Revenue Builders

Stop Selling to the Wrong Customers | The Science of Scaling Your ICP with Mark Roberge

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Jan 18, 2026
Mark Roberge, the founding Chief Revenue Officer of HubSpot and a Harvard Business School lecturer, shares insights on the emotional barriers companies face in evolving their Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). He introduces the innovative "green, yellow, red" framework to identify high-value customers while avoiding resource-draining ones. Roberge emphasizes the importance of aligning teams around a clear ICP to drive sustainable growth, enhance retention, and optimize go-to-market strategies, transforming the way organizations operate.
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INSIGHT

ICP Failure Is An Emotional Problem

  • Many companies fail to update their ICP because decisions are emotional, not data-driven.
  • A true ICP must be based on lifetime value (LTV), not just low CAC or high inbound volume.
ADVICE

Use A Green/Yellow/Red ICP Framework

  • Use a green/yellow/red ICP framework with 5–8 attributes to prioritize where to sell and explore next.
  • Treat green as target, red as off-limits, and yellow as the peripheral area to test selectively.
ANECDOTE

Snowflake Grew By Exploring The Yellow

  • Snowflake moved upstream from SMB to enterprise by exploring yellow-segment customers who pulled them up.
  • Early adopter enterprises in the yellow became the path to large-scale expansion.
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