sales-narrative

What this skill does

# Sales Pitch Dunford

> Master April Dunford's 8-step sales narrative from "Sales Pitch" (2023). Transform your positioning into a compelling story that wins enterprise deals.

## When to Use This Skill

- Structuring B2B sales presentations and demos
- Creating pitch decks for complex products
- Training sales teams on narrative-driven selling
- Converting positioning strategy into sales conversations
- Winning against entrenched competitors
- Selling to enterprise buyers with long decision cycles

## Methodology Foundation

**Source**: April Dunford - "Sales Pitch" (2023) + "Obviously Awesome" (2019)

**Core Principle**: The sales pitch is the narrative implementation of positioning. A robust positioning strategy is useless if it dies in a PowerPoint deck. The pitch must follow a specific arc that establishes context before presenting the product.

**Why This Matters**: Without a positioning-led narrative, sales reps revert to the "Feature Dump"—opening the laptop and listing features. This forces the customer to figure out why those features matter, leading to comparison against the wrong things, focus on price, and stalled deals.


## What Claude Does vs What You Decide

| Claude Does | You Decide |
|-------------|------------|
| Structures production workflow | Final creative direction |
| Suggests technical approaches | Equipment and tool choices |
| Creates templates and checklists | Quality standards |
| Identifies best practices | Brand/voice decisions |
| Generates script outlines | Final script approval |

## What This Skill Does

1. **Structures the 8-step narrative arc** - From insight to close
2. **Connects positioning to conversation** - Strategy becomes pitch
3. **Builds "The Setup" phase** - Establishes context before product
4. **Creates "The Follow-Through"** - Presents solution with proof
5. **Aligns Marketing and Sales** - Same story, different formats

## How to Use

### Build a Complete Sales Pitch
```
Create a Dunford-style sales pitch for:
Product: [description]
Category: [market category]
Unique value: [differentiation]
Target buyer: [persona]
Key competitors: [alternatives they'd consider]
```

### Transform Positioning into Pitch
```
I have this positioning:
[paste positioning canvas or statement]

Create an 8-step sales narrative from this positioning.
```

### Review a Sales Deck
```
Review this pitch against Dunford's 8-step framework:
[paste deck outline or key slides]

Identify what's missing or out of order.
```

## Instructions

When creating sales pitches, follow Dunford's 8-step narrative structure precisely:

### The Two-Phase Structure

```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│           THE DUNFORD SALES NARRATIVE               │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                     │
│  PHASE 1: THE SETUP (Establishing Context)          │
│  ├── Step 1: The Insight                            │
│  ├── Step 2: The Alternatives                       │
│  └── Step 3: The Perfect World                      │
│                                                     │
│  PHASE 2: THE FOLLOW-THROUGH (The Solution)         │
│  ├── Step 4: The Introduction                       │
│  ├── Step 5: Differentiated Value                   │
│  ├── Step 6: Proof                                  │
│  ├── Step 7: Objections                             │
│  └── Step 8: The Ask                                │
│                                                     │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

---

### Phase 1: THE SETUP (Establishing Context)

**Purpose:** Create tension and establish buying criteria BEFORE introducing your product.

#### Step 1: The Insight

```
## Step 1: The Insight

**Purpose:** Start with a statement about the customer's world that creates tension.

**Format:**
"We've noticed that [trend or market shift]..."
"There's been a fundamental change in [customer's domain]..."
"[Industry] is facing a new reality: [insight]..."

**What Makes a Good Insight:**
- Based on market research or data
- Hints at a problem or opportunity
- Creates tension or curiosity
- Customer nods in recognition

**Examples:**

B2B SaaS:
"We've noticed that data volumes in healthcare are doubling every 18 months,
but IT budgets are staying flat."

Cybersecurity:
"The average enterprise now has 76 different security tools—yet breach
rates have never been higher."

HR Tech:
"Remote work has fundamentally changed how employees experience culture.
The old playbook doesn't work anymore."

**Warning:** Don't introduce your product here. Build tension first.
```

#### Step 2: The Alternatives

```
## Step 2: The Alternatives

**Purpose:** Discuss current ways of coping. Validate the customer's pain
and set up the "villain."

**Format:**
"Most teams try to handle this by [alternative 1], [alternative 2], or [alternative 3]..."
"The typical approaches are..."
"What we see companies doing today is..."

**Key Principle:**
The alternatives come directly from your Positioning Canvas (Component 1:
Competitive Alternatives). This is NOT about listing competitors—it's about
what customers do if your solution doesn't exist.

**Common Alternatives:**
- The Status Quo ("living with the pain")
- Manual Processes ("Excel," "the intern," "email")
- In-house Solutions ("some script the CTO wrote")
- Competitor Products (only if actually considered)

**Examples:**

Data Platform:
"Most teams try to manage this with spreadsheets and manual data entry.
Some hire consultants. Others build internal tools that become maintenance nightmares."

Security:
"Teams typically respond by adding more point solutions—another tool for
endpoints, another for cloud, another for email. Or they hire more analysts
and hope they can keep up."

**Then Show Why Alternatives Fail:**
"But here's the problem with these approaches..."
- Spreadsheets: "Errors creep in, versions conflict, no real-time view"
- More tools: "Creates more complexity, more alerts, more fatigue"
- Hiring: "Talent is scarce and expensive; doesn't scale"

**Purpose:** Customer thinks "Yes, that's exactly my situation. None of
those work well for me."
```

#### Step 3: The Perfect World

```
## Step 3: The Perfect World

**Purpose:** Define the buying criteria BEFORE introducing your product.
This "rigs the game" in your favor.

**Format:**
"In a perfect world, you would be able to..."
"What if you could..."
"Ideally, a solution would..."

**Key Principle:**
The "Perfect World" describes capabilities that YOUR product delivers
uniquely well. You're setting up criteria that favor your differentiation.

**Structure:**
1. [Capability that solves pain point 1]
2. [Capability that solves pain point 2]
3. [Capability that solves pain point 3]

**Examples:**

Data Platform:
"In a perfect world, you could:
- Handle this volume automatically without adding headcount
- Get real-time visibility instead of monthly reports
- Trust the data without manual verification"

Security:
"Ideally, you'd have:
- A single view across all your tools
- AI that filters real threats from noise
- Response times in minutes, not days"

**Why This Matters:**
When you later present your product, the customer evaluates it against
the criteria YOU just established—not criteria from RFPs or competitors.
```

---

### Phase 2: THE FOLLOW-THROUGH (The Solution)

**Purpose:** Present your product as the answer to the Perfect World criteria.

#### Step 4: The Introduction

```
## Step 4: The Introduction

**Purpose:** Now—and ONLY now—introduce your product.

**Format:**
"That's exactly why we built [Product Name]."
"[Product Name] is a [Market Category] that [one-line value prop]."
"We created [Product Name] specifically to [deliver Perfect World]."

**Key Elements:**
1. Product Name
2. Market Category (from Positioning Canvas Component 5)
3. One-line connection to the Perfect World

**Examples:**

"That's exactly why we built DataSync—a real-time