Building a Modern GTM Playbook

You’ve built campaigns, hired SDRs, invested in ABM tech, and still, your pipeline is short.

The uncomfortable truth? Most B2B teams are aiming at the wrong target. They confuse reach with relevance (just because you can target 100,000 accounts doesn’t mean you should). They confuse action with timing (content download ≠ in-market buyer). And they confuse content volume with content authority (posting a bunch of blog posts ≠ trusted expertise). Hitting your number in today’s AI-powered buyer environment doesn’t require more tools, it requires sharper targeting, clearer messaging, and smarter timing.

Focus on:

1. Defining your ICP
2. Creating buyer personas based on behavior
3. Delivering content your buyers are actively seeking

In this post, we challenge the status quo and offer a three-part framework built for modern GTM teams who want to move from busy to effective.

Step 1: Define TAM, ICP, and Intent: Know Where, Who, and When

Let’s start with a hard truth: most teams operate without a shared understanding of who they’re really selling to. They confuse TAM (Total Addressable Market), which is who could buy, with ICP (Ideal Customer Profile), which is who will buy. And they completely misunderstand timing, a possible intent signal as just interest in content rather than purchase readiness.

Defining all three gives you a strategic targeting lens:

• TAM = Your total universe of possible accounts
• ICP = The subset most likely to convert and succeed
• Intent = Real-time signals that indicate buying stage, urgency, and prioritization

Without this segmentation, your SDRs are chasing ghosts. And worse… your marketing is generating interest from people who were never going to buy.

Start with WHERE (geography, compliance), WHO (size, role, pain), and WHEN (buying triggers). AI tools can help surface intent signals but only if your ICP and TAM are defined with precision.

Step 2: Build Buyer Personas Based on Behavior, Not Titles

Most buyer personas are junk. They describe job titles, company size, education, family life, and maybe a few goals. What actually drives purchase decisions is demonstrated decision-making behavior.

Behavior-based personas look at:

• What solutions they’ve bought before
• Why they chose them
• What problems finally pushed them to act

Treat persona development like behavioral interviewing: past behavior is the best predictor of future action.

Talk to your best customers. Ask them what triggered their search, who got involved, and what nearly blocked the deal. Then build personas around those specific, validated insights, not assumptions.

Step 3: Publish Authority Content That Influences Buyers and AI

Here’s the lie: “If your content is good, buyers will find it.” Not anymore.

Search has changed. AI is changing it further. If your content isn’t showing up in the AI-powered summaries, SGE results, or plugin recommendations, it is invisible.

To influence today’s buyer journey, your content must:

• Show deep topical authority
• Match semantic search intent
• Be indexed and trusted by AI models

That means creating not just keyword-stuffed posts, but high-authority content ecosystems that earn backlinks, dwell time, and citations.

Content is no longer just an SEO tool. It’s a sales tool. The best content doesn’t just rank. It persuades.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between TAM and ICP?

TAM (Total Addressable Market) refers to all potential buyers who could use your product or service. ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) identifies the specific group of buyers who are most likely to convert, succeed, and stay with you over time.

What are intent signals in GTM strategy?

Intent signals are behaviors or actions that suggest a buyer is actively researching a solution. These might include visiting key pages, downloading resources, applying for related jobs, or adopting new technologies.

Why does content authority matter more than content volume?

Publishing frequently doesn’t guarantee results. What matters is whether your content demonstrates expertise, earns trust, and answers meaningful questions in your niche.

How does AI impact B2B content visibility?

AI tools like Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) and ChatGPT analyze how well your content answers specific queries. To be visible in AI-powered results, your content needs to be relevant, clear, and built around real buyer questions.

Ready to Sharpen Your GTM Focus?

Most B2B teams don’t miss their number because of bad people or bad products. They miss it because they’re aiming at the wrong targets, with generic messaging, and no sense of buyer timing.

At Sitera, we help B2B organizations redefine their ICP, activate buyer intent, and build authority content that actually moves pipeline.

Let’s talk: https://www.siteraconsulting.com/contact

TAM vs. ICP: Why Understanding Both Is Critical to an AI-Era GTM Strategy

In today’s AI-fueled marketing world, it’s not enough to know who could buy from you. You need to know who will. That’s where TAM and ICP come in. Though often used interchangeably, these terms serve very different purposes — and mixing them up can derail your go-to-market (GTM) strategy.

