Agree a bounded trial with evidence requirements and a review date, without implying expansion is automatic.
The situation
In this fictional brief, different team members explain the company in conflicting ways. The buyer wants a consistent message with a documented audience and reason to choose. Your offer is a positioning and identity project, but you must first establish whether its scope addresses the actual need.
A relevant delivery constraint is that the company must preserve recognition with existing customers. Treat that as a fact in the exercise; do not remove it to make the sale easier.
| Your counterpart | a founder entering a new customer segment |
|---|---|
| Offer under discussion | a positioning and identity project |
| Evidence available | a messaging comparison using actual customer language supplied by the client |
| Terms to clarify | Separate strategy, identity, applications, trademark checks and production. |
How to approach pilot proposal
A useful question for this stage: “What evidence would make you decide not to expand?” Ask it when the conversation creates a reason for it, rather than reciting every question in order.
- Define a narrow scope, a baseline, an owner and success criteria. Include a stop condition and the decision after the pilot.
- Ground the discussion in the buyer’s work. Ask: “Which customer should recognise themselves in the first sentence?” Listen for a concrete example before making a claim.
- Use evidence relevant to the decision: a messaging comparison using actual customer language supplied by the client. Explain what it demonstrates and what remains unverified.
- Agree a bounded trial with evidence requirements and a review date, without implying expansion is automatic.
Example exchange
An illustrative exchange. Real conversations will take a different path.
SellerWhich question would a small trial need to answer before you considered a wider engagement?
BuyerOur concern is that different team members explain the company in conflicting ways. Also, the company must preserve recognition with existing customers.
SellerWhich customer should recognise themselves in the first sentence?
BuyerWe only need a new logo.
SellerA logo may be the right deliverable. First, let us check whether the difficulty is visual recognition or explaining the offer.
SellerWhat evidence would make you decide not to expand?
An industry-specific concern
Buyer: “We only need a new logo.”
Possible response: “A logo may be the right deliverable. First, let us check whether the difficulty is visual recognition or explaining the offer.”
Why this response helps: it acknowledges the concern, brings the discussion back to a verifiable requirement and leaves room for a different decision. Adapt the wording to what the buyer actually said.
Run the practice
- Prepare for two minutes. One person takes the seller role and one plays a founder entering a new customer segment. Read the offer and constraint separately from your preferred answer.
- Have a five-minute conversation focused on design a small engagement that resolves a real uncertainty and has a clear stop or proceed decision. The buyer should answer consistently with the brief and ask for evidence when a claim is vague.
- Add this challenge: The buyer wants an open-ended free trial. Explain the work involved and propose a finite evaluation with clear responsibilities.
- Pause for feedback. Quote one useful question and one missed opportunity. Repeat the difficult exchange using a different response.
- Finish by writing the actual agreement. A sensible option, when it fits, is to test two positioning statements with a small set of relevant customer conversations. A clear decision to pause is also a useful outcome.
What to avoid
| Common mistake | Calling a discounted full project a pilot without a learning objective. |
|---|---|
| A stronger direction | Let us test the uncertain part first and agree what the result will and will not tell us. |
| Scope and claim boundary | Customer interviews are evidence to interpret, not a statistically representative market survey. |
| What to measure in real work | whether target customers can accurately repeat the offer. Establish a baseline and definition before interpreting a change. |
Your working sheet
Write your own version below. Notes are saved on this browser when local storage is available. Use Download to keep a separate copy; avoid adding confidential information on a shared device.
Example: different team members explain the company in conflicting ways; the company must preserve recognition with existing customers.
Example: What evidence would make you decide not to expand? Industry question: Which customer should recognise themselves in the first sentence?
Example: a messaging comparison using actual customer language supplied by the client. Customer interviews are evidence to interpret, not a statistically representative market survey.
Example: Propose a clear next step, such as: test two positioning statements with a small set of relevant customer conversations. Confirm the owner and date.
Review your work
Tick only what you can support with your answer or practice. This is a reflection checklist, not an automated assessment.
Questions about this resource
Who is this branding studios exercise for?
Founders, salespeople and account managers preparing for a conversation about a positioning and identity project. Adapt the brief to your real offer and authority before using it at work.
Can I use the example as a script?
Use the questions as prompts. Listen and respond to the buyer’s actual meaning. The target is to design a small engagement that resolves a real uncertainty and has a clear stop or proceed decision, not to deliver a memorised speech.
How should I assess the result?
Agree a bounded trial with evidence requirements and a review date, without implying expansion is automatic. Use the three review questions below. The checklist is for reflection; it is not a validated prediction of sales performance.
Fictional training scenario. The dialogue illustrates response choices; it is not a customer testimonial or a record of a real sale. About these resources.