Our ICP
The Series B Readiness Crisis: When Sales Flaws Block the Next Round
The Selling Collective ICP: 4 Key Pillars
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Who They Are (The Target): B2B SaaS Founders/CEOs of companies between £1M–£5M ARR (Series A stage), primarily UK-based, with investors pressuring for scalable growth.
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Their Core Pain (The Problem): They are trapped in founder-led sales and have unpredictable revenue because their team focuses on activity (inputs) instead of using a repeatable, problem-centred methodology.
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The Critical Trigger (The Urgency): They are actively planning or have recently failed a CRO/VP sales hire. They need to fix the process now to de-risk the next high-value hire and secure their Series B funding.
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Our Unique Value (The Solution): We provide a fixed-scope, Problem-Centred Selling engagement that builds the predictable sales playbook and foundation, turning their next VP of Sales into an accelerator, not a fixer.
1. Strategic Foundation
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Core ICP Hypothesis: We help B2B SaaS Founders/CEOs who have reached £1M–£5M ARR but are trapped in founder-led sales and need a predictable, problem-centred revenue process to successfully secure their Series B and validate their next sales leadership hire.
10 – 75 employees.
Industry/Vertical
2. Firmographic Profile​​
Field
Profile
B2B SaaS, Enterprise-focused tools, or Vertical SaaS.
Company Stage
Post-Seed, Pre-Series B (often Series A).
Funding Status
Recently raised a Seed or small Series A (within the last 6-18 months).
Company Size (Headcount)
ARR
£1M – £5M.
Geographic Location
Primarily UK-based, looking to expand into US or DACH regions.
Technologies Used
Using a CRM (HubSpot/SFDC) but it's seen only as a reporting tool, not a coaching tool.
3. Psychographic & Situational Profile (The "Problem" They Have)
Field
Profile
Key Business Goals
1. Achieve a specific ARR target (e.g., £8M) for Series B. 2. Build a sales engine that works without their constant intervention.
Critical Pain Points & "Active Hurts"
Unpredictable Revenue: Hitting targets is guesswork; pipeline is "lumpy."
The Founder Bottleneck: CEO is still closing 60%+ of key deals.
The Activity Trap: Sales team reports activity (calls/emails) but not on customer problem diagnosis and conversion metrics are poor.
Messaging Chaos: Sales team sells product features, not solutions to customer problems.
Failed Solutions They've Tried
The Bad Hire: Hired a high-priced VP Sales/CRO who failed because the process wasn't documented (validated by our fractional strategy). Tried to solve with more marketing/SDRs, which failed to move the needle.
Trigger Events (Ready to buy NOW)
Secured New Funding: The board/investors expect a scalable GTM plan.
Missed Last Quarter's Target: Pressure is mounting for predictability.
Hiring in Progress: Actively planning to hire their first dedicated VP Sales/CRO.
4. Buyer Persona Profile (The "Person" You Sell To)
Field
Profile
Job Title & Role
CEO, Founder, Managing Director.
Key Responsibilities
P&L, Fundraising, Overall company strategy, and ultimately, sales strategy success.
Goals & Objectives
Build a repeatable sales playbook that can be handed off; Free up their own time (50%+) to focus on product and vision.
Main Challenges & Fears
Challenge: Finding the time to fix the process while running the rest of the business.
Fear: Wasting investor money on the wrong strategy or a mis-hire; Failing to secure Series B due to unpredictable GTM; Being trapped in the business forever.
What Does Success Look Like for Them?
A predictable revenue model (e.g., predicting next quarter's revenue within a 10% margin); A fully documented, Problem-Centred Playbook that a new VP can step into and accelerate, not rebuild.
5. Buying Process & Objections
Field
Profile
Typical Buying Committee
CEO (Champion & Decision Maker); CFO (Budget/ROI Sign-off).
Common Objections & Your Prepared Responses
Objection: "We think we just need to hire a senior VP first." Response: "That's the conventional move, but as industry peers note, 'You can't just hire your way out of a bad process.' Let's spend 8 weeks implementing the Problem-Centred foundation first. This turns your next VP into an accelerator, not a fixer."
Objection: "It's too expensive/We need to conserve cash." Response: "The fully loaded cost of a single mis-hire at the VP level is easily £150k+ and 9 months of lost time. My project is a fixed-scope, insurance policy designed to de-risk that entire expense and prove the GTM model is scalable."
Decision Criteria
Proven Methodology (The differentiator: Problem-Centred Selling)
Speed to Impact (fixed process in < 90 days)
De-risking the subsequent full-time sales hire.
6. Messaging & Value Proposition Alignment
Field
Profile
Elevator Pitch
I help Founders of £1M–£5M ARR SaaS companies stop guessing at sales. We build and document the repeatable, Problem-Centred sales engine you need to escape the founder-led bottleneck, secure your Series B, and guarantee your next sales leader's success.
Key Value Drivers (Ranked)
1. Predictability: The foundation for all scale.
2. De-risking Future Hires: Protecting capital and momentum.
3. Founder Freedom: Time back to focus on product and vision.