Resources / Qualification
Look past the LinkedIn likes
Who reacted matters more than how many. Here’s how to spot the buyers.
Start with the offer
Imagine you sell billing reconciliation software to B2B SaaS finance teams. A founder, a finance director and a consultant all like your post. Which one deserves a closer look?
You cannot answer from the reaction alone. Write down the conditions that make your product relevant: the role that owns the problem, the type of company and the situation in which your product earns its place.
For this illustrative business, the target might be a finance leader at a subscription software company with 50–300 employees, where the team still reconciles billing data manually. Role and company size can establish a plausible fit. The manual process is something you need evidence for.
Keep requirements separate from preferences. Missing information stays unknown. It should never become a convenient “yes” just to fill a prospect list.
Keep three questions separate
| Question | What you check | What it cannot prove |
|---|---|---|
| Do they fit? | Role, company, size and relevant operating context. | That they need a new tool right now. |
| Did they engage? | The actual reaction or comment, and any earlier interactions you can verify. | That the interaction is commercial. |
| Is there a buying need? | A current problem, an active evaluation or a question about your offer. | That budget, timing and a purchase decision are already settled. |
These distinctions change your next action. A relevant person who likes a post may be worth researching. A relevant person describing a current problem may be worth talking to. Neither should automatically become a booked meeting in your reporting.
If you use a score, keep the definition visible. A high ICP fit score describes the match to your target. It is not a probability that the person will buy.
Review the evidence, person by person
The people and situations below are fictional. The example post discusses the work involved in closing a SaaS company’s monthly accounts.
| Person | Evidence available | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| Camille, Head of Finance | B2B SaaS, 80 employees. Comments: “We still lose two days matching the billing export to the ledger.” | Good fit and a stated current problem. Ask how the team handles the mismatch today. |
| Alex, CFO | B2B SaaS, 140 employees. Likes the post. No information about their reconciliation process. | Good profile fit. Keep the need marked unknown and review the company context. |
| Noah, independent accountant | Works with several software companies and adds a useful explanation. | Potential peer or referral relationship. Check the role before treating them as an end customer. |
Camille provides the strongest opening because her words identify a problem your offer addresses. You still do not know whether she is considering a purchase. Alex’s seniority does not fill that gap. Noah may become a valuable relationship through a different route.
Write a brief someone else can use
A qualification note should survive a handoff. Keep the source and the date next to the fact it supports, then distinguish the facts from your interpretation.
Example qualification briefPerson: Camille, Head of Finance
Fit: role and company match the target
Evidence: her public comment describes manual reconciliation
Unknown: current tools, urgency and whether she owns the purchase
Next action: reply to understand the process before proposing the product
A colleague should be able to see why the person is in the list without starting the research again. In a team, also record who owns the relationship and whether someone has already made contact.
Download the blank qualification brief and use it on the next relevant interaction you review.
Count the progression honestly
Track relevant profiles, replies, conversations about an actual need and accepted opportunities as separate stages. Define what qualifies for each stage before comparing results.
Then look for the point where the process stops moving. If the people fit but the messages get no response, inspect the approach. If conversations are lively but nobody has the problem you solve, inspect the audience and the content that brought them in.
The next guide covers turning a specific comment into a natural first conversation. The aim is to carry the evidence into the approach.
Your GTM agent: attract buyers, qualify prospects and prepare the conversation. You review, publish and send.
See the reasoning beside the profile
The Camus walkthrough keeps the offer, fit, interaction and unanswered questions together.
Explore the qualification example