#011: Start with Your ICP: The Key to Pricing Success
The roadblocks faced in my own ICP journey - so you can avoid them
Happy Saturday, fellow price crafter!
I’m celebrating a small win this week - after ten issues, we’ve reached 100 newsletter subscribers!
But what excites me even more is the open rate.
Three weeks ago, our open rate was at 50%, on par with some of the biggest names like Justin Welsh, who dominates LinkedIn with his Saturday newsletters for solopreneurs.
I set a goal to hit 60% by the end of the year.
And here we are, just three weeks later—I’m beyond thrilled.
Why does the Open Rate Matter?
While there are many qualitative ways to gauge engagement, the open rate is the only quantitative tool I have.
It's not perfect (what if you open, read the first two lines, and delete?), but it provides a rough idea of whether I’m hitting what interests my Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).
Today’s focus is on defining that ICP.
Defining the ICP
When you think about the steps in pricing, from ideation to Go-To-Market (GTM) - defining your ICP is Step 0.
It’s the foundation of everything. Easy to overlook, but impossible to succeed without.
Today, you'll learn about my journey and struggles over the past few months in defining my own ICP.
Taking a Step Back
I began my solopreneur journey at the start of the year after my corporate position was made redundant.
“Forget corporates; I’ll work for myself,” I told myself.
But that’s easier said than done.
Figuring out what to do when you work for yourself is another challenge.
My initial idea was simple:
“I’m 41. I want a job that supports my preferred lifestyle for the second half of my career.”
What does that look like?
Work wherever and whenever I want.
Do something I’d love to do even if I won the lottery.
Make a meaningful impact on others’ lives.
Work only a few hours a day - I enjoy working but I also enjoy life.
The objectives were clear from the start.
The execution?
Not so much.
ICP Version 1: The Corporate Route
The obvious route was freelancing, doing what I’ve always done.
“Why not sell my services back to HSBC?”
Corporations often let people go, only to realise they still need them, so they hire them back as consultants at higher rates.
So, I made big corporates my initial ICP.
I built a website filled with fancy language designed to impress.
You can check it out here.
(it makes me cringe - I hated that website)
It took a few weeks for me to realise this path wouldn’t work:
Corporate decision-making and onboarding are lengthy.
→ I don’t want to spend six months getting on a supplier list for a one-month project.
I left corporate for a reason.
→ money alone doesn’t inspire me.
This path doesn’t align with my long-term goals.
→ I’d still be trading time for money.
ICP Version 2: Startups and Solopreneurs
Seeing the flaws in my initial plan, I pivoted.
“I’ll focus on startup founders and solopreneurs.”
This sparked my interest more - I love solving problems, and these clients have plenty.
The challenge?
Budget constraints.
Startups and solopreneurs often can’t afford to pay for the Pricing services they need.
“I can design an online course for them to self-serve,” I thought.
This idea aligned perfectly with my goal of working fewer hours. I can design once, then the rest is just maintenance and marketing.
But two major problems surfaced:
Most people don’t understand what Pricing truly is. They equate it with setting a price point.
"Pricing is not a priority for our founders," Station F, the biggest startup campus in Paris told me.
"I know Pricing is important, and people are specialising in that. They’re expensive, and I’m not going to pay for that. I can test the price points out myself," Justin Welsh said in his online course.
→ There’s high problem unawareness.
Those who see the value in Pricing still want step-by-step guidance beyond a manual but lack the budget. Some offered equity, but startup equity doesn’t pay my bills.
The biggest blow came a few weeks ago when I offered an online Pricing course to this very group - yes, I’m talking about you.
I offered a $120 online workshop, discounted for all my newsletter subscribers.
The result?
Zero sign-ups.
Zero click-throughs to my landing page.
There just wasn’t any interest.
If you are reading this newsletter, you are already mid-funnel.
If I can’t convert here, my chance of converting top-of-funnel prospects (my LinkedIn followers) is virtually zero.
ICP Version 3: Work in Progress
August gave me time to recharge and rethink my strategy.
During my holiday, I made an interesting discovery.
I took a closer look at my newsletter subscribers.
