SaaS HR Platform — Built the full GTM system from scratch — pipeline 3.2x in 90 days
How we rebuilt ICP definition, messaging, and paid acquisition for a Series A HR SaaS that was generating demos but closing almost none.
3.2×
Qualified pipeline in 90 days
-42%
Cost per qualified lead
+58%
Demo-to-opportunity rate
Context
Series A HR SaaS, €8k ACV, targeting mid-market companies 50–500 employees. Was generating 60–80 demo requests per month from LinkedIn Ads and Google, closing less than 4%. Sales team reported that most demos were with companies that were either too small or completely wrong fit.
The problem
ICP was defined as "any company that could use HR software" — no firmographic or behavioral specificity.
Messaging was feature-led ("our platform has X, Y, Z") with no clear differentiation from 15+ competitors.
LinkedIn Ads were optimized for demo volume, not demo quality. CPL looked good. CAC was unsustainable.
No lead scoring: every form fill went to sales with the same priority.
Attribution was broken: HubSpot showed Organic Search as the top channel, but nobody had verified whether that traffic was actually converting.
Our approach
ICP redefinition and messaging
Interviewed 12 existing customers: identified 3 firm segments that closed fastest and retained longest.
Defined primary ICP: Series B+ companies, 100–400 employees, HR team of 2–5, currently using spreadsheets or legacy HRIS.
Rebuilt messaging architecture around one core problem: "HR teams at growing companies waste 40% of their time on administrative work that should be automated."
Created three message variants per funnel stage, each mapped to a specific ICP segment.
Paid acquisition rebuild
Rebuilt LinkedIn Ads targeting: company size 100–500, departments HR + Operations, seniority Director+.
Shifted from demo-first CTAs to content-first: gated benchmark report → qualified follow-up sequence → demo offer.
Added offline conversion tracking: qualified demo (after SDR qualification) as the primary conversion event in LinkedIn and Google — not the raw form fill.
Google Demand Gen introduced for retargeting the content audience with demo offers.
Pipeline qualification
Built lead scoring in HubSpot: firmographic score (company size, industry, tech stack) + behavioral score (pages visited, content downloaded, email engagement).
Only leads above threshold routed to AE for demo. Leads below threshold into automated nurture.
SDR qualification checklist aligned with ICP criteria: first contact within 24h, BANT-light qualification before AE handoff.
Results
In 90 days, qualified pipeline increased 3.2x. Cost per qualified lead dropped 42% — because volume of unqualified leads dropped sharply while qualified leads stayed stable. Demo-to-opportunity rate improved from 4% to 58% with the same sales team.
“We were busy with demos but making no progress. Now we have fewer demos and a much better pipeline. The ICP work changed everything.”
— VP Marketing, SaaS HR Platform
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