Success in sales starts with your Ideal Customer Profile. If you want to stop chasing the wrong prospects and begin bringing real value, you need to dig deeper. It’s about understanding the nuances that make your customers tick.
Last week I covered questions #1-6. Let’s walk through the six more questions that will sharpen your ICP and set you apart from the typical salesperson.
7. Are Their Customers Facing Pressure?
Don’t just look at your customer, look at who they serve. If their customers are dealing with economic headwinds, regulatory issues, or mature markets, that’s going to ripple through and impact your customer’s buying decisions.
When you can deliver insights about their customers—information they haven’t realized—you instantly elevate your status. You become a peer, not just a vendor. Your value increases when you help them serve their customers better.
8. What Is the Typical Buying Process and Frequency?
Your most valuable asset is time. You can’t let it go to waste on unproductive pursuits. Get clear on how often they buy and what their buying process looks like. Is it every three years? Every month? Adjust your calendar and your sales approach accordingly.
If the buying cycle is long, you need to ensure you’re there early, ideally helping to create the bid package. If you’re not at the table when the requirements are being written, your chances of winning drop dramatically. Stay ahead of the curve.
9. Where Are They Physically Located?
Physical location matters more than you think. It’s not just about their headquarters. Ask yourself: Where are their branches or divisions? Where do they sell? Are there language or logistical challenges that come with those territories?
Consider location’s impact on service, weather, or even shipping constraints. If you can provide solutions that address those needs—like helping with international logistics or language barriers—you’re more valuable than the competition.
10. Are Regulatory / Legal Issues in Play?
Regulatory changes and legal challenges are constant. Tariffs can fluctuate overnight. Municipal, state, national, and even international regulations affect how your customer operates.
If you can spot changes coming and help your customer navigate them before anyone else, you’re not just a supplier, you’re a trusted advisor. Understand not just what governs their business, but also the territories they sell into and what’s coming down the pipeline.
11. Is Their Industry Under Pressure?
Some industries are booming, others are just hanging on. Know where your customer sits. Pressure could be coming from economic trends, funding cycles, or disruptive innovation—look at how Uber and Lyft flipped the taxi industry!
Even if the industry isn’t under pressure today, expect that it will be tomorrow. Your job is to help customers navigate the ups and downs. When you understand their market conditions, you bring forward-thinking solutions that truly matter.
12. What Other Ways Could You Help Them?
After answering the first five questions, ask yourself: How else can you serve them? As you gain knowledge about their industry, customers, and challenges, you’ll discover opportunities to help that aren’t obvious to others.
When you identify unique ways to add value, you become indispensable.
Set yourself apart. Dive deep with your ICP, and you’ll land in a position where customers see you as a partner, not a pitch artist. Great selling starts here.
The most significant differentiator isn’t your product, price, or even your pitch—it’s your integrity.
How to Prospect with Integrity
Discover why building authentic relationships is more effective than chasing quick deals, and learn how serving clients first can set you apart from the crowd.
Find episode #389 wherever you download podcasts!
Personalizing Your Pitch to Connect and Convert Faster
w/ Jaime Diglio
Self-awareness is a superpower. What if ROI meant something entirely different in your sales strategy?
Episode #390 is out THURSDAY!
Copyright 2026, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of A Mind for Sales and High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results.