Despite my efforts of offering practical tips written in 5th-grade English, all aimed at attracting startup founders and solopreneurs, I’ve been attracting hard-core Pricing professionals.
Among my 100 subscribers are:
Pricing book authors (some of you have written more than one Pricing book)
Professors teaching Pricing and Business at universities.
Executives leading pricing teams
This discovery was a balm to my bruised ego.
No wonder no one signed up for my Pricing 101 workshop - why would you?
But the puzzle remained: “What are you all doing here?”
Nothing I’ve shared in this newsletter should surprise you.
Yet, week after week, my open rates improve.
There must be a reason you are here.
Why Are You Here?
I spent the past week talking to many of you.
What I’ve gathered is - you are here for the entertainment.
You signed up out of curiosity and stayed because reading a Pricing newsletter written in simple language is refreshing.
My gut tells me my ICP should be "Pricing professionals."
As a pricing professional, I faced many challenges, especially in traditional corporate settings.
Perhaps you’re facing the same?
Maybe I can help solve those problems.
Defining the Problems
Here are the three biggest problems I faced in my last job:
Getting my team members to speak the business language.
Finding the right people to bounce ideas off and learn from mistakes.
Finding conferences and training that fit my corporate budget.
1. Speaking the Business Language
I’ve built pricing teams both from scratch and developed upon existing ones.
The challenge was always the same.
I had great technical people, but they struggled to communicate their ideas and get buy-in from business stakeholders.
As a result, we were often seen as a support function, not a real business partner.
People didn’t know how to push back on unreasonable pricing requests.
People didn’t understand the real business problem.
People didn’t know how to do good data storytelling and sell their ideas.
2. Finding the right people to bounce ideas off
In my last job, most of my pricing ideas were accepted without much pushback.
I found it boring.
It either meant I wasn’t pushing far enough, or no one cared.
I’d love a community of industry-pricing professionals to share different perspectives and perhaps some failure stories.
A place where I feel safe to share ideas and get real-time feedback.
But I couldn’t find such a group.
3. Finding conferences and training that fit our training budget
Finding good conferences or workshops that fit within shrinking training budgets is tough.
Yes, there’s PPS (Professional Pricing Society), but attending a conference in Vegas could cost $6k if flying from Europe, more from Asia.
Getting the budget to send a whole team? Nearly impossible.
On top of that, learning and networking should be consistent, not once a year.
What Could Be a Solution?
A potential solution is an online community.
I’ve tested this idea with a few of you. Half are optimistic; half aren’t.
I believe the scepticism comes from past experiences with online pricing communities.
Slack pricing communities are often quiet and have little interaction.
PPS: I’ve never been a member, so I’d love your thoughts. My gut feeling is that it focuses primarily on Pricing, not the “soft” skills that make us a more well rounded Pricing person.
Help Me Define This More
My ideal online Pricing community—let’s call it “The Explorer”—would be a B2B2C model.
The first two B's are you and me, the C represents the top performers in your Pricing team.
Why?
The value of the community comes from the quality of its members.
There will be a more even representation of all industries and companies instead of companies with bigger budgets dominating.
Getting your company to pay is easier than asking individuals to pay out of pocket.
Here’s what the community could offer:
Weekly lunch-time brown bag sessions on various topics (communication, leadership, personal branding, and more). These can be hosted by me, members, or external speakers.
Weekly “Challenge Me” sessions where members share ideas, challenge each other and discuss wins and losses.
An online library of resources—a one-stop shop for everything you need to advance your development.
Quarterly meet-ups with locations varying. It's important that we have the opportunity to meet in person. After all, digital doesn’t replace human touches.
I’ll stop here.
My Asks
DM me if you’d consider sending your team members to an online community like this.
If yes, what budget would your company allow?
I look forward to refining this idea (or putting it to bed) with you in the coming weeks.
Have a lovely weekend!
Cheers,
Claire
P.S. I had a fabulous time on the Amalfi Coast last week. The blue sky and ocean cleared my mind, and most of these ideas came while staring at the beautiful landscape.
P.P.S. I promised Steven Forth that I'd add his Pricing survey here. If you have a spare second, he'd appreciate that.
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