A new book by Jeff Lerner · Founder, Misnomer Marketing
Nobody knows
what you do.
The founder's guide to brand clarity, positioning, and the go-to-market architecture that drives growth.
Ask your eight most senior leaders to finish one sentence: “We are a ______ company.” You might get eight different answers. That gap has a name — and a cost.
The hidden cost
That gap is narrative debt — a compound interest of confusion that grows with every dollar spent and every hire made.
It never shows up on a dashboard. But it stretches your sales cycle, scatters your marketing, and makes growth harder than it should be. Most companies don’t stall because of a weak product. They stall because they scaled misalignment before they established the clarity that makes every dollar and every hire compound instead of cancel out.
“Most B2B founders don’t stall because of a weak product. They stall because they scaled before they were clear. This book fixes that.”
The five layers of strategic clarity
One connected architecture — not another list of tactics.
Most go-to-market books cover one layer: messaging, or positioning, or channels. This one covers all five, in sequence, as a system. Every chapter ends with a Founder Checklist and a Founder Exercise. It’s built to be used, not just read.
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01
Ch. 1–8
Foundational Clarity
Positioning, category design, and the core narrative that decides how the market understands you.
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02
Ch. 9–13
Execution Architecture
Turning strategy into the operating systems and messaging that actually carry it to market.
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03
Ch. 14–19
Growth System
The channels, demand engine, and motion that turn clarity into repeatable pipeline.
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04
Ch. 20–23
Conversion & Retention
Closing the loop — converting attention into revenue and customers into advocates.
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05
Ch. 24–27
Scaling & Discipline
The discipline of scaling without losing the thread that made you effective in the first place.
Grounded in how the best actually did it
Case studies from the companies that got clarity right
Advance praise
What founders, CMOs, and operators are saying
Positioning is one of the most misunderstood disciplines in B2B, and Jeff Lerner gets it right — a clear, actionable framework for how founders should think about brand, messaging, and go-to-market before they scale. This is the book I’ll be recommending to every early-stage founder I work with.
Most companies don’t have a product problem. They have a clarity problem. Jeff calls it narrative debt, then shows you exactly how to eliminate it. A masterclass in aligning what you say with how you grow.
One of the most practical go-to-market books I have read. Jeff not only diagnoses the problem; he hands you the tools to fix it. Every founder who has ever struggled to explain what their company does needs this book.
There are plenty of books about marketing strategy. Very few connect strategy to the daily operational systems that actually make it work. This one does both — a rigorous, complete framework for how B2B companies earn the market’s trust and grow.
Most books on go-to-market describe the destination without giving you the map. This gives you both. Jeff has spent 25 years inside the problem he’s writing about, and it shows on every page. I’ll be handing this to every founder I work with before they spend another dollar on marketing.
Both a diagnostic tool and a strategic compass. It challenges conventional startup instincts and replaces them with a disciplined approach to building companies that scale with intention, not confusion.
Nobody Knows What You Do is methodical, practical, and grounded in real-world case studies. You feel the logic rather than just understand it. It’s the book every founder needs on their shelf. I am recommending it without reservation.
This book reflects not only a deep understanding of successful go-to-market actions but the real-world experience of someone who has consistently helped organizations grow and communicate with impact.
Stop scaling the confusion.
Start building the foundation.
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Prefer to talk? Jeff is available for podcasts, speaking, and media — jeff@misnomer.co.