Most outbound starts with a persona: VP of Sales, Head of Marketing, CFO.
But personas don't buy. Situations do.
The Problem With Persona-Based Targeting
When you target a persona, you're targeting a job title — not a moment of relevance.
That VP of Sales might be:
- scaling a team
- fixing a broken process
- preparing for a board meeting
- or just trying to survive the quarter
Each of those contexts requires completely different messaging.
What a Buying Situation Is
A buying situation is a specific moment when your offer becomes relevant.
It's not about who the buyer is — it's about what they're going through.
This is essentially Jobs-to-be-Done thinking applied to outbound: people don't buy products, they hire solutions to make progress in a specific situation.
Examples
Persona-based
"VP of Sales at a Series B SaaS company"
Situation-based
"VP of Sales who just missed a quarter and is under pressure to fix pipeline coverage"
Same title. Completely different context. Completely different message.
How to Define Buying Situations
A good buying situation answers:
- What's happening? — the trigger or context
- Why does it matter now? — the urgency
- What are they trying to do? — the goal
What Comes Next
Once you've defined your buying situations, the next question is: How does the conversation start?
That's where Motions come in.