Chapter 01 / Positioning
Last updated: Published by Tim Kilroy
Agency positioning is how the market describes your agency when you are not in the room, and getting it right is usually the first fix for agencies that keep losing deals on price. This chapter of the Agency Coach FAQ explains how positioning works, when vertical positioning helps, and how to test yours.
Position around a specific buyer and the outcome you create for them, then back it with matching proof. Tim Kilroy's view is that a price objection is usually a positioning problem in disguise: when a buyer cannot see the change you create, your rate is the only thing left to compare, so shift the conversation to outcomes.
In the Agency Coach FAQ, agency positioning means the short description buyers use to file your agency among the options they already understand. Tim Kilroy's framing is that the buyer owns your position. You choose the signals you put into the market, such as your case studies, your offer and the buyers you name, and the market decides what those signals mean. Positioning is not what you say about yourself; it is how the market hears what you say.
That is why rewriting a tagline rarely works on its own. If your case studies say you serve everyone, a homepage that says specialist reads as noise. The work has to back the words, which is why Tim notes that you can change headlines in a week but repositioning takes years.
Each approach is judged on the same four points, drawn from Tim Kilroy's positioning playbook.
| Approach | How buyers describe you | Pricing pressure | Main risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Generalist ("we work with everyone") | Hard to describe in one sentence | High; deals tend to collapse to rate | Being liked, referred, and not hired |
| Service-based (one capability) | By what you do, alongside many similar shops | Moderate; depends on visible outcomes | Sounding like every other agency with that service |
| Vertical (one industry) | By who you serve | Lower; faster trust and higher rates | Concentrated exposure to one market's bad year |
Vertical positioning means specializing in one industry instead of one service. It tends to buy faster trust and higher rates, because a buyer in that industry sees that you already know their world. It also concentrates your risk. As Tim Kilroy puts it, nobody tells you what to do when the niche has a bad year.
His advice is to choose a market you can genuinely dominate, then watch for over-concentration the same way you would watch a single client that grew into 40% of revenue. Vertical positioning is strongest when you already have case studies in that industry and a team that enjoys the work. It is weaker when you are picking an industry only because it looks big on paper.
Tim Kilroy's full method is in his Agency Positioning Playbook. Positioning also shapes what you ask on a first call; see agency discovery questions and return to the agency coach FAQ hub.
Agency positioning is how the market describes your agency when you are not in the room. Tim Kilroy's view is that the buyer owns your position: you choose the signals, and buyers sort you quickly into options they already understand. A simple test is whether a prospect, client or teammate can describe what you do in under 20 seconds.
Vertical positioning means specializing in one industry rather than one service. It can earn faster trust and higher rates, but it concentrates your risk in one market's good and bad years. Tim Kilroy's advice is to choose a market you can genuinely dominate and watch for over-concentration the way you would watch one client grow into 40% of revenue.
Usually because the agency sells effort while the buyer pays for an outcome. When a prospect cannot see the specific change you create, the rate is the only thing left to compare. Tim Kilroy treats a price objection as a positioning problem in disguise: move the conversation to outcomes, raise the floor on who you take, and walk away from deals that anchor you low.
Start by admitting that most agency websites are too generic to survive a cold read. If you cannot name your differentiator, buyers file you next to competitors you do not resemble and the deal collapses to price. Name the buyer you serve, back it with case studies that match, and commit long enough for the market to notice.
Longer than rewriting a homepage. Tim Kilroy notes that you can rewrite headlines in a week, but repositioning takes years because the work has to back the words. If your case studies say you serve everyone, a tagline that says specialist will be read as noise, so the proof has to change along with the message.
If your main need sits outside sales, positioning and demand, such as pure delivery efficiency or accounting, a specialist in that area may fit better. If you are below about $20K a month, getting reps on a clear offer may matter more than coaching. A short call can help you decide which side of that line you are on.
Tim Kilroy coaches owners of marketing, creative, PR and other service agencies on positioning, pipeline and sales. Tell him what is going on, and he will help you find what to fix first.
