The Ideal Customer Profile aka ICP

In my previous post, How to Execute A Successful Sales Territory Business Plan?  We discussed how to build a TAM. I do not want to confuse this with the Ideal Customer Profile or “ICP”.

 The TAM is used to define the right audience. This is the universe of everyone you can sell to and is the first step in focusing on where to sell to maximize your sales investment. From this TAM you create the ICP and further define who can best benefit from your solutions. With these two tools used in conjunction, you create a clearly defined target market, with each segment identified and opportunities quantified.

 Defining the Right Audience:

Ideal Customer Profile Process:

The ICP is at its core the perfect customer for your product and/or service. Look at your website today, does it tell a story that the prospect can say, “Yes this looks like me?”

The ICP is your first view of a lead and helps determine if you should engage or disengage. If it does not meet your criteria, then most likely is not worth your sales reps spending time on these leads that would never close. When you apply the ICP, it helps to set the priority for your sales team on those leads worth pursuing, not those that are not a fit!

The ICP focuses on account fit, not the individual buyer types or Personas.

The ICPs will define who you will pursue, while buyer personas provide the process to sell to each individual; “Carla CEO”, “Frank Finance” Tim IT” and so on.

Now let’s look at how the TAM and ICP are used together.

In conclusion, the process to provide a clear definition of your Ideal Customer is one of the most important things you can do for your business. This will determine your product roadmap, as well as what your service offering is. Including the design of your website, the keywords or phrases you use in your marketing, to the sales playbook. Remember your ICP will let you choose the customers that bring long term value to your company. Make sure as part of your role you provide the time and resources to develop your ICP and review it on a continuous basis.