Problem and use-case fit

Define customer pain as a business situation you can recognize, investigate, and connect to an outcome. Trace the work that is failing to its cause and impact, then test whether the account has the use case and priority to act. A strong idea can look bad when tested on the wrong people, so audience selection is part of problem definition.¹ Many B2B companies spend comparable effort choosing the problem and deciding who should have it.² Companies that skip the second part often regret it.³

Build a problem hypothesis

Start each account with a problem hypothesis you can test. It tells you what to research and gives the call a starting point.

Before the call, write down the problem you expect the company or prospect to have: "What is the problem that we expect this company or this prospect to have?"⁴ Use the company's persona, stage, or deal type to narrow the hypothesis, since those signals indicate which problems may be present.⁵

Put each candidate problem into a problem identification chart with the problem, its impact, and its root cause.⁶ Keep the fields separate. A visible symptom gives you an opening, a root cause tells you what may need to change, and the impact tells you whether the issue deserves attention.

Make the hypothesis specific enough to guide questions, while leaving room for the prospect to correct it. If you cannot describe the situation in ordinary work terms, keep researching before you reach out.

Trace the problem through the workflow

A pain point becomes useful for ICP work when you can see where it appears in the prospect's workflow. Move from the situation to a concrete example, then connect that example to the business objective.

Start by asking, "So figure out what are the situations that you've got?"⁷ Follow with, "Give me an example."⁸ Listen for a recent workflow, the point where it breaks, and what happens after the break. A general complaint gives you a topic. An example gives you something you can qualify.

Ask, "What business objective are they trying to solve?"⁹ That question moves the conversation from activity to purpose. If the workflow produces data, ask, "And what is that data then feeding for the business?"¹⁰ The answer can show whether the issue affects a decision, a process, or an outcome that the company tracks.

Before you recommend a solution, understand where the prospect needs help and what challenges sit behind the request.¹¹ Move forward when the prospect can describe the situation in their own terms and connect it to work the business needs to complete.

Test priority and business case

Pain alone does not make an account a fit. You need enough detail to judge whether the problem has scale, priority, and a reason for action.

Define and size the problem so you can judge whether it is worth paying to solve.¹² Ask what the problem affects, what it delays, and what decision depends on fixing it. Then ask, "What's driving that business case?"¹³ Listen for a business reason that exists outside the conversation, such as a required outcome, a blocked initiative, or a cost the prospect already recognizes.

A fit test asks whether your solution can solve the prospect's highest priority business problems.¹⁴ If the prospect describes an issue that carries no consequence, keep investigating. If the problem is urgent and important, you have a stronger basis for an ICP rule and a call plan.

Record where the problem becomes expensive, slow, risky, or difficult to manage, then compare that point across accounts.

Match the use case to the account

An account belongs in the ICP when its workflow contains a use case your company can solve specifically. This is where a general pain point becomes a usable targeting rule.

The ICP exercise should identify the companies most likely to have use cases where your solution will be most valuable.¹⁵ Ask, "I'm curious, which one is it for you?" when you have presented several plausible problems and need the prospect to select the one that applies.¹⁶

Next, identify which buyer challenges your company can solve specifically.¹⁷ State the connection in one sentence: this account has this situation, the situation creates this business problem, and the use case gives your solution a credible way to help.

If the proposed use case is unsuitable, explain the job the prospect needs done.¹⁸ That keeps a poor fit from turning into a vague opportunity and gives you a clean reason to remove the account or redirect the conversation.

Turn the pattern into ICP rules

Convert repeated problem and workflow patterns into account attributes. The profile should help you recognize likely pain before the call and test it during the call.

Write attributes that predict the problem, the workflow, or the use case. Use at least three attributes to describe the ICP.¹⁹ Each attribute should answer a targeting question: does this account face the situation, run the affected workflow, or have a reason to act?

Expect the first version to change. Most founders initially got their ICP wrong.²⁰ Treat that version as a working hypothesis and revise it when conversations show that the problem appears in a different type of account or carries a different use case.

Use outbound sales data to judge what is working, since it is described as a better signal than leads from investors and friends.²¹ Look for repeated language, workflows, and business consequences. Keep the broad pattern in the ICP and record account specific details as variations.

What not to do

These mistakes create weak pain points and noisy targeting rules. Keep them out of account research and discovery.

• Do not call revenue growth or pipeline the pain point by themselves. Name the operating problem underneath.²²
• Do not advance a mild problem as fit. Prioritize an account with a significant version of the problem.²³
• Do not mark fit from capability boxes. Require a business case.²⁴
• Do not treat a nice-to-have issue as enough. Test whether it sits among the prospect's top priorities.²⁵
• Do not answer a competitor or integration question with a feature response before you understand the use case and why the prospect asks.²⁶