The Challenge (Before):

• ESG had strong product-market fit in Europe (80+ mid-market customers)

• US market: 12 months in, only 2 deals closed

• Founder was exhausted from selling; team had high turnover

• No clear ICP—they were "trying everything" (SMEs, enterprises, nonprofits)

• Messaging was too technical; buyers didn't understand the value

What We Did (The Sprint):

• Week 1-3 (Diagnose & Align): Analyzed the 2 closed deals and 15 lost deals. Discovered: the 2 wins were both "mid-market companies with existing ESG commitments but no reporting infrastructure." The 15 losses were "companies just starting their ESG journey with no budget or urgency."

• Week 3-8 (Design & Install): Defined ICP as "mid-market companies (€50M-€500M revenue) with public ESG commitments and existing sustainability teams." Simplified messaging from technical to business outcome: "turn your ESG data into board-ready reports in 2 weeks, not 2 months." Built sales process around identifying urgency and budget.

• Week 8-12 (Co-Sell & Refine): Ran 6 live deals. Tested simplified messaging. Built confidence in qualification process.

The Outcome (After):

• First month with new process: 3 qualified deals in pipeline

• Sales team went from "chasing everyone" to "focused on the right buyer"

• Deal cycle reduced from 120 days to 60 days

• Founder reduced sales involvement from 80% to 10%

• New VP Sales hired with clear playbook and ICP

Key Insight: "We were trying to sell to everyone, which meant we were selling to no one. Once we got specific about who we're really good at selling to, the sales process became actually manageable."