Position is your Ad Rank relative to everyone else's in that auction: bid × quality signals × expected asset impact. A low position means someone's combination beats yours. And quality is usually the cheaper half to fix.
Raise rank without raising bids: make the ad echo the search term, point it at a page that delivers on the headline, and fill in every true ad asset (sitelinks, callouts) so your ad earns more real estate. Then raise bids only on the terms that convert.
Also question the goal: position 1 pays a premium for clicks that positions 2–3 often get cheaper. Optimize cost per LEAD, and let position land wherever that math puts it.