Define Your Market, Customer & Value Proposition
Week 1 Sprint
Welcome
Every successful go-to-market starts with clarity.
Before you create content, launch campaigns, build a pipeline, or spend money on customer acquisition, you need to answer five questions:
Which market are we targeting?
Which customer segment will we pursue first?
Who is our ideal customer?
What problem are they trying to solve?
Why should they choose us?
This week is about building the foundations of your growth engine.
The work completed during this sprint will influence every decision you make throughout the rest of the program.
Sprint Objective
By the end of Week 1, you will have:
A quantified market opportunity
A prioritised customer segment
A documented Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
A completed Value Proposition Canvas
A draft value proposition ready for market testing
How To Complete This Sprint
Work through the activities in order.
Each activity builds on the previous one.
We recommend:
Watch the lesson video
Download the template
Complete the exercise
Review the worked example
Submit your deliverable
Do not aim for perfection.
The goal is to create a first version that can be tested and improved over time.
Activity 1
Addressable Market Metrics
Why This Matters
Many founders start with a product and immediately begin selling.
The problem is they often don't know:
how large the opportunity is
which part of the market they should focus on
whether the opportunity is large enough to support growth
This exercise helps you quantify the market and identify where your GTM strategy should begin.
Learning Outcome
By completing this activity, you will be able to:
Estimate the size of your market
Prioritise the market you can realistically serve
Define an achievable growth target
Deliverable
Complete:
TAM (Total Addressable Market)
SAM (Serviceable Addressable Market)
SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market)
Market sizing assumptions
Initial market focus recommendation
Best Practice
Don't stop at TAM. Your GTM strategy starts with SOM.
Use practical filters such as geography, company size and industry.
A focused niche is usually stronger than a broad market.
Activity 2
Market Segmentation & Firmographics
Why This Matters
Not all customers are equally valuable.
Some segments experience a greater problem.
Some have larger budgets.
Some are easier to reach.
The objective is to identify where you can create momentum fastest.
Learning Outcome
By completing this activity, you will be able to:
Segment your market logically
Prioritise the strongest customer groups
Select an initial target segment
Deliverable
Complete:
Primary target segment
Secondary target segment
Segment scoring framework
Segment selection rationale
Best Practice
Segment based on buying behaviour, not demographics.
Prioritise painful problems and accessible buyers.
Choose one primary segment first.
Activity 3
Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
Why This Matters
Your ICP defines the organisations most likely to become successful customers.
A strong ICP helps improve:
messaging
prospecting
qualification
conversion rates
For this program, we use the 5-Fit ICP Model.
Learning Outcome
By completing this activity, you will be able to:
Identify your highest-value customers
Recognise buying signals
Prioritise opportunities more effectively
The 5-Fit Model
Problem Fit
Do they genuinely have the problem?
Value Fit
Will they value the outcome?
Economic Fit
Can they afford the solution?
Access Fit
Can you reach decision makers?
Timing Fit
Are they likely to act now?
Deliverable
Complete:
ICP profile
Buyer persona
Decision-maker map
Buying triggers
Qualification criteria
Best Practice
Build your ICP around your best future customer.
Seek alignment across all five dimensions.
Include buying triggers and urgency signals.
Activity 4
Value Proposition Canvas
Why This Matters
Most founders talk about their product.
Customers care about their problems.
The Value Proposition Canvas helps you understand:
What customers are trying to achieve
What frustrates them
What outcomes they want
How does your solution help
Learning Outcome
By completing this activity ,you will be able to:
Understand customer motivations
Identify meaningful pains and gains
Create stronger positioning
Deliverable
Create a completed Value Proposition Canvas for your primary buyer persona.
Best Practice
Focus on customer pains before product features.
Use customer language whenever possible.
Prioritise the top three jobs, pains and gains.
Sprint Objective
By the end of Week 1, you will have:
A quantified market opportunity
A prioritised customer segment
A documented Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
A completed Value Proposition Canvas
A draft value proposition ready for market testing
How To Complete This Sprint
Work through the activities in order.
Each activity builds on the previous one.
We recommend:
Watch the lesson video
Download the template
Complete the exercise
Review the worked example
Submit your deliverable
Do not aim for perfection.
The goal is to create a first version that can be tested and improved over time.
Address
Apollo Advisors°
ABN 34 346 108 139
International Tower 3Level 17, 300 Barangaroo AveBarangaroo NSW 2000Australia