Liza Adams

Most companies are afraid to say who they’re NOT for. They think it shrinks their market. But it actually expands your qualified prospects by making the right buyers feel seen and understood.

Stop explaining what makes you different. Start explaining what makes you right for specific situations.

• ➡︎ Bad positioning –  “AI-powered workflow automation solution for agile teams”

• ➡︎ Good positioning: “Best for 50-500 person companies needing custom workflows. Not ideal for startups under 10 people or enterprises requiring strict compliance.”

The clear approach does three things:

• ➡︎ Builds instant trust – Buyers think “Finally, someone being honest”

• ➡︎ Enables self-selection – Wrong-fit prospects move on before wasting time

• ➡︎ Guides AI recommendations – AI can now confidently suggest you for the right scenarios

This doesn’t guarantee AI will position you perfectly, but you’re giving it direction instead of letting it guess. More importantly, not all customers are created equal. Non-ideal customers tank profitability. They churn faster, cost more to serve, and can damage your reputation.

Lead customers to where they’ll be served best, even if it’s not you. That builds trust. And trust is the new currency when AI is making recommendations.

The companies that master transparent positioning and truly live it in everything they do will own the market narrative. Everyone else will let AI write their story using random reviews, social comments, and competitor claims.

Pick one piece of your marketing content. Does it clearly say who you serve best and when? If buyers have to guess, so does AI.

Check the comments for my latest newsletter on the five changes that help AI understand and recommend your brand correctly.

AI is trained to be agreeable out of the box. Here’s how we can stop settling for a yes-bot.

Most AI models are trained to be engaging above all else because the AI companies want us to keep using AI. Ask about your strategy and it will find reasons why you’re brilliant.

This feels great until you realize you’re getting advice from the world’s most sophisticated yes-bot. So before you start believing you’re a rock star and give in to the pandering, try this:

I stumbled upon a simple fix: don’t tell AI that it’s your idea. Instead of “What do you think of my strategy?” try “I came across this approach, thoughts?” AI can’t be agreeable if it doesn’t know what you want to hear.

For even deeper insights, you can guide AI to consider multiple perspectives before responding. Rather than just asking it to “be critical” (which often produces generic pushback), guide it to think through how different people might see your idea.

To pressure-test ideas, make it think through multiple perspectives first:

• ➡︎ “How would the decision maker vs. influencer vs. ratifier vs. user see this?”

• ➡︎ “How would early adopters vs. cautious buyers react?”

• ➡︎ “How would small vs. large companies perceive this?”

This transforms AI from a cheerleader into a strategic thinking partner. It’ll actually say things like “Early adopters might love this approach, but conservative buyers will want more proof first.”

That’s the kind of insight that prevents expensive mistakes. Plus we should be doing this anyway as GTM leaders.

The framework below shows 8 perspectives you can start with. Pick 2-3 that matter for your situation and watch AI become genuinely useful instead of just agreeable.

See the comments for a side-by-side example of how this transforms AI responses from generic agreement to strategic insights.

Getting pushback from AI beats getting it from stakeholders when it’s too late.

Many ask why I give away my AI frameworks, methods, and experiences so openly. I believe that the most successful people don’t chase butterflies – they build beautiful gardens.

When you chase butterflies, they fly away. When you build something valuable and share it openly, the right butterflies come to you naturally. Not all of them, just the ones that align with your values and vision.

Although counter-intuitive, it’s true: Making your knowledge accessible doesn’t devalue your work. It proves your worth. When you share and show your frameworks, insights, and methods, four things happen:

• ➡︎ Some people will do them on their own and become your biggest advocates.

• ➡︎ Others will see the value but lack the time or desire to DIY it. They become your ideal clients.

• ➡︎ Many will start with the resources you share, then hire you to help inspire others, build momentum, and scale quickly.

• ➡︎ And some will come to you who aren’t the right fit. But because you’ve built trust through sharing, you can confidently refer them to others who serve them better.

You’re not creating competitors. You’re creating an ecosystem where trust is built upfront and people self-select based on genuine alignment.

Tricia Halsey calls this Generous Leadership® – abundantly giving of yourself so that others may be better people who do better work. It’s not just good karma. It’s smart strategy.

In today’s world, hoarding knowledge isn’t just risky, it’s obsolete. We’re all learning together. The people who share generously are the ones invited into the most interesting conversations and opportunities.

Yes, AI will amplify what’s already there… your reputation, your expertise, your helpfulness. But the best outcomes happen in the trusted relationships you build with humans along the way.

Whether you’re building a brand, helping clients as an entrepreneur, or navigating a career transition, the principle remains: your willingness to help others succeed is your greatest differentiator.

What’s one insight you’ve learned recently that might help someone else? Build your garden. Share it. Trust that the right people will find you.