The Sales Cornerstone We Often Overlook
Tech start-ups often seek sales assistance for a simple reason: they want to boost their sales figures by forming a sales team or consulting a sales advisor. However, pinpointing the root cause of their sales challenges is where things get interesting. Stakeholders at start-ups may ask, "Do we need a larger funnel, more sales resources, or a dedicated marketing focus?". Start-ups may misdiagnose needs if their sales foundation is unclear.
Sales is a nuanced domain. A series of small steps are involved in cultivating a qualified pipeline of closing opportunities. Early-stage start-ups working on perfecting their product-market fit must consider that even if they have the best product in the world, it won't succeed unless they consistently get it into the hands of paying users.
When founders feel pressure to boost sales, they often gloss over a crucial step while examining their existing sales process: the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). A start-up’s ICP is the foundation for every other part of its sales program.
In the past, ICPs were flawed, focusing on product features and end users alone. The changing global sales landscape requires an expansion of what information ICPs encompass.
The Next Generation ICP acknowledges that products cater to users, but these users aren't usually making purchasing decisions. It compels companies to broaden their perspective on user Returns on Investment (ROIs), including economic buyers and other key stakeholders involved in the purchase. An engineer using a product has different pain points than the CEO who signs off on the purchase. Start-ups must gain an in-depth understanding of what motivates all stakeholders in their target market.
Most importantly, the Next Generation ICP helps start-ups laser-focus on stakeholder pain points and alleviate concerns with proof points. As start-ups begin with an initial set of customers, they will have knowledge gaps in what is possible. For example, a start-up may wish to claim it can save a hospital CEO $10 million annually, but it might not yet have the data to support this claim. What's crucial for a start-up at this stage is recognizing the need to acquire data that validates its ability to address its customers' pain points.
To start-ups focusing on their Ideal Customer Profile, remember these two things:
Think beyond the end user. It’s essential to recognize the dimensionality of stakeholders and how they’re involved in the purchasing process.
It’s okay not to know everything upfront. Start-ups can utilize data from beta users and trials to build proof points that apply to end users and the business ROI.
Now that your ICP cornerstone has been thought out, we’ll explore how to harness this to create your path to revenue in following articles.
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Author - Johanna Brown
Johanna is a B2B technology sales strategist. With 14 years experience in enterprise sales, Johanna enables companies to build their path to revenue and scalable growth.
Johanna is focused on sales enablement for founders and sales teams. End to end sales process - helping companies create their sales playbook, expand their client base and build (or align) their sales process to scalable growth.
Johanna has worked across many industries, including highly regulated industries like healthcare, cybersecurity, finance and government. Johanna thrives on creating value between companies and their respective customers and users, enabling them to increase their growth.