Let’s break it down.

What Is a Total Addressable Market (TAM)?

TAM is your theoretical maximum. It answers the question: If everyone who could possibly need my product actually bought it, how big would that opportunity be?

For example, if you sell AI-driven CRM tools to SaaS companies, your TAM might include every SaaS organization in North America with a sales team.

It’s big. It’s exciting. But it’s mostly hypothetical.

A common mistake: companies build marketing strategies around TAM, which leads to bloated budgets, vague messaging, and weak conversion rates. TAM is great for investor decks and long-term vision — not for daily pipeline generation.

What Is an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)?

ICP is your filter. It defines the right-fit buyers within your TAM — the accounts most likely to buy, succeed, and grow.

A strong ICP might include:

• Mid-market SaaS companies
• Sales teams with 10–50 reps
• Complex buying committees
• A track record of experimenting with AI too
  
  

Good ICPs include filters like:

• Industry vertical
• Company size
• Tech stack
• Pain points
• Decision-maker roles
• Funding stage
• Business model (B2B vs. B2C, sales-led vs. product-led)
• Geography or compliance needs
• Organizational maturity
• Current GTM motion

A well-defined ICP sharpens campaigns, aligns sales development, AEs, and product marketing, and increases pipeline quality.

Key Differences Between TAM and ICP

Why GTM Teams Confuse Timing with Targeting

One of the most common GTM mistakes is confusing ICP traits with buying triggers.

ICP Traits = WHO

These are relatively stable attributes that define your best-fit customers.

Buying Triggers = WHEN

These are dynamic signals that suggest a customer might be ready now.

Common trigger events include:

• A new CMO or Head of Sales
• Recent funding round
• Expansion into new markets
• Job posts hinting at strategic shifts
• Changes to their tech stack

Triggers don’t redefine your ICP — they help you decide who to pursue first.

Using AI to Power Intent-Based GTM Strategy

When you combine TAM, ICP, and buying triggers, your GTM motion becomes:

• More efficient
• More aligned
• More scalable

AI can:

• Monitor your TAM for real-time changes
• Score and rank ICP-fit accounts
• Surface timing signals like executive changes or hiring trends
• Prioritize outreach based on likelihood to engage

TAM shows you who could buy.
ICP shows you who will buy.
Triggers tell you when to reach out.

Together, they form your GTM sweet spot.

 5 Common TAM + ICP Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)

1. Targeting the full TAM - Your SDRs don’t need 10,000 accounts. They need the right 200.

2. Confusing traits with triggers - Triggers are timing-based. Traits are structural.

3. Over-defining your ICP - Don’t box yourself out. Let the market refine your assumptions.
4. Letting your profiles get stale - Your market evolves. Your segmentation should too.
5. Misaligned teams - Sales chases "hot" leads. Marketing builds awareness. But both should aim at the same ICP.

Final Thoughts: Smarter Segmentation = Smarter Growth

TAM and ICP confusion is one of the top reasons revenue teams burn budget, chase the wrong leads, and miss their number.

At Sitera, we help B2B companies align their strategy around real ICPs, real triggers, and real-time intent. Our AI-first approach ensures your content, targeting, and outreach match how modern buyers — and their bots — make decisions.

Want to define your ICP or activate intent-based outreach? Let’s talk! 

Schedule a meeting

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between TAM and ICP?

TAM, or Total Addressable Market, refers to all potential customers who could benefit from your product or service. ICP, or Ideal Customer Profile, is a smaller group of accounts that are most likely to buy and succeed with your solution.

Why should marketing campaigns focus on ICP instead of TAM?

Targeting your entire TAM often leads to wasted budget and low conversion rates. Focusing on your ICP helps ensure your messaging, targeting, and offers are aligned with high-probability buyers.

What are intent signals and how do they relate to ICP?

Intent signals are behavioral cues that suggest a buyer is actively researching or considering a solution. Your ICP defines who you should engage, and intent signals help you determine when they are most ready to hear from you.

How does AI improve how companies use TAM and ICP?

AI tools can analyze market data, monitor intent signals, and identify which ICP-fit accounts are showing buying behavior. This allows you to prioritize outreach based on likelihood to engage or convert.