positioning is distribution

nail positioning and distribution becomes automatic.

Jul 03, 2025

welcome to day #11
of #100DaysOfCareers
learn more about the series.

tata nano was supposed to be revolutionary. it was legit a car for the price of a bike. it had to sell millions. i mean, why would it not sell?

you know the answer, don’t you?
they positioned it as the “worlds cheapest car”? jeezz

no one wants to be seen
driving the “cheapest” anything.

why am i talking about products?
isn’t this supposed to be about careers?

well… you might be making the same mistake.

especially if you’re calling yourself
an "experienced marketer with 10 years experience"

three signs you’re not positioned well

you clear interviews yet lose offers
you get inbound for roles you’ve outgrown
comp falls below “market average”

folks, 2021 was fake.
2021 was a different universe.
money was free. zero interest rates meant growth at any cost.

market was hiring anyone
who could spell javascript.
every company becoming a "tech company."

stop hoping it comes back.
it’s not coming back.

in 2025, every hiring manager i know gets 1000+ applications per role. they spend 6 seconds on each. not 6 minutes. 6 seconds. in that time, they're asking one question: "does this person solve my specific problem right now?"

the market doesn't care
what you call yourself. it cares what expensive problem you solve. and the expensive problems of 2025 aren't the expensive problems of 2021.

your positioning from the free money era is like selling umbrellas in a drought. the weather changed. time to change what you're selling. if you're applying without positioning, you're wasting time.

hiring is exactly like sales.
if your pitch is wrong, it doesn't matter if you speak to 100 or 1000 people. you need to do the numbers, but positioning will save you hundreds of hours.

bad positioning + 100 applications = 100 rejections

good positioning + 50 targeted applications = 5 conversations

you're not failing at distribution.
you are applying everywhere but you're failing at relevance. and relevance comes from positioning.

how to solve your positioning?

step 1: start with the pain

pick a company or sub industry + similar sized company. ask, what's keeping them up at night? who owns this problem? who gets fired if it's not solved? who gets promoted if it is?

we wrote a detailed article on this here.

step 2: find promise you can deliver

not the "i'm a versatile pm who's worked across industries."

specific problems.
specific approach.
and a clear outcome should come out.

april dunford, who literally wrote the book on positioning:

"positioning is deliberately defining how you are the best at something that a defined market cares a lot about."

her formula: urgent problem + growing market + your proven solution

we wrote a detailed article on this here.

pro-tip for leaders 💡
positioning gets you seen.
but that’s not enough.

they will ask: who’s backing this person?

a warm line from the founder?
you’re taken seriously.

a casual nod from a peer?
you’re just noise.

it’s not fair. it’s just true.

reputation moves faster
when it's borrowed.

and when you speak,
they’re not just listening for what you did.
they’re listening for how you think.

leaders are hired for altitude.
they want signals of ownership, not obedience.

who speaks for you. and how you speak.
that’s what separates talent from trust.

step 3: build proof

(too big to cover in this article. i'll cover this in a full series)

proof isn't your resume.
it's artifacts that demonstrate your promise.

the fullstack prototype vs a product spec.
the github repo with your scoring model.

the best proof is something you
can build for that specific company.

please don’t assume because you’re from a tier 1 b school you don’t need proof. here’s abhinav who comes IIM C & IIT D. he too built a stellar proof of work to crack a leadership role (director at pocket fm).

step 4: positioning in every touchpoint

look at every single touchpoint.
resume, linkedin, intro, interviews, references. change it all.

your linkedin headline sets the frame:
"reducing d2c cac by 40% with ai lead scoring | ex-razorpay"

your cold email reinforces it:
"saw your post about rising cac. i solved this exact problem at razorpay by..."

your first interview answer confirms it:
"why do i want to join? because you're burning cash on acquisition when your payment data already tells you who'll stick around. i've solved this before."

your portfolio proves it:
case study: "how i reduced merchant cac by 47% using transaction intelligence"

your references validate it:
"mahesh? he's the one who figured out our lead scoring. saved us lakhs in wasted sales efforts."

every touchpoint tells the same story.
that's how positioning becomes distribution.

step 5: run five cold outreach tests

measure reply rate. under 10%?
your positioning isn't sharp enough.

over 40%? you found your positioning.

positioning determines

which opportunities see you.
how people introduce you.
when problems trigger your name.
why someone picks you over 50 others.

nail positioning and distribution becomes automatic.

so, when look at a nano in traffic.
remember how a wrong label can kill a product.

and, ask yourself
what label are you wearing?
and who cares enough to pay for it?

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drop a like, or comment to
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share this with someone
who you think will find value.
they’ll thank you later.