ICP AF
(AF = Aligned Framework, obviously)
Companies don’t typically fail because they have a bad product or service, but because of a misalignment of who the most healthy customer is for their business. This misalignment wastes time, energy, budget & leads to that infamous animosity between all the departments.
Many companies think they’ve defined their ICP, but it’s usually just on-paper attributes: industry, size, revenue, location. That’s a great starting point, but it doesn’t explain why a prospect will lean into your messaging, resonate with your value, or prioritize solving the problem you solve.
On top of that? ICPs rarely get revisited. Companies define it once & keep running…even as the market, product & company evolve. That’s how misalignment slowly sneaks in & GTM strategy fails. It’s even harder if your company grew from inbound & word of mouth because you likely didn’t need to figure out a specific ICP since business came to you.
(I CALL IT THE KIDS ARE FIGHTING)
But when that inbound stops supporting the growth you need, you need to know how to create an intentional revenue strategy.
If you want that GTM strategy to succeed, your ICP needs to be aligned AF. That’s where I come in.
Over 3 months & 3 phases, we’ll partner up to:
Fully define your ICP (beyond the search-filter basics)
Build the GTM strategy to reach them, on purpose
Create a playbook to re-audit so your team stays aligned as you grow
The Three Phases
01
02
03
Education & Interviews
We’ll kick off with a workshop on what an ideal customer profile really is & why it’s table stakes to have this fully defined in your organization.
I’ll review any current documentation on your ICP + all available data about your business & customers.
I’ll interview every team for what they think is the most ideal customer & the worst customer (per person if <30 people in the company)
Analysis Without Paralysis
I’ll analyze interview results + the data to uncover patterns about your best & worst customers. I’ll present these patterns to all your GTM stakeholders in a way you can all easily visualize.
I’ll likely find some points of conflict as well. These are the most exciting to discuss as they’re often the root of your growth roadblocks.
During the interviews, other points of friction in your entire GTM motion or customer journey tend to come up, we’ll also talk through these & I can suggest which to consider addressing & how.
Deliverables & Strategy
I’ll provide your Final ICP + buyer persona definition that you’ll actually use.
We’ll partner for how to now implement this definition across all Go-To-Market strategies & how to revise your messaging
I’ll have 1:1 sessions with GTM leaders to help them put their adjusted strategy into motion
I’ll leave you with documentation on how to make sure you stay focused on your new ICP definition. This can be documentation or custom AI
Marketing: Revised social & paid messaging, website positioning, revised funnel strategy
Sales: Target account creation, revised deal qualification, overall RevOps improvement, outbound messaging
Customer Success: Implementation of customer segmentation, expansion or retention playbooks
Product: Support with improving roadmap feedback loops or better connecting product decisions with revenue growth
You may need ongoing support staying focused on strategy execution.
THIS COULD LOOK LIKE
Healthy ICP Symptoms
You have marketing messaging that converts
It’s easy for Sales to rank + prioritize their Target Accounts
You’re clear about who to spend resources (time & money) on for GTM strategy
Your retention, LTV, CAC & TTV are healthy
Your product roadmap is aligned with real customer needs vs constant feature requests
You spend little time on customers who aren’t a fit, your finance team isn’t constantly chasing money & your sales cycles are where they should be relative to your ACV
Misaligned ICP Symptoms
Sales blames Marketing. CS blames Sales. Everyone blames Product.
Your top of funnel may be fine but your conversion to your pipeline or closed won is low
You have high churn or constant escalations and your renewal conversations are discounted a lot
Your funnel conversion is inconsistent MoM
You lack proof of product market fit or a new pricing model & custom product requests are common
Deals feel like convincing, not solvin