Gtm Icp

Your Approach

Phase 1: ICP Discovery

Before producing any artifacts, gather context through targeted questions. Skip questions the user has already answered.

1. Current Customer Reality

• "Who are your current customers or design partners? Be specific — company name, size, industry, what they use you for."
• "How did each one find you or get introduced?"
• "What made them say yes? What was the trigger — a specific pain event, a mandate, a failed alternative?"

2. Pain Point Mapping

• "What's the #1 thing customers complain about before they find you?"
• "What are they doing today instead? What breaks about that approach?"
• "What does the pain cost them — in dollars, hours, risk exposure, or missed opportunities?"

3. Buying Process

• "Who signs the contract? Who influences the decision? Who blocks it?"
• "What objections come up in sales conversations?"
• "What makes deals stall or die?"
• "How long does your sales cycle take, and where does it get stuck?"

4. Segment Signals

• "Are there patterns in who converts fastest or gets the most value?"
• "Are there companies that look like good fits but aren't? What makes them bad fits?"
• "What firmographic or behavioral signals predict a good customer?"

If this is a refinement run (ICP profiles already exist), ask instead:

• "What's changed since the last ICP update? New customer learnings, lost deals, market shifts?"
• "Which segment is working best? Which isn't converting?"
• "Any new personas or use cases showing up?"

Phase 2: ICP Profile Creation

For each segment, produce a structured profile:

## ICP Segment: [Name]

**Firmographics:**
- Company size: [revenue range / employee count]
- Industry: [specific verticals]
- Geography: [regions / country count]
- Business model: [SaaS, marketplace, services, etc.]

**Trigger Events** (what makes them start looking):
- [Trigger 1 — e.g., "Expanding to 3rd country, hit complexity wall"]
- [Trigger 2 — e.g., "Leadership demands visibility after a bad quarter"]
- [Trigger 3]

**Pain Points** (ranked by intensity):
1. [Highest pain] — Cost: [quantified if possible]
2. [Second pain] — Cost: [quantified if possible]
3. [Third pain]

**Jobs-to-be-Done:**
- "Help me [job] so that [desired outcome] without [current friction]"

**Decision-Making Unit:**
| Role | Title Examples | Cares About | Objections |
|------|---------------|-------------|------------|
| Champion | [titles] | [priorities] | [concerns] |
| Decision Maker | [titles] | [priorities] | [concerns] |
| Blocker | [titles] | [priorities] | [concerns] |

**Disqualifiers** (signs this isn't a fit):
- [Disqualifier 1]
- [Disqualifier 2]

**Current Alternatives:**
- [Alternative 1]: Works because X, breaks because Y
- [Alternative 2]: Works because X, breaks because Y
- Doing nothing: What it costs them

Phase 3: Messaging Framework

For each ICP segment, produce positioning and messaging:

## Messaging: [Segment Name]

**Positioning Statement:**
For [target customer] who [situation/pain], [product] is the [category] that [key differentiator]. Unlike [alternatives], we [unique value].

**One-Liner** (would a busy buyer stop scrolling for this?):
"[One sentence that captures the core value]"

**Risk-Based Headlines** (lead with what they lose by NOT acting):
- [Headline 1]
- [Headline 2]
- [Headline 3]

**Value Props** (ranked by segment relevance):
| Value Prop | Proof Point | For This Segment Because... |
|-----------|-------------|---------------------------|
| [VP 1] | [data/quote/example] | [why it resonates here] |
| [VP 2] | [data/quote/example] | [why it resonates here] |
| [VP 3] | [data/quote/example] | [why it resonates here] |

**Objection Handling:**
| Objection | Response Framework |
|-----------|-------------------|
| "[Objection 1]" | [How to reframe] |
| "[Objection 2]" | [How to reframe] |

**Competitive Positioning:**
| Competitor/Alternative | Their Strength | Our Angle |
|-----------------------|----------------|-----------|
| [Competitor 1] | [what they do well] | [why we win] |
| [Competitor 2] | [what they do well] | [why we win] |
| Manual/status quo | [why they stick with it] | [why they should switch] |

Phase 4: Output & Persistence

After producing the profiles and messaging:

1. Write ICP profiles to data/gtm/icp_profiles.json
2. Write messaging framework to data/gtm/messaging_framework.json
3. Present a markdown summary for review
4. Suggest next steps: "Run /gtm-monetization to design packaging and pricing for [segment]" or "Run /gtm-content to generate content targeting [segment]"

File Structure

All ICP data lives in the project's data/gtm/ directory (relative to the current working directory):

[project]/
└── data/
    └── gtm/
        ├── project_context.json        # Business context (from /cmo first-run)
        ├── icp_profiles.json           # <- This skill owns this file
        ├── messaging_framework.json    # <- This skill owns this file
        ├── pricing_strategy.json       # From /gtm-monetization
        ├── revenue_parameters.json     # From /gtm-monetization
        └── ...

On first run: Create the data/gtm/ directory if it doesn't exist.

JSON Schemas

icp_profiles.json

{
  "version": "1.0",
  "lastUpdated": "YYYY-MM-DD",
  "segments": [
    {
      "id": "segment_slug",
      "name": "Segment Display Name",
      "priority": "P0 | P1 | P2",
      "firmographics": {
        "companySize": { "revenueRange": "", "employeeRange": "" },
        "industries": [],
        "geography": [],
        "businessModel": []
      },
      "triggerEvents": [
        { "trigger": "", "frequency": "common | occasional | rare" }
      ],
      "painPoints": [
        { "pain": "", "intensity": "high | medium | low", "quantifiedCost": "" }
      ],
      "jobsToBeDone": [],
      "decisionMakingUnit": [
        {
          "role": "champion | decision_maker | influencer | blocker",
          "titles": [],
          "caresAbout": [],
          "objections": []
        }
      ],
      "disqualifiers": [],
      "currentAlternatives": [
        { "alternative": "", "strengths": "", "weaknesses": "" }
      ],
      "signals": {
        "positive": [],
        "negative": []
      }
    }
  ]
}

messaging_framework.json

{
  "version": "1.0",
  "lastUpdated": "YYYY-MM-DD",
  "segments": [
    {
      "segmentId": "segment_slug",
      "positioning": {
        "statement": "",
        "oneLiner": "",
        "riskBasedHeadlines": []
      },
      "valueProps": [
        {
          "prop": "",
          "proofPoint": "",
          "segmentRelevance": ""
        }
      ],
      "objectionHandling": [
        {
          "objection": "",
          "response": ""
        }
      ],
      "competitivePositioning": [
        {
          "competitor": "",
          "theirStrength": "",
          "ourAngle": ""
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Behaviors

• Challenge vagueness: "That's too broad. Which specific companies match this? Name three."
• Push for evidence: "Is that a hypothesis or something a customer actually said?"
• Test messaging live: "Read that headline out loud. Would you click on it? Be honest."
• Kill weak segments: "If you can't name 5 companies that fit this profile, it's not a segment — it's a wish."
• Drive to action: "This ICP is ready. Next step: /gtm-monetization to design packaging, or /gtm-content to create content for [segment]."

Invocation

When the user runs /gtm-icp:

1. Load project context from data/gtm/project_context.json or CLAUDE.md if available
2. Check if data/gtm/icp_profiles.json exists
   • If no: Begin Phase 1 discovery from scratch
   • If yes: Ask whether this is a refinement or a new segment, then target questions accordingly
3. Complete discovery before producing any artifacts
4. Produce complete ICP profiles + messaging framework
5. Write JSON files and present markdown summary
6. Suggest next skill in the GTM workflow