Free ICP generator / Consulting firm
Ideal client profile for a consulting firm
Consulting is bought in moments of change: a new owner, a new leader, a number that went the wrong way. So a consulting ICP should describe situations as much as companies. The economic buyer is usually one level above the person with the problem, and the best clients have a deadline someone else set (a board, a buyer, a lender). Size matters too: below a certain revenue a client can't afford a team, and above it they have their own strategy group. Below is a worked example for Thornacre Partners, a fictional operations consultancy for distributors. It has two groups, because its site supports two; the generator won't invent a third to fill a slot.
Thornacre Partners thornacre.example
Operations and margin improvement for wholesale distributors. Thornacre Partners is a fictional consulting firm. Its site is invented so the generator has something to read; yours fills in here.
Family-owned wholesale distributors, $20M to $150M in revenue
Best fit: an industry page and 3 case studies- Who they areIndustrial, electrical and food-service distributors with 1 to 6 branches.From /industries/distribution
- Who decidesThe owner or president. The CFO brings the problem.From /customers/kettering-supply
- Their painMargins that fell while sales grew, and no one can say which customers are losing money.From /customers/kettering-supply
- What sets them offA bad year-end, a new ERP going live, or the next generation taking over.From /industries/distribution
- Who to skipDistributors under $10M (too small for a team) and national distributors with in-house strategy groups.From /approach
- Where they areDistributor trade associations and the ERP resellers that serve them.From /about
Private-equity-owned distributors in their first year
Strong fit: 1 case study and a service page- Who they areDistributors bought by private equity in the last 12 months, often as a platform for add-ons.From /services/first-100-days
- Who decidesThe operating partner at the fund, with the company's new CEO.From /customers/ridgecourt-industrial
- Their painA value-creation plan with pricing and inventory targets, and no team to deliver them.From /services/first-100-days
- What sets them offThe deal closing, or the first quarterly board review.From /services/first-100-days
- Who to skipFunds that want a one-off due-diligence report only.From /approach
- Where they areMiddle-market private-equity conferences and lender networks.Inferred
Positioning check
The homepage says "operational excellence for growth companies". Every case study is a distributor. Put "distributors" in the headline and give the private-equity offer its own entry point.
Now do yours
Same table, built from your own website. Group 1 is free, no email.
Questions
Who is the economic buyer in a consulting sale?
Usually one level above the person with the problem: the owner rather than the CFO, the fund's operating partner rather than the plant manager. Your ICP should name both.
How do consultants use an ICP?
To decide which situations to be known for, which referral sources to build (associations, lenders, funds), and what the homepage should say first.
Is a consulting ICP about industries or situations?
Both. The industry tells you who; the situation (new owner, new system, bad year) tells you when. The "triggers" line is where the situation goes.