Ideal Customer Profiles
Part of Ideal customer profiles for outbound prospecting
Excluding prospects the business cannot serve
Set evidence-based exclusions for real service limits, distinguish unknowns from mismatches, and record when a decision should be reviewed.
Exclude an account from outbound prospecting for an offer when a confirmed requirement means the offer cannot serve it. Record the reason and evidence. If the requirement is unknown, hold the account for a check. If the account is serviceable but less attractive, that is a priority decision, not a service exclusion.
Define the service limit
Ask the people who implement and support the offer which conditions are necessary. These might concern a service location, a required system connection or delivery capability. State what fails when the condition is absent.
“Wrong industry” may be too broad if the real limit is a workflow found only in some organisations in that industry.
A usable exclusion rule names the required condition, evidence of a mismatch and who can assess an exception. Avoid rules based on someone’s presumed attitude or a vague belief that an account is unlikely to buy.
A technical exception may need a delivery specialist’s assessment. Account ownership is also separate: route an account to its existing owner rather than treating ownership as proof of poor service fit.
Make the decision reversible
Record the account, which offer the exclusion concerns, the disqualifying condition, its current capability, the source and date of the decision, the decision owner and what would justify reconsideration.
“Cannot support this data connection under the current service” is more useful than “bad account”. If the offer changes, an owner can review the exclusion without assuming the prospect’s circumstances stayed the same.
Do not promise an unsupported future capability. If a prospect asks about a requirement the business cannot meet, state the present limit.
Repeated exclusions for one missing capability may be useful product feedback, but they do not make those accounts serviceable today.
Key Metrics for Service Fit Decisions
- Exclusion recorded with evidence
- Required for all exclusions
- Decision review trigger
- When offer or prospect circumstances change
- No promises of unsupported future capabilities
- Maintain accuracy in communications
- Feedback from repeated exclusions
- Useful for product improvement
Keep contact permission separate
An account can be serviceable while a proposed message is inappropriate. Contact permission is a separate decision from account-fit exclusion; the sibling article covers the opt-out workflow.
If reviewers repeatedly disagree, clarify the actual delivery constraint rather than applying a broad permanent label.
Service Fit vs. Contact Permission: What’s the Difference?
- Service FitCan the business deliver the offer? (e.g., location, system compatibility)
- Contact PermissionIs it appropriate to contact this account? (e.g., opt-out status, spam compliance)
- ExampleAccount in Australia with correct tech setup – serviceable; but opted out of marketing – no contact allowed
