is your tool to drive velocity. April masterfully shares how to transform your positioning into a sales pitch guaranteed to put your best foot forward.In this episode, you’ll learn:The 5 key components of positioning and how they correlate to your sales pitch.How to craft a successful sales pitch (based on your positioning) in 8 steps.Why you should always start your sales pitch with your insight into the market.Jump into the conversation:(01:00) Why Do We Need Better Positioning?(06:30) 5 Key Components of Positioning(13:00) Creating a Sales Pitch Based on Insight & Value(20:00) 8 Components of A Successful Sales Pitch(45:000 How to Test Your New Sales PitchSo join us as April Dunford shares her insights on developing a well-structured sales pitch that aligns with the company's positioning, testing and iterating the pitch, and achieving alignment between marketing and sales. A must-listen for product marketers and B2B CMOs looking to improve their positioning and sales strategies.Connect with April: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/Order her book, Sales Pitch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win: https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Pitch-Craft-Story-Stand/dp/1999023021/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1BBS4444TKYE9&keywords=april+dunford&qid=1695046839&sprefix=april+dunford%2Caps%2C106&sr=8-1Connect with Rowan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rowan-noronha/Product Marketing Community: https://www.productmarketingcommunity.co/Presented by Pavillion https://www.joinpavilion.com/Powered by Casted https://www.casted.us/Produced by Share Your Genius https://www.shareyourgenius.com/

Does your product marketing lead with value? And how is that hurting your brand?Imagine if you led with capability. Enter Robert Kaminski and Anthony Pierri, Partners at Fletch PMM, who specialize in positioning and website messaging for early-stage startups.They sit down with our host, Rowan Noronha, to delve into the importance of building a bridge between your product and potential customers. They share their experiences building trust and credibility through genuine interest and expertise by walking through their proprietary messaging and positioning strategy. (This is free stuff, folks!)Positioning and messaging are key elements of product marketing, and Robert and Anthony provide valuable tips on approaching them effectively. Whether you're a seed or Series A company with multiple target segments or a mature market with fierce competition, they've got messaging and positioning tips to apply today.In this episode, you’ll learn:Positioning isn’t just one document—it matures and expands as your company does.Why shared language is critical to building, growing, and assessing your product marketing strategy and execution.Leading with capability instead of value is more impactful when marketing your early-stage startup products.Jump into the conversation:(4:35-5:01) The importance of positioning during company growth(8:45-11:00) Shared language in product marketing(15:57-16:30) Messaging strategy for early-stage startupsJoin us as we explore the eight elements of messaging and positioning strategy, and learn how to use different types of anchors to attract customers. From problem-solving to showcasing unique features and promising significant benefits, Robert and Anthony will guide you in creating compelling content.Resources:Check out their slides here: https://listen.casted.us/public/74/The-Marchitect-95ffab0b/164d988d/share/ba8485d3Fletch PMM: https://www.fletchpmm.com/Connect with Robert: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heyrobk/Connect with Anthony: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonypierri/Connect with Rowan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rowan-noronha/Product Marketing Community: https://www.productmarketingcommunity.co/Presented by Pavillion https://www.joinpavilion.com/Powered by Casted https://www.casted.us/Produced by Share Your Genius https://www.shareyourgenius.com/

Generating revenue is a team sport. But what is it about modern revenue leaders that make them great team captains?How do you capture and create demand in SaaS organizations with the help of Product Marketing and ABM? What processes do you build to bridge these two? Join host Rowan Noronha, Founder of the Product Marketing Community, and guest host Sam Jacobs, Founder, Pavilion as they explore the interlocks and intricacies of value and revenue generation with modern revenue leaders Latane Conant, CMO 6Sense, and Dustin Deno, CRO Affinity.