Positioning is simple. Getting everybody on the same page is a different challenge.

The good news is that when you’re early-stage, you can be a little more nimble, move faster, make adjustments and get buy-in quicker.

Getting to a “version 1” of your value proposition pillars can be a quick exercise. Here’s a process we use with the companies that work with us:

1. Ask yourself: what is your product is the best at? What can only your company provide to the market? What makes it better than the competition? Boil each value proposition down into a clear word or phrase.

2. From your list, choose the 4 strongest – the ones you feel will set you the farthest apart from your direct competitors.

3. Create a simple chart. Play with putting your value propositions on the X and Y axes until you find a combination that puts you in the upper right corner of the chart when plotted against your competitors.

The characteristics you place on those two axes become your value proposition pillars. They're what make you stand apart from the competition.

Use them to inform your content strategy, your headlines, your keyword research, and your product & sales messaging.

Before you go all-in on the value propositions, validate them by asking a few of your customers the same questions you asked yourself at the beginning of the exercise.

You'll find out pretty quickly if you're on the right track if your customers tell you the same things you've chosen.