What’s up, it’s Zayd.

Last month, I watched a founder turn down a $500k deal.

The prospect ticked all the usual boxes—revenue, industry, budget. But they didn't fit his razor-sharp definition of who would actually succeed with the product.

Everyone thought he was crazy. "How could you walk away from that?"

But two weeks later, he closed $2M with a perfect-fit customer who took half the sales effort and zero discounting.

That's the power of hyperfocus. And it's exactly what we're missing in outbound today. We need to stop keeping prospects around just because they're "qualified enough," then wondering why our conversion rates keep dropping.

This week, I'm diving into why narrowing your ICP might be the key to scaling faster.

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Zayd’s Picks

My favorite finds of the week.

• Default’s strategy for growing to $10m ARR in 2025 (link)

• Hack to find recently-funded startups to pitch your business (link)

• Warm intro template to grow your pipeline (link)

• Generate $440k with automated 2-touch warm outreach in 30 days (link)

• Alex Hormozi’s secret to building a $100m sales team (link)

• Key to a valuable lead magnet people can’t refuse (link)

• Tools to generate 200+ demo calls every month (link)

The "Good Enough" Trap

The “we’ll make it work,” “they’re probably good enough,” or “something is better than nothing, we’ll take what we can get” trap is the easiest one to fall into—especially at the beginning. 

I see this all the time—teams targeting any company that:

• Has revenue over $X

• Is in roughly the right industry

• Might have the problem we solve

• Could probably afford us

But look at the data:

• Companies with broad ICPs spend 67% more per sale

• Take 38% longer to close deals

• Have 2.3x higher churn rates

• Need 4x more touches to book a meeting

Why? Because when you're talking to everyone, you're connecting with no one.

The Signals You're Missing

Most teams track basic metrics:

• Response rates

• Meeting acceptance

• Pipeline created

• Deals closed

But these are lagging indicators.

The best teams are watching different signals:

• Time-to-value after purchase

• Second meeting show-up rates

• Feature adoption patterns

• Expansion velocity

These tell you who's actually winning with your product, not just who's willing to buy it.

Redefining Your ICP

I’m not telling you to start from scratch. I’ve just found that stepping back and looking at what decisions we made out of fear, desperation, or over-excitement at the drawing board stage has always been the most helpful.

Here's how the top performers are doing it:

1. Start with your best customers

   • Who gets value fastest?

   • Who expands naturally?

   • Who never threatens to churn?

   • Who refers others without being asked?

2. Look for common patterns

   • Industry-specific pain points

   • Tech stack similarities

   • Team structures

   • Growth trajectories

   • Decision-making processes

3. Create anti-personas

   • Who always churns?

   • Who needs tons of support?

   • Who negotiates hardest on price?

   • Who takes forever to implement?

The Counterintuitive Truth

Narrowing your ICP feels scary—like you're leaving money on the table.

But here's what actually happens:

• Marketing becomes more focused

• Sales cycles get shorter

• Win rates go up

• Deal sizes increase

• Churn decreases

By getting extremely clear on who fits and who doesn't, everything else becomes easier.

Which Sales Metrics To Focus On

Stop obsessing over:

• Total pipeline created

• Number of meetings booked

• Response rates

• Activities per day

Start measuring:

• Pipeline-to-close ratio by ICP fit

• Time to first value

• Second meeting show rates

• Expansion potential signals

The Future of ICPs

The next evolution isn't about making your ICP broader—it's about making it more precise.

Modern tools should automatically identify best-fit prospects, score leads based on actual success patterns, predict potential lifetime value, and flag early warning signs of poor fit.

How I Can Help?

Let me book sales calls for you while you’re refining your ICP . Seriously.

I built Valley to be your automated SDR and empower AEs. Get started today and watch your calendar fill up with qualified leads.