Thoughtfully constructing and consistently applying an ICP is like early childhood education.
Sure, you can ignore all that — but if you do, there's a real possibility that your kids/reps will grow up to lack focus and haphazardly over-rely on AI for basic tasks.
Nobody wants any of that, so we ran surveys of over 300 sales leaders to help you tighten your ICP and see returns from that discipline.
Cold calling’s ROI problem is an ICP problem wearing a headset.
Our surveys found:
28%
say targeting too broadly, too early is their organization's biggest ICP mistake
23%
say poor list quality and targeting is the #1 factor limiting cold calling ROI
Stop trying to be everybody's everything.
I love finding overlap between my therapy breakthroughs and sales advice.
A plurality of sales leaders see spreading yourself too thin before proving a core segment is the most common ICP mistake orgs make (28%).
Another sample revealed that poor list quality/targeting is the top cold-calling ROI limiter (23%).
Those are two linked problems with two different owners.
ICP discipline is a strategy conversation, while list quality is an ops ticket — but a list is basically an ICP rendered as names and numbers.
A loose profile generally means a loose list, and the cost adds up with every new low-probability conversation.
A bad list is a symptom.
Before buying new data or raising dial targets, try narrowing who reps are calling for. Let the list follow.
Leaders say breadth is their biggest ICP mistake, yet almost none credit tightening it for results.
Our surveys found:
28%
of sales leaders say targeting too broadly, too early is their organization's biggest ICP mistake
8%
say tightening ICP and account selection had the biggest positive impact on prospecting in the last 12 months
As you may have read way back in the previous section, targeting too broadly, too early is the #1 ICP mistake sales leaders admit to (28%).
But when we asked sales leaders what action most improved prospecting outcomes in the past year, only 8% said tightening ICP and account selection.
The same mistake tops one list and lands near the bottom of another.
You can draw two readings from that contrast. Neither is flattering.
Teams recognize the breadth problem but reach for tools instead of acting on it — or they tighten the ICP and credit the gains to something else that changed that quarter.
Either way, the fix nobody gets credit for is the one nobody prioritizes.
Disciplined teams treat ICP tightening as a measured initiative. That lets it earn credit when it works.
What can you do with this next-level insight?
For reps:
Before a call block, try cutting the list rather than working it top to bottom. 20 calls into accounts that match the core profile tend to beat 60 into accounts that merely fit the territory.
For Managers:
Make ICP discipline stick by reviewing pipeline by fit rather than just by stage. Asking, “How many of these match our core profile?” in 1:1s makes targeting a coached skill as opposed to an assumed one.
For Leadership:
Before funding new data, tools, or headcount to fix outbound, ask a cheaper question: "Are we calling the right companies?" Narrowing the target tends to make every other investment perform better.
I took my nephew out trick or treating this Saturday. I didn't wear a costume.
Most men, women, and children I walked by asked (often verbatim), "Are you going as Jay Fuchs, the single most electric, consequential figure in the history of the sales and sales-adjacent media? He's my hero."
I would just chuckle and say "Yeah, he's mine too."
They didn't need to know I was the real deal.
Jay Fuchs. Managing Editor, The Science of Scaling Newsletter
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The data in question
As always, we sourced our data through Panoplai.
What’s the biggest mistake your organization has made in ICP selection?
- 28% — Attempting to target too broadly too early: trying to be everything to everyone before proving core segment
- 22% — Prioritizing close rate over lifetime value: targeting customers easy to acquire but low retention/expansion
- 17% — None of the above
- 14% — Never formally defining an ICP: operating without clear target customer criteria
- 12% — Focusing on inbound demand over strategic fit: chasing easy closes rather than highest LTV customers
- 9% — Following competitor ICPs: copying what others do rather than finding our unique fit
What’s the primary factor limiting cold calling ROI in your current sales process?
- 23% — Poor list quality and targeting resulting in low-probability prospect conversations
- 19% — Inadequate follow-up sequences after initial contact attempts
- 19% — Failure to leverage social selling and multi-channel approaches alongside voice outreach
- 15% — Insufficient call volume due to rep reluctance or competing activity priorities
- 13% — Misalignment between cold calling messaging and later-stage sales conversations
- 11% — Reps lack the industry expertise needed to have credible business conversations
Which of the following has had the biggest positive impact on your team’s prospecting outcomes in the last 12 months? (Select one)
- 21% — Investing in AI tools for research
- 17% — Coaching reps on point of view and messaging
- 16% — Defining a shared standard for what good outreach looks like
- 14% — Changing how we measure prospecting performance
- 12% — Investing in AI tools for writing
- 8% — Tightening ICP and account selection
- 7% — Restructuring how reps multi-thread accounts
- 5% — None of the above have moved the needle