⚙️ Ops Playbook #31

_{Read Time: 7.1 Minutes}

Hi Operators ⚙️

I got a few things cooking after all of these calls the past two weeks. Excited to share more 👀 

Here’s what we got going on today:

• Scrape G2 for ideas → Use 3 simple steps to collect complaints about your competition

• 6 steps to nail your positioning → Don’t use a value proposition statement. No one remembers them. Use these 6 steps instead

• TAM usually is useless → Imagining your TAM is fun. Not hitting your goals isn’t.

• 7 prompts to automate SOP creations [members only] → Building SOPs can be mind-numbing. Perfect to hand over to AI to automate.

Let’s jump in.

(P.S Have questions about scaling your business? Reply to this email or email me at [email protected])

^{Together With Attio}
A CRM for the next era of companies.

Attio is a radically new CRM built specifically for the new era of companies. It’s flexible, easily configures to your data structures, and works for any go-to-market motion.

Attio automatically enriches your contacts, syncs your emails and calendar, and lets you quickly build Zapier-style automations.

Join Modal, Replicate, ElevenLabs and more.

5 Operators Library Links

• How to create thought leadership content in under 15 minutes with this step-by-step playbook (7 steps to upgrade your content game)
  
  

• This operator uses AI to power his 1 man business to half a million in revenue. He did this all in one year (Learn how you can use AI to scale) 
  
  

• This CEO recommends giving your boss positive feedback. Tell them when they do something that works for you, they'll notice it and double down on it. (How do you avoid being a suckup?)

  
  

• An agency owner broke down how he revamped his personal brand to drive more leads to his business (Check out his worksheet)
  
  

• What this creator used to learn SEO to scale his website to 100K/m visits. He only used 1 tool (What tool does he use?)

3 Ops Tips

1. Scrape G2 to get competitive intel

Insight from SuperSend.io

As operators, we often get caught up in our own world. But if we want to stay ahead of the game, we need to keep an eye on our competition too.

One tool for gathering intel on your competition is G2. G2 is a review website where users share their opinions about different products.

By digging into customer complaints, you can get a clear picture of where your competitors are struggling.

Here's a step-by-step guide to using G2 for competitive intelligence:

1. Find your competitor's product page on G2.com and click on the reviews section. The URL should look like this: https://www.g2.com/products/clickup/reviews#reviews

2. Open up the developer console (aka the "inspect element" window) using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + J (or Command + Option + J on macOS). This will open the console in a separate window.

3. Copy the code from this link and paste it into the console. Hit Enter and watch the magic happen! Just make sure to change the MAX_REVIEWS variable to the number of reviews you want to scrape (e.g., change 20 to 50).

Note: If you run into any errors or the download doesn't start after a couple of minutes, try completing a captcha verification and then run the script again.

Give it a shot and see what you can learn about your competition.

Learn More: Go to G2 to try this yourself

2. Six steps to nail your positioning

Insight from Obviously Awesome

Top operators take on the responsibility for the delivery of your product. You gotta meet your customers' needs.

That's where positioning comes in. Positioning isn’t only about how the product works or how to acquire customers. Our job is to ensure we deliver in a way that resonates with our target customers.

And to do that, we need to understand what our customers need and how we can deliver it better than anyone else.

But please don't use a position statement like this:

A position statement is a vague sentence people use to feel better about themselves.

The worst part of a position statement is that it assumes you know the answers, reinforces the status quo, and doesn't give you hints on the future.

Try breaking down the statement into 6 components. Those 6 sections are:

• Competitive Alternatives: What customers would do if your solution didnt exist

• Unique Attributes: Features and capabiities that you have and the alternatives lack

• Value (and proof): The benefit that those features enable for customers

• Target Market Characteristics: The characteristics of a group of buyers that lead them to care a lot about the value you deliver.

• Market Category: The market you describe yourself as being a part of, to help customers understand your value

• Relevant Trends: Trends that your target customers understand and/or interested in that can help you make your product more relevant right now

Learn More: Here is a positioning template you can steal

3. Your TAM might be BS

Insight from Mostly Metrics

When you pitch to investors, one of the first things they'll ask about is your TAM (Total Addressable Market). It's a stat showing the total potential revenue you could generate if you captured every possible customer.

