Adam Winn · for Boardable

Step 1 of 4

Step 1: Understand Pain per Industry

You can't write a message that lands until you know exactly what keeps a community college administrator or a compliance officer up at night. This is how I build that understanding.

Internal Inputs

Talk to Sales

Before touching a new vertical, I sit down with the reps who have already taken calls in or adjacent to it.

Sales intake interview (5 questions)

  1. Which deals in or near this vertical have we won or lost, and why?
  2. What's the first pain a prospect names when the conversation gets real?
  3. Who actually signs, and who quietly kills the deal?
  4. What objection comes up every single time?
  5. What words do buyers use that we don't use in our own marketing?

Output: a pain hypothesis doc the rest of the work is built on.

Internal Inputs

Talk to Customer Success

CS sees which nonprofit-customer patterns will translate into the new vertical, and which won't.

Questions for CS

  • Which features do customers cite as must-have?
  • Which governance pain was the actual purchase trigger?
  • Where do customers in adjacent segments get the most value today?

Output: a list of proven value drivers to test against the new buyer.

Voice of Customer

Talk to Current Customers

A structured buyer interview gets past features and into the job the buyer is hiring us to do.

Structured buyer interview framework (8 questions)

  1. Walk me through the last board meeting you prepped for, start to finish.
  2. What part of that process do you dread?
  3. What were you using before Boardable, and what broke?
  4. What finally made you go looking for a solution?
  5. Who else had to say yes?
  6. What almost stopped you from buying?
  7. What would you lose if Boardable disappeared tomorrow?
  8. How would you describe Boardable to a peer at another org?

Job-to-be-done format: "When [situation], I want to [motivation], so I can [outcome]."

Output: a language doc plus verbatim buyer quotes.

Per-Vertical Analysis

Per-Vertical Messaging Hypothesis

Running the process above against each target vertical produces this first-pass output: the working hypothesis Sales and SDRs pressure-test in real conversations, then I refine.

🎓 Community Colleges

  • Segment pain statement: Sunshine Law compliance + two-day packet builds make board governance an immediate urgency.
  • Vocabulary list (say this): shared governance, board of trustees, accreditation, IPEDS reporting, Title IV, fiduciary duty, open meeting laws, Sunshine Laws, trustee orientation, board self-assessment
  • Decision-maker map:
    • Economic Buyer: President, Chancellor
    • Champion: VP Administration, Board Coordinator, Executive Secretary
    • User: Trustees, Board Chair
    • Blocker: IT Department
  • ICP definition: SECTOR=4 (Public 2-year), CONTROL=1 (Public), Enrollment 2,000–20,000: ~650 high-fit of ~930 institutions

🏫 K-12 Education

  • Segment pain statement: Every state has an Open Meetings Act, and closed-session violations plus clerk labor make compliance the trigger.
  • Vocabulary list (say this): board of education, open meetings law, Roberts Rules, executive session, consent agenda, board policy, ESSA, Title I, district clerk, public notice, quorum, minutes approval
  • Decision-maker map:
    • Economic Buyer: Superintendent
    • Champion: District Clerk, Board Secretary, Admin Assistant to Superintendent
    • User: Board members (5–9, unpaid elected)
    • Blocker: District IT, Legal Counsel
  • ICP definition: AGENCY_TYPE=1 (Regular local school district), Enrollment 1,000–50,000: ~7,000–9,000 high-fit of ~13,000 districts

🏥 Healthcare

  • Segment pain statement: Joint Commission findings on board governance documentation create immediate spend urgency.
  • Vocabulary list (say this): credentialing, medical staff bylaws, Joint Commission, quality committee, fiduciary, executive session, conflict of interest policy, board self-assessment, D&O liability, audit committee, CMS Conditions of Participation
  • Decision-maker map:
    • Economic Buyer: CEO / President
    • Champion: Board Coordinator, Executive Assistant to CEO, Corporate Secretary
    • User: Board members (physicians, community leaders, trustees)
    • Blocker: Legal / Compliance Officer, CISO
  • ICP definition: OWNERSHIP = Voluntary nonprofit or Government (state/local), TYPE = General Acute Care, BED_COUNT = 25–400: ~2,500–3,500 high-fit of ~6,100 hospitals

🛡️ GRC (Governance, Risk & Compliance)

  • Segment pain statement: An NCUA/FFIEC exam finding turns board governance into an immediately authorized spend.
  • Vocabulary list (say this): board charter, committee structure, conflict of interest register, audit committee, board independence, MNPI (material non-public information), fiduciary duty, D&O liability, regulatory examination, board minutes, quorum, voting record, governance framework
  • Decision-maker map:
    • Economic Buyer: CEO / President, General Counsel
    • Champion: Chief Compliance Officer, Corporate Secretary, Board Secretary
    • User: Board and committee members
    • Blocker: IT Security / CISO
  • ICP definition: Credit Unions: Assets $50M–$2B | Associations: Revenue $1M–$50M, staffed, has board: ~2,000–2,500 credit unions (~8,000–12,000 associations) high-fit of ~4,600 credit unions (~80,000+ trade associations)
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