Pierre Herubel’s Post

"We are targeting CEOs because they are the decision makers" Good in theory, but here are 3 problems: 1. Attention Credit: CEOs are busy and have limited attention. 2. Buying Committees: Most CEOs rely on champions, VPs, or experts to find providers. 3. Competition Noise: CEOs are bombarded by cold outreach and targeted ads for every business functions (finance, HR, Sales, marketing...). So in reality, it's hard to get a response from a CEO: - They rarely engage on social posts (but read silently) - They forward opportunities to the team (not reply) - They trust experts to lead a purchase project It doesn't mean you should not optimize your messaging for CEOs. But you need to understand your prospect's buying process. With a set of questions, you can understand their 'buying dynamics': - What is their buying checklist? - What are their current solution? - What do they need to see, to buy? - Who is involved in the buying process? - When does the CEO intervene in the process? With the answers, you'll be able to: - Map the people involved in the buying dynamic - Create your GTM pilots accordingly - Iterate based on results PS: I wrote a guide on the "7 B2B Buying Trends to Understand in 2024" and buying dynamic is one of them

CEO: "I want to clarify our ideal customer profile" Me: Here are 5 guiding principles: 1. Focus on one ideal customer 2. Listen to them 3. Understand why they buy 4. Understand how they buy 5. Collect the right info about them Ideally, you study your ICP before creating your offers and implementing tactics. Because it will impact everything else in your marketing strategy. - How you should position your business (positioning) - What you should say to convince them (messaging) - Where you should be active to reach them (distribution) Without a clear targeting, you will be in these situations: - "We need an ICP to match our solution" - "Why do prospects always say 'not now'?" - "Everyone can use our solution - be broad" In 2024, it's widely accepted that you need an ICP. But I still see the same 5 mistakes over and over: 1. Shiny Object Syndrome: trying to target everyone "to make sure to not miss opportunities" 2. Underestimating the power of feedback loops 3. Focusing on problems that are not so painful or urgent 4. Collecting only 1/10 of the information needed 5. Forgetting to study HOW the ICP buys because everyone says to focus on the WHY Most B2B businesses need to spend less time chasing tactics, and more time studying their target market.

CEO: "I want to clarify our ideal customer profile" Me: Here are 5 guiding principles: 1. Focus on one ideal customer 2. Listen to them 3. Understand why they buy 4. Understand how they buy 5. Collect the right info about them Ideally, you study your ICP before creating your offers and implementing tactics. Because it will impact everything else in your marketing strategy. - How you should position your business (positioning) - What you should say to convince them (messaging) - Where you should be active to reach them (distribution) Without a clear targeting, you will be in these situations: - "We need an ICP to match our solution" - "Why do prospects always say 'not now'?" - "Everyone can use our solution - be broad" In 2024, it's widely accepted that you need an ICP. But I still see the same 5 mistakes over and over: 1. Shiny Object Syndrome: trying to target everyone "to make sure to not miss opportunities" 2. Underestimating the power of feedback loops 3. Focusing on problems that are not so painful or urgent 4. Collecting only 1/10 of the information needed 5. Forgetting to study HOW the ICP buys because everyone says to focus on the WHY Most B2B businesses need to spend less time chasing tactics, and more time studying their target market.

CEO: "I want to clarify our ideal customer profile" Me: Here are 5 guiding principles: 1. Focus on one ideal customer 2. Listen to them 3. Understand why they buy 4. Understand how they buy 5. Collect the right info about them Ideally, you study your ICP before creating your offers and implementing tactics. Because it will impact everything else in your marketing strategy. - How you should position your business (positioning) - What you should say to convince them (messaging) - Where you should be active to reach them (distribution) Without a clear targeting, you will be in these situations: - "We need an ICP to match our solution" - "Why do prospects always say 'not now'?" - "Everyone can use our solution - be broad" In 2024, it's widely accepted that you need an ICP. But I still see the same 5 mistakes over and over: 1. Shiny Object Syndrome: trying to target everyone "to make sure to not miss opportunities" 2. Underestimating the power of feedback loops 3. Focusing on problems that are not so painful or urgent 4. Collecting only 1/10 of the information needed 5. Forgetting to study HOW the ICP buys because everyone says to focus on the WHY Most B2B businesses need to spend less time chasing tactics, and more time studying their target market.

CEO: "I want to clarify our ideal customer profile" Me: Here are 5 guiding principles: 1. Focus on one ideal customer 2. Listen to them 3. Understand why they buy 4. Understand how they buy 5. Collect the right info about them Ideally, you study your ICP before creating your offers and implementing tactics. Because it will impact everything else in your marketing strategy. - How you should position your business (positioning) - What you should say to convince them (messaging) - Where you should be active to reach them (distribution) Without a clear targeting, you will be in these situations: - "We need an ICP to match our solution" - "Why do prospects always say 'not now'?" - "Everyone can use our solution - be broad" In 2024, it's widely accepted that you need an ICP. But I still see the same 5 mistakes over and over: 1. Shiny Object Syndrome: trying to target everyone "to make sure to not miss opportunities" 2. Underestimating the power of feedback loops 3. Focusing on problems that are not so painful or urgent 4. Collecting only 1/10 of the information needed 5. Forgetting to study HOW the ICP buys because everyone says to focus on the WHY Most B2B businesses need to spend less time chasing tactics, and more time studying their target market.

CEO: "I want to clarify our ideal customer profile" Me: Here are 5 guiding principles: 1. Focus on one ideal customer 2. Listen to them 3. Understand why they buy 4. Understand how they buy 5. Collect the right info about them Ideally, you study your ICP before creating your offers and implementing tactics. Because it will impact everything else in your marketing strategy. - How you should position your business (positioning) - What you should say to convince them (messaging) - Where you should be active to reach them (distribution) Without a clear targeting, you will be in these situations: - "We need an ICP to match our solution" - "Why do prospects always say 'not now'?" - "Everyone can use our solution - be broad" In 2024, it's widely accepted that you need an ICP. But I still see the same 5 mistakes over and over: 1. Shiny Object Syndrome: trying to target everyone "to make sure to not miss opportunities" 2. Underestimating the power of feedback loops 3. Focusing on problems that are not so painful or urgent 4. Collecting only 1/10 of the information needed 5. Forgetting to study HOW the ICP buys because everyone says to focus on the WHY Most B2B businesses need to spend less time chasing tactics, and more time studying their target market.