But many folks get so caught up in the size of their TAM that they forget about the actual experience of delivering their product to customers.

To find your true TAM, you need to investigate the nitty-gritty of pricing and quantity. The pricing part is easy—it's what you charge for your product. But figuring out the quantity? That's where it gets tricky.

If you're selling a simple per-seat product, you can look at the total number of potential users in your target market.

But if you've got a more complex pricing model, like charging based on usage or storage, it's a lot harder to pin down that quantity.

One way to tackle this is to estimate the typical spend for different types of customers. Then, you can multiply that spend by the total number of companies in each category to get a rough idea of your TAM.

It's not perfect, but it's a start.

Here are three things to keep in mind:

1. Insertion Point: Where does your product fit into your customers' day-to-day workflow? If you can make yourself indispensable by integrating deeply into their processes, you've got a much better shot at expanding into other areas later on.

2. Competition: Sure, a giant TAM is great—but it also means you'll be facing off against some serious competition. Use the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) to assess how fragmented your market is. The higher the score, the closer you are to being the only game in town.

3. Market Maturity: Is your market getting started, or is it already mature? Make sure you're positioning yourself in a market that can actually support your growth ambitions.

At the end of the day, positioning your product within your TAM is all about finding that sweet spot where you can deliver the most value to your customers in the shortest amount of time.

Learn More: How a CFO calculates TAM

4. Automating SOPs in 7 steps with Claude AI

Insight from Rameel Sheikh

Building SOP’s can be mind-numbing.

Let’s simplify the process by using Claude.

Enter the following text prompts into Claude step by step.

Here the prompts to input into Claude to get the results you need.

Analyse the workflow steps

I'm breaking down the task of [your task] into sequential steps for an SOP. Here's what I have so far:- [steps]Can you help me identify any steps I may have missed or suggest ways to make the sequence clearer?

Creating clear steps of the workflow

Using the list of steps, please generate a clear and concise description for each step, aimed at making the SOP easy to follow for all employees.

Defining roles and responsibilities

For the SOP, I need to clearly define the roles and responsibilities of each team member involved. Can you help me identify the key roles and provide a description of their responsibilities within this process?

Drafting the SOP document

Write the SOP. Use headings, tables and bullet points to make it easily digestible. Use concise descriptions.

Establishing metrics and quality checks

To ensure consistent execution of the SOP, I want to establish relevant metrics and quality control measures. Can you suggest some key performance indicators (KPIs) and quality checks that I should incorporate into the SOP?

Optimise the SOP for searchability

I want to ensure that employees can easily find and reference the SOP when needed. Can you provide some tips on how to optimize the SOP content for searchability and ease of reference, such as keyword usage, document structure, and formatting?

Gathering feedback on the SOP

I want to gather feedback from stakeholders and end-users. Can you help me create a survey or questionnaire to collect their input on the clarity, comprehensiveness, and usability of the SOP?

Creating a maintenance and update plan

To keep our SOPs up-to-date and relevant, I need to develop a maintenance and update plan. Can you outline a process for regularly reviewing, updating, and versioning our SOPs, including a schedule and responsibilities for these tasks?

Learn More: Why are SOP’s important for your business

Something Fun

Feel free to reply with your meme; I might add yours to next week’s edition.

How Am I Doing? 👋 

I love hearing from readers, and I’m always looking for feedback.

How am I doing with The Bottleneck? Is there anything you’d like to see more or less of? Which aspects of the newsletter do you enjoy the most?

Hit reply and say hello - I’d love to hear from you!

Cheers,

Rameel from The Bottleneck

Spread The Word

Share The Bottleneck with friends to get a few freebies. Maybe you’ll make some new ones on the way 😆 

We’ll give you free stuff and more friends if you share a link. Only one link.

You currently have 0 referrals, only 1 away from receiving Q3 Report.