Founder & Partner
Every founder hits that moment. Your CRM is packed. The team is working harder than ever. But the deals just… don’t close.
So you start saying what everyone says — “We need more leads.”
Wrong. You don’t need more. You need better.
When your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is off, your funnel fills with noise instead of opportunity. And no amount of lead volume can fix a broken fit.
🎬 Watch the Reel
The Real Problem Isn’t Leads — It’s Fit
If your pipeline is full but your close rates are flat, you don’t have a lead problem — you have a fit problem.
Think about it:
Are your leads actually in-market?
Do they have the right pain, urgency, and budget?
Are your reps spending time on accounts that will never convert?
When you get your ICP wrong, you burn cycles chasing people who were never a match.
The fix? Clarity.
Your best growth lever isn’t traffic — it’s targeting.
What a Strong ICP Looks Like
A great ICP does three things:
Defines who wins with you. Who gets the most measurable value from what you sell?
Filters the rest. Who wastes your time and resources?
Guides your content, ads, and sales efforts. When everyone knows who you serve best, every message lands stronger.
At The Revenue Coaches, we see this pattern every week: When teams refine their ICP, conversion rates climb and acquisition costs drop — often within one quarter.
How to Diagnose an ICP Problem
If you’re wondering whether your ICP is off, look for these signals:
Your sales team keeps saying “they weren’t ready.”
Marketing celebrates MQLs that never convert.
You’re spending on ads that bring clicks, not customers.
Your win rates have plateaued or declined.
These are all symptoms of unclear targeting.
The Fix: Define ‘Better,’ Not ‘More’
Founders often chase volume because it feels measurable. But the founders who scale predictably do the opposite — they narrow their focus.
Instead of adding 100 new names to your funnel, focus on identifying the 10 that are a perfect fit. Those 10 will always outperform the 100 random ones.
📈 Fix the ICP. Fix the funnel.
Take Action
If your revenue feels unpredictable, it’s time to revisit your ICP. Book a free Revenue Health Assessment at TheRevenueCoaches.com. We’ll help you pinpoint your fit, clean your funnel, and build a growth system that scales.
Questions:
Q1: What does ICP mean in marketing? An Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) describes the type of customer who gains the most value from your product or service. It includes firmographic traits like company size, industry, and budget — plus psychographic traits like challenges, goals, and buying triggers.
Q2: Why is my pipeline full but my close rate low? That usually signals a fit problem. You’re attracting leads who aren’t your ideal customers. Refining your ICP improves fit, which increases conversion rates without adding more leads.
Q3: How do I know if my ICP is wrong? You might have the wrong ICP if your leads stall, your sales team keeps disqualifying late, or your win rate has dropped. It means your targeting and messaging don’t align with the right audience.
Q4: How do I fix my ICP? Analyze your top 10% of customers — the ones who stay longest and spend the most. Identify what they have in common. Build your ICP around those shared traits, then align your content, ads, and sales messaging to match.
Q5: What’s the difference between more leads and better leads? “More leads” increases workload. “Better leads” increase revenue. Focusing on fit over volume gives your sales team higher-quality opportunities that convert faster and cost less to acquire.
About Daniel Nielsen
Daniel builds revenue engines that convert. With 25+ years leading growth across SaaS, fintech, e-commerce, and real estate, he has driven more than $1B in revenue. He has led go-to-market strategy at Realtor.com, Socialsuite, Charitable Impact, Kartera, World Duty Free, and Kao Salon Services, delivering 400% lead growth, 135% ARR overachievement, and 116% year-over-year ARR growth.
