Article
89: 3 Steps to Building Your Dream ICP - Practical Prospecting
jed.substack.com
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I like to call this the “hidden objection”. “Most outbound messaging assumes the prospect is incompetent and doesn’t have any solution in place for the problem they solve.” Case in point: every lead gen email that says,“Are you interested in 20+ meetings per month?”.
Again, look at the last 10+ customers you close and document who was involved in the buying process and at what stage. “That last part is important because, oftentimes, certain personas are involved in the buying process but not until the later stages. For that reason, it doesn’t make sense to prospect them - I see a lot of teams doing this and it ends up being a big waste of activity.” Once you’ve determined your Dream ICP persona(s), answer the questions on this spreadsheet:
Side note: this is actually a great prospecting strategy. I quite literally booked 3 meetings with this template by accident. You canread about it here. “Once you’ve thoroughly collected REAL data on who your Dream ICP is, document it in this ICP Matrix document:” Grab the spreadsheet for yourself here(please make a copy).
One of the biggest reasons our messaging gets ignored is because our prospects are already getting the job done without us. “I like to call this the “hidden objection”.” Most outbound messaging assumes the prospect is incompetent and doesn’t have any solution in place for the problem they solve.
Now it’s time to determine which personas at these accounts fit your Dream ICP criteria. “Beyond that, we need to truly understand WHY they are the best people to reach out to. By knowing their current processes, challenges, and desires.” Again, look at the last 10+ customers you close and document who was involved in the buying process and at what stage.
Once I internalized this, my process changed completely. “I would study our inbound leads and current customers, then look back to see what was happening at that account 1-3 months before they came inbound.” - Were there new hires? - What tech were they using? - What was happening internally?
I would study our inbound leads and current customers, then look back to see what was happening at that account 1-3 months before they came inbound. “- Were there new hires? - What tech were they using? - What was happening internally?” These questions helped me develop, what I like to call, my "Dream ICP".