ICP AF
(AF = Aligned Framework, obviously)
Most start ups fail not because of a bad product or service, but because there is no aligned understanding of who they are serving. This misalignment wastes time, energy, budget & often leads to that infamous animosity between departments.
For your GTM strategy to be successful, you need to get your ICP definition aligned AF.
That’s where I come in.
We’ll partner for 3 months in 3 main phases & by the end, you’ll have a fully defined ICP, an execution plan to reach your ICP & a playbook for how to audit it every 6 months to keep everyone aligned.
PHASE 1 — Education & Interviews
We’ll kick off with a workshop on what an ideal customer profile really is, the difference between the ICP & the buyer persona, & why it’s table stakes to have these fully defined in your org
I’ll review your current docs on ICP + customer data
I’ll interview interviews every team for what they think is the most ideal customer (per person if <30 people in the company)
PHASE 2 — Analysis Without Paralysis
I’ll analyze all of the interview results + the data you provided to uncover patterns about your best & worst customers & I’ll present these patterns in a way you can 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.
I’ll meet with your GTM stakeholders to walk through the results & patterns. We’ll also resolve the conflicts I uncovered in the analysis.
During ICP interviews, other points of friction in your GTM motion or customer journey tend to come up, we’ll also talk through these & I can suggest which to consider addressing & how.
PHASE 3 — Deliverables & Strategy
I’ll provide your Final ICP + buyer persona documentation that you’ll actually use.
We’ll have a workshop for how to now implement this definition across all Go-to-market strategies.
I’ll have 1:1 sessions with GTM leaders to help them put their adjusted strategy into motion
You may need ongoing support staying focused on strategy execution.
This could look like support with:
Sales: Target account creation, revised deal qualification, overall RevOps
Marketing: New messaging, revised MQL playbook
Customer Success: Implementation of customer segmentation, new expansion or retention playbooks
Product: Support with improving roadmap feedback loops
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
You have strong GTM efficiency; 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
Your product roadmap is aligned with real customer needs
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
Your funnel conversion is inconsistent MoM
You can build pipeline but it doesn’t close
Deals feel like convincing, not solving
You lack proof of PMF or your pricing model
Custom product requests are common