Template preview · Starter
Next Ten Customers
Find the next ten customers with evidence, not wishful segmentation.
A customer-development brief for targeting, outreach, conversations, and learning loops.
- Structure
- 4 sections
- Criteria
- 15
- Sources
- 6
- Watches
- 7
- Default approach
- Review first
Set the purpose first. Then change every section, criterion, and agent setting before anything runs.
Fictional sample
Structure and criteria
Sample content shows the shape of a useful document. Copying it is optional.
01 Review firstIdeal customer
Specify the people or teams with a live reason to care.
Criteria
- Names a job or workflow with observable evidence, such as teams running it in spreadsheets
- Names the trigger that creates urgency, such as team size or a budget cycle
- Lists disqualifiers: size, region, stack or decision authority
- Separates this customer from adjacent segments
Sources
- Google Trends trends.google.comSearch interest and seasonality for the problem.
Watches
- Searches “target role named problem survey OR report” monthly
02 Review firstProspect list
Maintain ten credible, research-backed customer candidates.
Criteria
- Each prospect cites evidence tied to an ideal-customer signal, such as a job posting or announcement
- Contact path is public or warm; no scraped personal emails
- Covers each buyer type in the profile with at least one prospect
Sources
- GitHub search API docs.github.comPublic repositories showing a prospect's stack.
- Prospect finder (fictional) api.prospect-finder.example.comFictional CRM-style lookup of prospects and contact preferences.
Watches
- Searches “ideal customer type hiring problem domain” weekly
- Follows Ideal customer
03 Review firstOutreach experiments
Test messages and channels with a clear learning goal.
Criteria
- Each batch names the audience, message or channel under test and the success measure
- Changes one variable per batch
- States the expected result as a number and a window, such as reply rate within ten days
- Leaves time between batches to read results
Sources
- HubSpot sales blog blog.hubspot.comPublished outreach tests and benchmarks to set expectations.
Watches
- Follows Prospect list
- Follows Ideal customer
04 Review firstConversation learning
Turn customer conversations into product and sales decisions.
Criteria
- Separates direct quotes from interpretation on every row
- Tags confidence: stated, inferred or confirmed in two or more conversations
- Calls something a pattern only after it appears in two or more conversations
- Gives each insight a named next action
Sources
- G2 reviews g2.comPublic customer complaints to compare with what prospects say.
- Hacker News search API hn.algolia.comPublic discussion by the target audience.
Watches
- Follows Ideal customer
- Follows Outreach experiments