| name | buyer-persona |
| description | Build and refine ideal customer profiles (ICPs) and buyer personas with pain points, motivations, and messaging guidance. Use this skill whenever someone needs to define their target buyer, create buyer personas, refine their ICP, understand a specific buyer type, says "who should we be selling to", "build a buyer persona for [role]", "define our ICP", "what does a [title] care about", or when developing messaging for a specific audience. Also trigger when someone mentions ideal customer profile, buyer journey, persona development, customer segmentation, or target market definition. |
Buyer Persona
Build detailed, actionable buyer personas that help reps understand who they're selling to and what those people actually care about. Good personas aren't demographic profiles — they're empathy tools that help your team see the world through your buyer's eyes.
Why Personas Matter for Sales
- Reps who understand their buyer's daily reality build stronger rapport
- Messaging that speaks to specific pain points converts better than generic pitches
- Discovery is more productive when you know what questions to ask each persona
- Proposals land harder when they address the buyer's specific priorities
- Objection handling improves when you understand the buyer's real concerns
How It Works
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ BUYER PERSONA │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ MODES │
│ 1. Build Persona — Create a detailed buyer persona from scratch │
│ 2. ICP Definition — Define ideal company + buyer characteristics│
│ 3. Buying Committee — Map all stakeholders in a typical deal │
│ 4. Persona Messaging — Create tailored messaging per persona │
│ 5. Journey Mapping — Map the buyer's journey and touchpoints │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ RESEARCH │
│ • Web research on the role, industry, and common challenges │
│ • Your input on what you've observed from real customers │
│ • Industry benchmarks and trends │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Getting Started
- "Build a buyer persona for VP of Engineering at a mid-market SaaS company"
- "Define our ideal customer profile"
- "Map the typical buying committee for our product"
- "What does a Chief Revenue Officer care about?"
- "Help me create messaging that resonates with [persona]"
- "Map the buyer journey for our ICP"
What I Need From You
- Your product — What you sell and what problem it solves
- Target role — Who are you building the persona for?
- Company context — Industry, size, stage (startup vs. enterprise)
- Your experience — What have you observed about this buyer type?
The more real-world observations you share, the more grounded and useful the persona.
Output Format: Buyer Persona
# Buyer Persona: [Persona Name]
**Title:** [Typical titles for this persona]
**Reports to:** [Who they report to]
**Team:** [Who reports to them]
**Company Type:** [Size, industry, stage]
---
## A Day in Their Life
[2-3 paragraphs describing what this person's work life actually looks like. What do they spend their time on? What meetings dominate their calendar? What metrics keep them up at night? What does success look like for them?]
---
## Professional Profile
| Attribute | Detail |
|-----------|--------|
| **Experience** | [Typical career path] |
| **Key Responsibilities** | [Top 3-5 responsibilities] |
| **Measured On** | [KPIs and metrics they're judged by] |
| **Reports To** | [Their boss and what the boss cares about] |
| **Budget Authority** | [What they can approve, what needs escalation] |
| **Tech Savviness** | [How comfortable with technology] |
---
## Pain Points
### Top Professional Pains
1. **[Pain 1]** — [How it manifests in their daily work]
2. **[Pain 2]** — [How it affects their goals]
3. **[Pain 3]** — [Why it's hard to solve]
### Underlying Fears
- [What they're afraid will happen if problems aren't solved]
- [Career risk or political risk they worry about]
### What They've Tried
- [Previous solutions or approaches they've taken]
- [Why those didn't fully work]
---
## Motivations and Goals
### Professional Goals
1. [What they're trying to achieve in their role]
2. [What success looks like for them this year]
3. [What would earn them a promotion]
### Personal Motivations
- [What drives them beyond the job description]
- [How they want to be perceived by peers and leadership]
### Buying Triggers
- [Events or situations that make them start looking for a solution]
- [Signals that indicate they're in buying mode]
---
## How They Buy
### Information Sources
- [Where they learn about new solutions: peers, analysts, events, social]
- [Who they trust for recommendations]
### Decision-Making Style
- [Analytical vs. intuitive, consensus vs. unilateral]
- [How they evaluate vendors — formal RFP, informal eval, committee]
### Common Objections
1. "[Typical objection]" — [What they really mean]
2. "[Objection]" — [Real concern]
3. "[Objection]" — [Real concern]
### What Wins Their Trust
- [Evidence types: case studies, ROI data, peer references, demos]
- [Communication style they prefer]
- [Red flags that make them disengage]
---
## Messaging That Resonates
### Opening Hook
> "[A first line that would get their attention because it speaks to their world]"
### Value Proposition (For This Persona)
> "[Your product value framed in terms of what they care about]"
### Proof Points They Want
1. [Type of evidence they find compelling]
2. [Specific metric or outcome that matters]
3. [Social proof format they trust]
### Language to Use
- [Terms and phrases that resonate with this buyer]
- [Industry-specific language they use]
### Language to Avoid
- [Terms that feel salesy, generic, or off-putting to this buyer]
- [Jargon from the wrong domain]
---
## Discovery Questions for This Persona
1. "[Question tailored to their specific situation]"
2. "[Question about their pain points]"
3. "[Question about their decision process]"
4. "[Question about their success metrics]"
5. "[Question about their timeline and urgency]"
---
## Relationship to Other Personas
| Persona | Relationship | Their Influence |
|---------|-------------|----------------|
| [Their Boss] | Approver | [How they influence the deal] |
| [Their Peer] | Influencer | [Role in the decision] |
| [End User] | User | [How they factor in] |
---
## Sources
- [Research sources]
- [Industry reports]
- [Customer interview insights if shared]
ICP Definition Mode
When defining the ideal company profile:
# Ideal Customer Profile
## Company Characteristics
| Attribute | Ideal | Acceptable | Disqualify |
|-----------|-------|------------|------------|
| Size (employees) | [Range] | [Range] | [Range] |
| Revenue | [Range] | [Range] | [Range] |
| Industry | [List] | [List] | [List] |
| Growth Stage | [Stage] | [Stage] | [Stage] |
| Tech Stack | [Requirements] | [Nice to have] | [Blockers] |
## Trigger Events
[Events that indicate a company is ready to buy]
## Disqualification Criteria
[Hard no-go signals]
Related Skills
- discovery-guide — Use persona insights to tailor discovery questions
- playbook-builder — Embed personas into sales playbooks
- proposal-builder — Customize proposals based on persona priorities
- objection-handling — Prepare persona-specific objection responses
