With sales history
Closed-won and closed-lost deals show why you win, where deals stall, who was involved and which triggers were present.
ICP and positioning
An ICP built from pain and urgency, not firmographics alone
Size, sector and job title tell you who could buy. Six questions narrow that to who is likely to buy now.
From a whole market to focus accounts
- Your whole market
Who could buy?
Every company by size, from SMB to enterprise, and by sector.
- Painful condition
Which company has the painful condition?
Only firms where the problem is present and costly.
- Right people
Who feels it, and who can move budget?
The person living with the problem and the person who signs.
- Trigger present
What makes it urgent now?
A new leader, an audit, an incident, a customer demand.
- Alternatives known
What else are they considering?
Incumbent tools, a platform add-on, an internal build, or nothing.
- Proof ready
What would make acting feel safer than waiting?
The evidence each role needs before they commit.
- Focus accounts
A short list worth real outreach effort, with the message, the people and the timing already known.
Sector changes the answers
A law firm, a bank and a manufacturer answer the six questions differently. So do an SMB and an enterprise. The ICP is defined by sector and size as well as by pain.
| Sector | Typical triggers |
|---|---|
| Financial services | Regulatory review or new resilience requirement. Supplier risk assessment. New security or risk leader. |
| Legal and professional services | A major client's security questionnaire. Panel or tender requirement. Merger between firms. |
| Manufacturing and industrial | Customer supply-chain requirement. Plant modernisation or new connected systems. Incident at a peer or supplier. |
| Healthcare and public sector | Framework or contract renewal. Audit or toolkit submission. Digital or cloud programme. |
| Hospitality and retail | New sites or acquisitions. Payment system change. PCI DSS assessment. |
Trigger events we watch for
- New CISO or security leader
- Funding round
- Merger or acquisition
- New compliance requirement
- Public incident or breach
- Cloud, AI or transformation programme
- Customer or supplier security requirement
- Expansion into a regulated market
- Security hiring
- Vendor consolidation or platform review
Triggers are signals, not proof of intent. Each is checked against the ICP before an account is included.
Where the evidence comes from
Early stage
Founder knowledge, early conversations and market tests. The first ICP is a hypothesis, tested through outreach. The evidence supports product-market-fit decisions, but does not guarantee them.
Start with a pipeline review
A practical 30-minute discussion about your ICP, current outreach and how you define a worthwhile opportunity. You will leave with a clearer view of where to focus, whether or not we work together.
GDPR-aware prospecting. Clear identification in outreach. Prompt opt-outs. Responsible handling of company and contact data.