The ICP Trap: Why More Personas Means Less Revenue
Jan 10, 2025
The expansion instinct
When growth slows, the natural instinct is to expand. More verticals. More personas. More use cases. Cast a wider net and revenue will follow.
It rarely works that way.
What actually happens: your sales team spreads thin, your messaging gets generic, your win rates drop, and your CAC climbs. You're doing more work for less result.
Why constraint drives growth
The best enterprise companies don't win by serving everyone. They win by being unmistakably right for someone specific.
When your ICP is tight:
Sales cycles shorten — Buyers recognize themselves in your pitch immediately.
Win rates climb — You're not competing on features; you're competing on fit.
Expansion becomes natural — Happy customers refer similar companies.
Product roadmap clarifies — You know exactly what to build next.
The real question
The question isn't "who could buy this?" It's "who will this be obviously perfect for?"
If you can't answer that in one sentence, your ICP is too broad.
How to tighten
Look at your best deals — What do they have in common? Industry, size, trigger event, champion profile?
Identify the anti-ICP — Who should you actively avoid? What deals always stall?
Pick one vertical to own — Depth beats breadth in enterprise sales.
Constraint isn't a limitation. It's a strategy.
