Are you a B2B startup founder? Then you already know that without revenue, you're out of the game. Business development is critical to getting started sustainably. But getting those first few sales isn’t necessarily about building the best mousetrap. It's about solving your customers’ greatest pain points.
Truth is that pain sells. Better yet, the pain that you are experiencing right now… sells best. And of course, the more intense the pain, the faster the need.
As a startup a key lesson to getting started ASAP – is to align your marketing and sales efforts around fixing the greatest pain points your customers are experiencing. Second, is to magnify, intensify, and make the pain that your solution solves. Build up the case so the desire to get it fixed right away, helps drive your immediate sale.
Pain that Drives Action
Every purchase starts with a problem. In B2C, that might be a desire to look good, save time, feel better, or simplify life. In B2B, the stakes are higher. Customers don’t act on features - they act on friction.
Maybe their sales team is underperforming. Maybe their tech stack is outdated and slowing down operations. Perhaps your product fixes a bottleneck that lets them produce goods faster. Or maybe they just raised a round and needed to scale - fast.
Pain points reveal where urgency lies. And urgency means budget, decision-maker attention, and faster buying cycles. As one insight from Statista shows, 30% of B2B decision-makers say that understanding and speaking directly to the customer’s pain points is the most critical element of online sales and marketing. (Statista, 2022)
If your solution doesn’t speak to a real problem, your message won’t land - and your pipeline won’t grow.
Find the Pain
So how do you uncover critical pain points?
Simple. You listen.
If you’re pre-revenue, start with friendlies. Contact people you know who match your target audience. Ideally, they are your network, will speak with you, and will tell you the story straight. Ask for short, no-pitch conversations. Your goal: listen for patterns, and identify pains you know, and some you don’t.
Ask about challenges. What’s slowing them down? What’s eating up budget? What’s frustrating their team? Where do they know they could be better? What do they need to improve?
Take notes! Look for emotional cues. Scan LinkedIn threads. Study comments on relevant Reddit, and Quora fora or product review sites (Capterra, G2, TrustRadius, GetApp, Software Advice, Product Hunt…). Look for repeat frustrations.
Then test. If your product or service solves these pains, then turn these insights into messaging. Publish a LinkedIn post. Try a subject line. Create a short explainer on your site. Watch what gets clicks - and what gets ignored.
Remember: 82% of B2B marketers say that deeply understanding their audience is the key to content marketing success (Content Marketing Institute, 2025). If you know your customer’s pain better than they can articulate it, you’ll get their attention.
From Pain to Profile
Know the pain? Now it’s time to define who feels it.
Your Target Market is the company-level definition. It includes industry, company size, geography, budget, and often their tech stack. If you're selling AI or hardware, maybe you're targeting mid-size manufacturers with legacy systems or financial services firms battling compliance complexity.
Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) lives within that target market. These are the actual individuals you need to speak with, to convey how your offering eases their pain.
Generalize the ICP into a Persona (fictional person who characterizes your ICP). Capture the essence of your customers’ pain, concerns, and frustrations. Define their title, goals, KPIs, blockers, and daily headaches. What keeps them up at night? What drives them? Can you help them achieve their targets? How do they want to succeed? What do they want to ultimately achieve?
A well-defined ICP increases your chances of attracting high-value customers - those who convert faster, refer others, and stick around longer (Revenue Marketing Alliance). Once you define the buyer’s persona, you will speak to this consistently, and include it in your marketing and sales efforts.
Even more compelling, building a precise ICP can shorten your sales cycle, which has already expanded by 24% across B2B industries(Breadcrumb.io, 2023). Time is money. When used well, the right profile saves both.
Use It in Everything
Once you know the pain and the profile, embed them in every sales and marketing touchpoint.
Your website needs to highlight the pain in the first five seconds. Your lead magnets - ebooks, webinars, calculators - should educate around the pain. Your emails should describe the symptoms. Your demos should solve them.
And when you sell, use the ICP and persona profiles before every call. It is a quick reminder of the person whom you are trying to reach, and their hot buttons. These assets are not “marketing artifacts” - they’re sales tools. They keep your pitch focused, relevant, and tailored.
Need inspiration? Your one-pager should include:
- Job title and role
- Company size and industry
- Typical KPIs and core responsibilities
- Pain points and emotional triggers
- Buying triggers (e.g., funding rounds, new regulations)
- Preferred research channels (LinkedIn, peer groups, analyst reports)
This becomes your cheat sheet that aligns your discussion.
To develop this, look to the web to find examples. Then copy the format, and style. It should be simple, attractive, with bullet points throughout. It’s not an essay. It is a quick reference guide for YOU. Make it easy to use, to keep you focused on your prospect and their pain.
Ready to Scale Smarter?
Founders who obsess over customer pain points and continually sharpen their customer profile - scale faster. They sell better and waste less time. This isn’t about templates. It’s about insight and execution.
Are you a founder building your sales and marketing efforts? Then start with pain. Then define the profile. Test it. Refine it. And use it everywhere.
Need help building your person, strategy, or business development approach?
Ask your advisor to speak with Charles Dimov, ventureLAB, Executive In Residence to help you get started.
