How I defined RevOpsCharlie’s ICP, buyer persona and value proposition

Here's the framework I used when identifying the ICP, buyer persona and value proposition for RevOpsCharlie

And how it led me down the wrong path initially

I created a spreadsheet that split out the journey of a B2B SaaS startup from

$3-10m ARR, $10-30m ARR and >$30m ARR

I then used secondary research sources from Notion Capital ICONIQ Capital Carta SaaStr ScaleWise and others to break down the details of what a 'typical company' looks like in each stage.

I started looking at the financial data - their revenues, their funding, their valuation, their core growth metrics.

I then started to look at their team - how many they had, what their roles where, specifically the make up of their go-to-market team - including who was responsible for driving revenue in that stage.

I then started to look at the specific 'jobs-to-be-done' for that revenue leader at that stage of the business and the challenges they faced at that time.

I then looked at how an external provider might support them in delivering on those jobs-to-be-done and how those might be packaged up as a 'value proposition'

I found this exercise and framework extremely useful - but I made the wrong diagnosis.

I focused in on the left hand column - because at the start of the stage a founder had no RevOps function, and needed one by the end of that stage.

What I missed was that a company that size had not yet faced the searing pain of missed targets, siloed teams and inefficiency - in fact, they had just found product market fit and raised $6m - no problems here they feel.

Instead it is the right hand column where external help is most needed - falling out of product market fit, new AEs not ramping fast enough, a second product not meeting revenue targets, a new international territory burning cash.

Your business will be focused on a different set of customers with a different set of criteria - but I recommend working through this structured process to get inside the minds of your buyers at different stages of growth and uncover your niche within the niche.

You can access my full spreadsheet here