When to say no to out-of-ICP customers

Eddie and Brady debate walking away from profitable customers to preserve focus and repeatability.

Play episode from 21:40

chevron_right

Transcript

chevron_right

Transcript

Episode notes

Most B2B SaaS companies think they have their ICP nailed down, until you realize their "ideal customer" spans fourteen industries, three market segments, and basically anyone with a pulse and a credit card. In this episode, Eddie Reynolds sits down with Brady Jensen, CEO of Clear Go to Market, to talk about why your ICP is probably too broad (or just sneakily WRONG) and what to do about it.

Brady shares his methodology for actually validating your ICP by talking to prospects in non-sales contexts, how to find those "weird" characteristics that truly define your best buyers (hint: it's not just industry and revenue), and why competitive intelligence should focus on strategic signals rather than feature-by-feature battle cards that nobody believes anyway. Brady shares when to say no to customers outside your ICP, how to test differentiation messages before your sales team wastes months pitching them, and why the gap between what marketing creates and what actually resonates with buyers is still embarrassingly wide at most companies.

From insurance companies to private equity firms, Eddie and Brady use real examples to show how narrowing your focus (even when it means walking away from revenue) can be the smartest growth strategy you'll ever implement.

You can learn more about Clear Go to Market at cleargtm.com or reach out to Brady at bjensen@cleargtm.com.

Read the article on this topic here.

[00:45] Intro And Welcome

[01:21] Brady Introduces Clear Go To Market

[01:41] Brady's Journey From Sales Rep To CEO - The Problem Of Unvalidated Messaging

[04:05] The Art And Science Of Go To Market

[05:14] Defining ICP - Starting With Eddie's Example Of Companies Being Too Broad

[08:20] Tangible Criteria For Defining ICP

[14:20] Brady's Validation Process - Talking To Prospects In Non-Sales Contexts

[19:23] Narrowing Down ICP Beyond Broad Categories

[24:25] When To Say No To Customers Outside Your ICP

[30:58] The Importance Of Buyers Feeling "These People Get Me"