Positioning (April Dunford)

Nobody understands what you do in one sentence

Test Two One-Liners in Cold Outreach

Lead 50 cold outreaches with one-liner A and 50 with one-liner B. Compare reply rate. Find the framing that lands.

AcquisitionBeginner

2 weeks

When to use

You're in pre-PMF or new-category territory. Your one-liner has shifted 3+ times in the last 6 months.

Hypothesis template

If we send 100 cold messages split between one-liner A ("we replace [known thing]") and one-liner B ("we're the [new category] for [persona]"), one will get 2x+ the reply rate.

Method

The problem: Your one-liner is fuzzy. People nod politely, ask "wait, what do you do again?", and don't reply to outreach. Until your one-liner snaps into focus, every other GTM motion underperforms.

What works: Two opposing framings. One anchors to a known thing (lower confusion, possible commodity-trap). One claims a new category (more interesting, possible "huh?" trap). Test which one your ICP actually responds to.

How to do it:

Write two one-liners (max 12 words each):
- A — Replacement: "We're [Tool X] for [persona] — [specific differentiator]."
- B — Category: "We're the [new category name] platform — built for [persona]."
Use each as the subject-line + opening line in 50 cold outreaches (matched lists, same channel).
Track reply rate, "tell me more" rate, and what they ask back.
After 2 weeks, pick the winner by reply rate. Read the questions they asked back — those tell you what the one-liner left unclear.

Output: A validated one-liner you can put in the deck, the website hero, and every cold message. Plus the questions to address in your second sentence.

Success metrics

•Reply rate per one-liner
•"Tell me more" rate
•Questions asked back (qualitative)
•Meeting-book rate

Prerequisites

200+ cold prospects
Sharp ICP
Willingness to ship messaging that might not work

Common pitfalls

•Three or more variants — too thin per arm
•Different lists per variant
•Optimizing for opens instead of replies
•Changing both subject and body — can't isolate

Source: Positioning (April Dunford). Standard category-design vs replacement framing.

Suggested ICE scores

8Impact

7Confidence

7Ease

gtmpositioningmessagingab-test

Ready to run this experiment?

Method

How to do it:

Write two one-liners (max 12 words each):
- A — Replacement: "We're [Tool X] for [persona] — [specific differentiator]."
- B — Category: "We're the [new category name] platform — built for [persona]."
Use each as the subject-line + opening line in 50 cold outreaches (matched lists, same channel).
Track reply rate, "tell me more" rate, and what they ask back.
After 2 weeks, pick the winner by reply rate. Read the questions they asked back — those tell you what the one-liner left unclear.

Output: A validated one-liner you can put in the deck, the website hero, and every cold message. Plus the questions to address in your second sentence.