Frances Liu

I borrow from the typical ones mentioned on Sharebird (the box one? mind's failing me here) and modify them based on what I'm messaging. 

Re: competitive positioning, I break it down by 3 segments at a high level and against key value props how we stack up. 

• Who are incumbents
• Top direct competitors
• Adjacents in the space

I try not to get too much in the weeds on features so we focus on benefits. Detailed comparisons are more used as sales enablement.

Messaging is articulating why and how your product/service matters. It's a unifying tool for teams so we continually show value to our customers.

I've learned to appreciate a simple tool like a messaging doc. Without one, it takes longer to onboard new employees, harder to wrangle the cats. Business turns wonky.

As others have mentioned, practice. It's hard to find the extra time, so here are some ideas:

• Try different frameworks to refresh on basics
• Find reasons to tag-team a refresh. I've used it as part of onboarding new marketing folks
• Compare with PMMs at other companies. I'm grateful to have coworkers and friends to talk shop (plus kudos to Sharebird!)
• Read fiction. Sounds corny, but it non-work related way to tap that empathy muscle

It can be hard to keep messaging simple and poignant. It takes time, revs, and validation. There's pressure to get it perfect right off the bat. Or people sit and forget. Let it evolve over time. 

Something I've learned is how valuable it can be to tap the emotional benefit. It's still important to have rational data points so they can justify the decision, but a great story compels. 

It depends on the person's prior experience, but the core skills are around: research/insights, building personas, building the messaging framework.

And a general coaching rule is: tell, show (via examples from other companies or here), and do (often). 

We're at a growth stage where there's so much work to be done, so new marketing team members have to learn as they do. But to set them up properly, we'll create a more structured plan and build in more time.