Update! I’m adding a new section to each issue featuring my top LinkedIn posts from the week! I haven’t been active on LI, but I’m committed to sharing 2-3 tactical, high-impact posts per week with actionable strategies. I’d love for you to be part of the conversation. If we haven’t connected yet, send me an invite!

Just include “newsletter” in the note so I know you're part of the community.

Here are a few posts: (Show them some love!)

• 0-1M ARR story

• Closing at 65%

• Coaching won’t save you
  

#97: How To Nail PMF Before You Ship

Read Time: 4 min

Today, I’m going to break down the first and most important call we have with new clients—the kickoff.

This call sets the foundation for everything that follows. When a client comes onboard we send docs to begin mapping out what they know about their market, vertical, pain points/use cases, and ICPs.

This is the foundation of how we shape and map their GTM strategy.

“Every battle is won before it is fought.”

~ Sun Tzu

There are 3 areas I will focus on. If you get this right it will crystallize your messaging, streamline your sales process, and give you a strong understanding of positioning.

1. Identifying targeted market and buyer personas. (ICP)

2. Pain points and competitive positioning.

3. Value props and key differentiators.

1. Identifying targeted market and buyer personas.

   The goal here is to target different market and buyer personas (ICP) to ensure that our messaging, positioning, and outbound efforts are dialed in and effective. This helps us pinpoint the right verticals, ideal customers, and key DM’s who are potential buyers. Once we start to identify specific pain points, use cases, and buying behaviors, we craft tailored sales copy, build TOFU channels, and zero in on potential opportunities.
   

   • Who benefits most from our solution? (Industry, company size, key use cases)
     

   • What are their biggest pain points? (Top challenges they face daily)
     

   • Who makes the buying decision? (Decision makers, influencers/champions, and key stakeholders)
     

   • What triggers make them seek a solution? (Events, problems, or goals driving urgency)
     

   • Where do they go for insights? (LinkedIn, conferences,events, publications, referrals, etc)
     
     
     
     

2. Pain points and competitive positioning

   The goal of this exercise is to help you pinpoint the biggest challenges your target industries/verticals face. By identifying specific pain points/use cases, you can align your product or service messaging to directly address them, making your pitch more relevant and impactful.

   
   Process Inefficiencies

   • What daily tasks take too long and slow down operations?

   • Where do manual processes create bottlenecks or delays?

   
   
   Missed Opportunities & Business Risks

   • What critical insights or trends are being overlooked?

   • Where are companies losing revenue or competitive advantage?

   
   
   Cost & Resource Drain

   • What high cost, low-value activities are increasing expenses?

   • Where are inefficiencies leading to unnecessary financial losses?

   
   Data & Accuracy Challenges

   • What inconsistencies or errors occur in current workflows?

   • How do outdated methods lead to unreliable decision making?

   
   
   Scalability & Growth Limitations

   • What prevents teams from handling more work without increasing costs?

   • Where do companies struggle to adapt as they expand?

3. Competitive Analysis

   The goal of here is to identify market gaps, understand competitor weaknesses, and position your solution as the superior choice.
   
   Reliance on Outdated Methods

   • What outdated tools, processes, or approaches are commonly used in the industry? How does this slow down operations, increase costs, or lead to poor decision-making?
     

   
   Data & Technology Gaps

   • Do competitors lack real-time insights, automation, or predictive capabilities? How does this affect their customers’ ability to make fast, informed decisions?
     

   
   Lack of Integration & Compatibility

   • Do competitors struggle to integrate with existing workflows, tools, or systems? How does this make adoption harder and reduce operational efficiency?
     

   
   Cost & Ease of Adoption

   • Are existing solutions expensive, difficult to implement, or require specialized expertise? How does this prevent smaller businesses from adopting these solutions or scaling effectively?

   
   Competing on Technology & Innovation

   • What advanced technology, automation, or AI does your product leverage? How does this provide deeper insights, more efficiency, or better decision-making power?

   
   Superior User Experience & Support

   • How is your platform or service easier to use, more intuitive, or better supported? How does this lead to higher adoption rates and long-term customer satisfaction?

I know mapping this out isn’t the most exciting part of running a startup, but it’s the most important.

If you take the time to deeply drill down into these answers and map everything out before launching, you’ll be so far ahead and avoid a lot of the bottlenecks, guesswork, and bad decisions.

Instead of reverse engineering problems as they arise, you’ll move like a ninja, making faster, smarter decisions that drive growth.

We spend so much time on this at Rampd. It’s one of the biggest reasons our clients crush.

The real work happens behind the scenes.
In sparring sessions.
Far from the crowd.
In the dark.
In isolation.

Do the work.

That’s it for today, folks.

See you all next week!

Darren

P.S. If we aren’t connected yet, send me a LinkedIn invite!

P.S.S. If you’re a Venture Backed company interested in coaching, book a call here.

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