Candidate Sourcing: ICP Discovery Framework / Scalemotion OS

Finding Non-Switchers

Start with instinct, then search

Start with your gut feel. You built this product because you observed a problem somewhere. Who did you observe it at? What role were they in? That instinct is your starting point.

Your network first

A first-degree connection in the right role is always the easiest starting point, the barrier to getting 20 minutes is low and the conversation tends to be more candid. When your direct network runs thin, move to second-degree connections and ask for a brief introduction.

LinkedIn search by role and industry

Check activity feeds for people posting about relevant topics. Search for posts containing terms tied to the problem you solve, filter by date, posts from the last 30 days indicate the problem is currently on their mind.

Comments on known voices

Look at who is commenting on posts from known voices in your problem domain, procurement consultants, operations bloggers, industry analysts. Engagement on those posts is a stronger buying signal than a job title match alone.

The network-bias warning

A network-heavy interview pool is a biased one. People who know you will moderate their feedback in your favor. Aim for at least 6 out of 10 interviews from outside your direct network. If you cannot reach that ratio, your network may not yet cover your target market, which is itself a useful signal about your go-to-market (GTM) reach.

Finding Switchers

Three sources, in priority order

If you have existing customers, start with source 1. If you are pre-revenue or have fewer than three customers, start with sources 2 and 3 and return to source 1 as your customer base grows.

1 / People you have already sold to

Interview the champion and the decision-maker separately. Do the champion first, they are more accessible and their account of the day-to-day frustration gives you context for the decision-maker conversation. The champion gives you Push and Habit zones. The decision-maker gives you Anxiety and Pull zones.

If you interview them together they will moderate each other, you get a curated version of the purchase rather than the real one. Do not be surprised if their accounts diverge, a champion who describes urgency the decision-maker does not mention tells you the pain was real but not yet visible at leadership level. A decision-maker who emphasizes risk factors the champion never mentioned tells you where anxiety lives.

2 / Public references from your competitors

Competitors publish case studies and testimonials on their website and on review platforms like G2 and Capterra. These are people who have publicly confirmed they switched to a solution in your space. Reach out on LinkedIn with the same low-pressure research framing you use for any outreach.

3 / People who have published about the problem you solve

Search LinkedIn, Substack, and relevant community forums for people who have written about the problem your product addresses. If they fit your target profile, reach out directly and reference specifically what they wrote, not just that you saw it, but what in it was relevant to your research.

If You Are Struggling to Book Interviews

Three causes, in order of likelihood

If after four to six weeks you have fewer than five interviews completed, that is a signal worth examining, not a scheduling problem to push through.

Your outreach framing is not landing

A generic research request converts poorly. A message that references a specific challenge you have observed in their role and industry converts significantly better. Test a revised message on your next 10 outreach attempts before drawing conclusions.

Your target persona is genuinely hard to reach through your network

If your ICP is a role you have never worked alongside, a Chief Compliance Officer, a Head of Procurement, your first-degree network may simply not reach them. Prioritize LinkedIn search and public forum sourcing, and consider whether a warm introduction from an investor or advisor with access to that persona would accelerate progress.

The persona you are targeting may not be the right starting point

If multiple approaches have failed to get traction, find an adjacent role with the same problem that you can reach. Use those interviews to build credibility and get introductions into the harder role.

In all three cases, the inability to book interviews is a data point. A GTM motion that cannot reach its target persona in the research phase will face the same challenge at scale. If none of the three adjustments produce results within two weeks, consider whether your ICP hypothesis needs to shift before your sourcing approach does.

A · Candidate SourcingB · Running Conversations C · Data Quality Checks D · AI-Assisted Analysis

Finding candidates when your network doesn't reach

Start with instinct, then search

Three sources, in priority order

Three causes, in order of likelihood