The ICP Compass · The 7P Framework

Seven blades on the dial. One outcome — the green blade.

Every target account gets scored against seven Ps — Profit, Proximity, Probability, Pain, People, Progress and Product Fit. The output is a written ICP, an exclusion list and an honest go / no-go. Accounts you shouldn't serve are accounts you shouldn't call.

See the 7P framework

The Framework

The seven Ps.

Seven blades on the dial. Every account scored on the same seven dimensions — miss one and the target list drifts.

Profit

If we win this account, is it actually worth having? Margin quality, repeat potential, lifetime value, cost to serve.

Proximity

How close are they to us? Geographic, sector, network and brand proximity. Accounts near you cost less to win and less to keep.

Probability

Based on evidence, how often do we actually win with this type of client? Anchored to the Win Ratio: Win Ratio × Stage Factor (construction: 1.5 for Stages 1–2, 1.2 for Stage 3, 1.0 for Stages 4–5; all other sectors 1.0).

Pain

Do they actually have the problem we solve, and is it acute enough to act on? Symptoms, intensity, self-awareness, trigger events (new leadership, lost contract, funding, regulation, expansion). No pain, no sale.

People

Can we reach the people who decide, and do we get on with them? Accessibility of the decision-making unit, size of the buying committee, warm routes in, cultural fit.

Progress

Can this account grow? The company's own trajectory plus land-and-expand potential within it.

Product Fit

Is what they want what we are genuinely best at delivering, and does it fit our philosophy? Anchored to Jim Collins' Hedgehog Concept: the meeting point of what you can be the best in the world at, what drives your economic engine, and what you are deeply passionate about.

Spotlight · Product Fit (new)

The Hedgehog test.

"Is what they want what we are genuinely best at delivering — and does it fit our philosophy?"

The account must sit at the meeting point of three circles: what you can be the best in the world at, what drives your economic engine, and what you are deeply passionate about.

An account that wants something you can do but aren't the best at, that erodes your engine, or that the team has no appetite for, is a fit failure — even if everything else looks strong.

Built on Jim Collins' Hedgehog Concept.

The Green Blade

The Green Blade: The Outcome.

The seven Ps are the blades. The eighth element is the green blade of the aperture — the Outcome. Everything the Compass measures exists to convert calling hours into commercial results. Every scoring exercise ends by stating the outcome it points at.

The Scoring Matrix

Score 1–5 on each P. Add it up.

Each dimension is scored 1–5. Probability can reach 7.5 (5 × 1.5 stage multiplier). Maximum total: 37.5.

Total score	Priority	What we do with it
30 – 37.5	Tier 1	Top 10 target list, prioritise immediately
22 – 29	Tier 2	Active pipeline, regular outreach
14 – 21	Tier 3	Nurture, revisit quarterly
Below 14	Tier 4	Low priority

The Gate Rule

Product Fit of 1–2 → cannot enter Tier 1, regardless of total. Pain of 1 → cannot enter Tier 1 or 2. No pain, no sale.

The Process

Five steps from noisy pipeline to sharp target list.

No workshops for the sake of workshops. Every step ends in something written down.

Feed the Compass

We pull in your closed-won data, your best fits, your worst regrets and everything in between. Real evidence, not personas invented in a workshop.

Score against the 7 Ps

Every candidate account is scored 1–5 on Profit, Proximity, Probability, Pain, People, Progress and Product Fit. Product Fit and Pain both gate the top tiers.

Size the prize

We put an honest number on the addressable market at the intersection of your seven dimensions. No inflated TAM slides.

Map the room

We identify the decision-making unit — who signs, who blocks, who champions — and the job titles that actually pick up the phone.

Hand over the Compass

You get a written ICP, an exclusion list, DMU map, scoring rubric, list-build criteria and a straight go / no-go.

What You Get

Eight deliverables. All written down.

✓

Written ICP definition

A short, plain-English document you can hand to any marketer or SDR and get the same answer.

✓

7P scoring rubric

The exact scoring guide for Profit, Proximity, Probability, Pain, People, Progress and Product Fit — repeatable across your team.

✓

Exclusion list

The sectors, sizes and situations we've agreed are not worth your team's minutes.

✓

DMU map & target titles

Who to reach, in what order, and what each role actually cares about.

✓

Market size estimate

An honest count of accounts that sit at the intersection of your seven dimensions.

✓

List-build criteria

The exact filters we (or you) apply to build a target list — repeatable and auditable.

✓

Tiered target list

Your accounts sorted into Tier 1–4 by total score, with the Product Fit gate applied.

✓

An honest go / no-go

If the numbers don't support a telemarketing motion, we tell you. That's the whole point.

Start Here

Book an ICP Clarity Call.

A focused, no-pitch conversation. Serve, don't sell; diagnose before prescribe. You'll leave with a sharper view of who to chase — and who to leave alone — whether we work together or not.