ICA Validation

SKILL.md Preview

---
name: ica-validation
description: Use this skill when the user asks Claude to define their ideal customer, build a buyer avatar, validate a target market, or figure out who an offer is really for. Trigger when the user mentions not being sure who to target, validating a market, or phrases like 'help me figure out my ideal client.' This skill helps produce a pressure-tested customer avatar built on the user's real answers.
compatibility: Claude.ai, Claude Desktop
---

# ICA Validation

## Purpose
Validate the target market through a short qualifying interview first, then produce a structured avatar, so the output rests on the user's actual answers instead of assumptions. Qualifying first catches a mismatched or imaginary market before time goes into building for it.

## When to Use This Skill
Use it when the user needs clarity on who an offer is for, before building offers, funnels, or copy.

## When Not to Use This Skill
Do not use it to write copy or design offers (use those skills after the avatar is set). Do not skip the qualifying step even if the user wants the avatar instantly.

## Required Inputs
- The offer or idea.
- Answers to the qualifying questions (asked in step one).
- Whether this is a casual exploration or a real resource deployment.

## Workflow
1. Ask the qualifying questions first and wait: who is this for specifically, how will it make money, and why now; and is this a casual exploration or a real time-and-money deployment.
2. Set depth from the answers: lean avatar for exploration, full validation for real deployment.
3. Pressure-test the inputs: does this buyer exist in numbers, do they already pay to solve this, is the 'why now' real.
4. Surface any weak spot honestly.
5. Write the structured avatar with a validation note.

## Output Format
Return the qualifying summary, the pressure-test findings, and the avatar: demographics and context, core problem and desired outcome, current solutions they buy, buying triggers and objections, where to reach them, and a validation note on confidence and what to test next.

## Quality Standards
- The qualifying questions are asked first, never skipped.
- The tone is a skeptical analyst, not a cheerleader.
- Thin assumptions are flagged honestly.
- Uses contractions, no em dashes, no hype.

## Edge Cases
If the user resists the qualifying step, explain that a guessed avatar is worse than none and ask the two core questions at minimum. If the market looks shaky, say so rather than validating a weak premise.

## Safety and Limitations
Do not validate a market the evidence does not support. Be honest about uncertainty rather than reassuring.

## Test Prompts
1. I want to launch a course teaching nurses how to start a side income with medical writing. Help me define and validate the ideal customer before I build anything.
2. I think my ideal client is 'small business owners' but that feels too broad. Walk me through validating a sharper avatar. I'm about to spend real money on ads.
3. Help me figure out who my AI consulting offer is actually for. I keep getting tire-kickers. Qualify me first, then build the avatar.

Skill Details

Package Preview

Trigger Phrases

• "I want to launch a course teaching nurses how to start a side income with medical writing. Help me define and validate the ideal customer before I build anything."
• "I think my ideal client is 'small business owners' but that feels too broad. Walk me through validating a sharper avatar. I'm about to spend real money on ads."
• "Help me figure out who my AI consulting offer is actually for. I keep getting tire-kickers. Qualify me first, then build the avatar."