Authority Positioning Statement: Template and Examples for Consultants

Why a positioning statement matters now

When clients can ask an AI for a generic answer, a generic description of your services puts you in a crowded bucket of interchangeable providers. A sharp positioning statement does the opposite: it tells the right client you understand their exact situation, and it gives others a sentence to repeat when they recommend you.

The template

I help [specific client] with [specific problem] so they can [specific result]. Unlike [what most people do], I [your distinct approach], because [your proof].

Each part has a job:

• Specific client: a type of organisation or person you can picture. Not "businesses".
• Specific problem: the thing they lose sleep over, in their words.
• Result: what changes, ideally measurable.
• Unlike: the common approach you would advise against.
• Proof: experience, outcomes or research that makes the claim believable.

Worked examples

• IT consultant: "I help small clinics stop losing patient records to ad hoc software choices, so they can run on one system that staff actually use. Unlike vendors who sell a package, I start with a workflow diagnostic, based on fifteen clinic rollouts."
• Coach: "I help first-time engineering managers hold their first difficult performance conversation, so they keep good people and gain their team's trust. Unlike generic leadership courses, I rehearse the real conversation with them, based on coaching over a hundred of them."
• Agency: "I help B2B software companies fix the gap between traffic and demos booked, so sales gets qualified conversations. Unlike agencies that sell more leads, I audit the handover first."

Notice that none of them says "full-service", "innovative" or "passionate".

How to write yours in twenty minutes

1. Write down your last three best clients. What was the problem when they first called?
2. Circle the words they used, not the words you use.
3. Fill in the template using their language.
4. Cut every adjective you cannot prove.
5. Read it aloud. If a friend could not repeat it to someone else, narrow it.

Test it

• Would a stranger in your target group say "that's me"?
• Could a referral partner pass it on in one breath?
• Does it rule some people out? Good positioning does.
• Can you back the proof clause with something a buyer can verify?

Where to use it

• The first line of your website and LinkedIn headline.
• The opening of sales conversations, before you ask questions.
• Your one-line description for partners. See referral scripts for consultants.

For the bigger picture, read how to position yourself as an expert. To see whether your current positioning is working, take the free Vendor-or-Authority Audit.

Ten more examples across different fields

Seeing the template applied to varied work makes it easier to write your own. Each example follows the same structure: who, what problem, what result, what you do differently and why you are credible.

1. Accountant: "I help freelancers and small agencies stop losing money to late-filed taxes, so they can plan their cash with confidence. Unlike accountants who only file, I set up a quarterly review, based on ten years advising creative businesses."
2. Designer: "I help e-commerce founders turn browsing into checkout by fixing product pages, so they can grow without more ad spend. Unlike designers who start with a redesign, I start with a page-by-page audit of where shoppers drop off."
3. HR consultant: "I help growing companies of fifty to two hundred people build their first fair pay structure, so they stop losing staff to better offers. Unlike generic salary surveys, I benchmark against local roles, based on twelve pay reviews."
4. Software developer: "I help clinics replace spreadsheets with a simple booking and records system, so front-desk staff stop double-booking patients. Unlike big vendors, I build only what a clinic will actually use."
5. Marketing consultant: "I help specialist manufacturers get found by procurement teams, so they win tenders beyond their usual customers. Unlike agencies that chase traffic, I focus on the searches buyers use at purchase time."
6. Trainer: "I help sales teams of five to twenty people handle price objections, so they close without discounting. Unlike classroom courses, I practise with recordings of their own calls."
7. Legal adviser: "I help startups sign their first enterprise customer without giving away their intellectual property, so they can grow safely. Unlike firms that redline everything, I focus on the four clauses that matter."
8. Financial planner: "I help professionals in their forties who have never had a plan, so they know if they are on track. Unlike product salespeople, I charge a flat fee and sell no products."
9. Researcher: "I help NGOs turn survey data into a one-page decision brief, so boards act instead of filing the report. Unlike academic write-ups, I lead with the decision."
10. Author-coach: "I help specialists write a first book that opens doors, so their expertise reaches buyers before they meet them. Unlike generic writing courses, I start with the reader's problem."

Do not copy these. They show the shape: a concrete client, a concrete problem, a concrete difference.

Common mistakes in positioning statements

Too many audiences

"I help startups, corporates, NGOs and governments" is four positions in one sentence. Pick the group where you have the strongest results and evidence.

Result words that mean nothing

"Grow", "transform" and "unlock" are too vague. Say what changes in the client's world: fewer late deliveries, a signed enterprise customer, a completed first book.

The "unlike" clause is a strawman

If you write "unlike incompetent providers", nobody believes you. Name a common, reasonable approach and explain why it falls short in the situations you serve.

Proof that cannot be checked

"Trusted by leading companies" is not proof. "Fifteen clinic rollouts" or "ten years in retail operations" is. If your proof is modest, keep it honest. Honest and specific beats grand and vague.

Writing it once and never testing

A positioning statement is a hypothesis. Test it in conversations. If people look confused, simplify. If they say "that's exactly my problem", keep it.

How to test your statement in a week

1. The stranger test. Say it to someone outside your industry. Can they repeat it back?
2. The referrer test. Give it to a friend and ask them to introduce you to someone using it. Do they change the words? Use their version.
3. The client test. Read it to your best client. Ask: "Does this describe what I did for you?" Their corrections are gold.
4. The search test. Type the problem in your statement into a search engine and an AI assistant. What do the results say? Your statement should point to something they miss.
5. The reaction test. Watch what happens when you say it. Do people ask a follow-up question? That is the sign of a good statement.

From statement to daily use

Once you have a statement you trust, deploy it consistently:

• Put a shortened version at the top of your website and profile.
• Use the full version to open sales conversations.
• Give referrers a one-line version. See referral scripts for consultants.
• Write notes that prove each clause over time. See thinking in public.
• Match your price to the level of result you promise. See how to stop competing on price.

Positioning statement vs tagline vs elevator pitch

These are often confused:

Write the positioning statement first. The tagline and pitch are shorter versions derived from it.

Linking positioning to how clients treat you

A sharp statement does not just attract clients. It changes how they behave. Clients who understand exactly what you do bring problems rather than specifications, ask about your approach before your price and involve you earlier. If you want to see whether that shift is happening, take the free Vendor-or-Authority Audit. Then read how to position yourself as an expert for the wider strategy.

The Authority Positioning Statement is one of the twelve tools in The Demo Is Dead, and the book shows the full worksheet with prompts, examples and a checklist for your first ninety days.