Positioning Secrets: The Trusted Industry Advisor

If you want the RIGHT organizations (those with a larger budget, decision-making authority, and a pressing need for the solution you offer, etc.) to seek you out for your expertise,

...you may be interested in today's issue of WILDFIRE, where I explain one effective principle that has helped my clients:

The principle is “ the rule of one.”

The Rule of One

If you want your positioning for speaking/training deals to resonate, engage just one target audience, deliver just one core message, and drive towards just one clear call to action.

I cannot stress enough how much corporate interest skyrockets when you apply this intentional simplicity and focus to your conversations.

Let's break it down piece by piece

Engage Just ONE Audience

It's tempting to think you can be all things to all people, casting a wide net across LinkedIn to catch the attention of whichever prospects seem vaguely relevant.

But the hard truth is that this scattered approach almost never works to land premium corporate engagements consistently.

Instead, you must narrowcast by engaging just one well-defined audience and truly mastering their language.

In my system, we spend time upfront finding that ONE buyer persona to speak to directly rather than trying to appeal to everyone.

Here's how we implement this

• ? Identify the decision-maker titles that would invest in their training/coaching (e.g., Chief Learning Officers, Learning and Development Directors, etc.).
• ? Layer on details like company size, geographic region, and industry type to hone in on the ideal niche.

For example: "Chief Learning Officers at enterprise SaaS companies ($500M-1B revenue) concentrated in the U.S.."

By getting SPECIFICALLY targeted like this, my clients speak to ONE group instead of spraying content across LinkedIn, hoping anyone will pay attention.

That intentional audience focus makes all the difference in your messaging, cutting through noise instead of just adding to it.

Deliver Just ONE Core Message

Equally important - you must whittle your messaging down to address just one major frustration or aspiration your audience has.

As legendary marketer Jack Trout made clear decades ago:

"Minds hate complexity. The best way into minds that hate complexity is to oversimplify the message you communicate."

Rather than attempting to tell your whole story, we identify one golden attribute, insight, outcome, or system the target audience cares about right now and consistently hammer that home across all content.

For example, perhaps it's "how to foster belonging and allyship between senior and junior women."

Whatever the audience's #1 burning priority is becomes the SINGULAR focus.

While everyone else gets ignored because of their laundry lists of services, my clients win deals by relentlessly focusing on THE must-have solution prospects crave from industry insiders.

Share Just ONE Clear Call-to-Action

Another thing we do in my method is to ensure that every communication directs audiences to take one clear action to further the dialog.

Without this focused call to action, decision-makers become overwhelmed and default to inaction.

Make sure every message has a specific, singular, and idiot-proof next step.

We use one main call to action on LinkedIn posts, blogs, emails, or virtual live events.

The call to action is shared at the end of your newsletter, slide deck post, or LinkedIn Live event.

It's the one that sums up everything about your expertise, the problem you solve, and who it is for in a summary statement of 60 words or less. It includes:

? Establishing your credentials and social proof

? Naming your signature system or process

? Offering free value in exchange for engagement

? Creating urgency to act now

? Guiding them explicitly on what to do next

This formula works because it builds credibility fast, adds value that readers want, creates some urgency to act, and gives a next step that leads to more deals.

When positioned correctly through a highly targeted audience, with a core message and clear path forward, your views increase exponentially, and the quality of inbound inquiries improves.

Or you can keep attempting to capture everyone's attention with broad positioning and scattered messaging, hoping that, eventually, someone might bite.

Do yourself a favor as you aim for more visible, premium-paid speaking and training roles where you get to share your methodologies or frameworks - apply the Rule of One and watch your corporate engagement soar.

P.S. I developed an exercise breaking down the "Anatomy of a Powerful Call-to-Action."

If you want the document, comment “ACTION” here, and I’ll send it over.

P.P.S. I do breakdowns like this weekly - if you want to make sure LinkedIn feeds you my posts, drop a like and comment on this one.

P.P.S. I spend, on average, 3-4 hours putting together these breakdowns, so I'd love your help getting it out to as many people as possible.

There's enough for us all to win!

NEXT STEPS

Want to work with me to see what changes you can make to position your expertise to make an additional six figures per year from doing a small number of workshops and/or consulting engagements with corporations and organizations while working fewer hours?

Reach out to me here on LinkedIn or email [email protected]

ABOUT THE CREATOR OF WILDFIRE

Deborrah Ashley is a marketing strategist and corporate trainer for organizations, founders, companies, and accelerators. She is the author of the book InSIDER- How To Leverage LinkedIn To Stand Out As The Industry Leader.

She specializes in helping founders, companies, and leaders spot and fix the overlooked details and hidden marketing gaps that hinder conversions and create new conditions for sustainable growth.

As a result, they shape brand perception, deepen relationships, and transform how prospective clients, talent, and partners think about and experience their company online.

With over 20 years of go-to-market experience, her insights have been featured in Oprah Magazine, The New York Times, and Black Enterprise Magazine.

She is frequently tapped to speak on building a presence online.