We asked two sales leaders how (and if) reps should approach out of ICP deals.

The ICP is a generalization, and the best reps seem to know which out-of-profile deals are worth chasing anyway.

How does a rep tell a smart exception — a prospect outside the ICP that's genuinely worth the effort — from a shiny distraction that'll just eat their quarter?

Leslie Venetz

Founder - The Sales-led GTM Agency

Individual contributors should not be making this call.

Spending time deciding what one-off deals are worth chasing is a recipe for wasted time and misleading forecasts. 

It is sales leadership’s job to ensure clear qualifying criteria so sellers aren’t burdened with trying to sell to out-of-profile deals, often driven by a scarcity mindset. 

In an outbound environment, unqualified accounts should be removed from territory plans.

In an inbound environment, deal routing should ensure that unqualified accounts are added to a nurture or self-serve sequence rather than AE’s calendar.

If revenue leadership sees a trend in requests from a particular type of “out-of-profile” accounts that is a signal to consider adding new qualifying criteria. 

Davidson Hang

Head of Business Development - Untap Your Sales Potential

Honestly, the best reps spend most of their time focused on their ICP.

There are always exceptions, but I wouldn't make exceptions until you've mastered the rule.

During your first 90 days in any sales role, study your company's biggest wins in your segment — whether that's SMB, Mid-Market, Enterprise, or Strategic.

Understand who bought, why they bought, and who your competitors were. 

Once you've recognized those patterns, you'll start spotting prospects outside your ICP who share the same business problems as your best customers. Those are smart exceptions.

If you're chasing an account simply because it's a recognizable logo or feels exciting, it's probably a distraction that will cost you time and pipeline.

Collin Cadmus

Founder - Collin Cadmus, LLC.

It all comes down to the problem they’re trying to solve and whether or not your product can solve it.

We often start with a clear ICP and then run into edge cases along the way where we see an entirely new window of opportunity. This is where Deal Desk can decide to take a risk.

Notice I said Deal Desk and not the AE, because Deal Desk is designed specifically to address these edge cases.

In those instances, we need some level of consensus before taking this risk — as the AE is not the only one taking on the risk. CS and support are as well, so the decision needs to be made collectively.

Research Deal Desk if you’re unsure what it is, every B2B revenue org should have one.