Why Understanding Your ICP Is Key to B2B SAAS Growth With Nick Naso

About Guest

Nick Naso is the Chief Revenue Officer at Recurly, a leading subscription management and billing platform that helps businesses automate and optimize recurring revenue operations. With over 15 years of experience in the software and technology industry, he has built high-performing teams and led strategic initiatives to drive significant growth. Before joining Recurly, Nick served as Chief Revenue Officer at Cayuse, where he led the global sales organization and helped the company achieve record revenue growth through new customer sales and geographic expansion.

In this episode

Understanding your ideal customer profile can make or break your B2B SaaS growth strategy. Without clarity around who you're selling to, it's easy to waste time, miss revenue targets, and stall your momentum. So how often should companies revisit and refine their ICP to keep pace with a fast-changing market?

According to Nick Naso, a seasoned revenue leader with deep experience in scaling SaaS companies, companies should formally reevaluate their ICP at least once or twice a year. He highlights the importance of ongoing data analysis to inform micro-adjustments before larger shifts are needed. This kind of consistent review ensures sales teams focus on high-fit prospects and avoid spending resources on poor matches. The result is tighter alignment, faster sales cycles, and stronger pipeline efficiency. He also emphasizes that fit is everything: the right customer at the right time drives not only sales, but long-term success.

In this episode of the Revenue Engine Podcast, host Alex Gluz is joined by Nick Naso, Chief Revenue Officer at Recurly, to discuss why a sharp ICP is central to B2B SaaS growth. They explore how to identify ICP signals from pipeline data, when to make structural changes in your team to match your market, and why sales success starts with strategic focus. Nick also shares insights on leading cross-functional teams and building a culture of revenue ownership.

A glimpse of what you will learn

• [01:20] Nick Naso discusses his role as CRO at Recurly and explains its focus on subscription billing and revenue growth
• [06:29] Why joining a strong team with trusted leadership mattered more for Nick than just product fit
• [09:17] How Nick transitioned from individual contributor to CRO
• [12:12] Recognizing when team structure becomes more critical than product changes for revenue growth
• [16:42] The importance of clearly defining and regularly updating your ideal customer profile for B2B SaaS success
• [19:59] Creating company-wide revenue ownership through culture, collaboration, and recognition
• [27:19] Growth opportunities in health, wellness, and transportation subscriptions

Resources Mentioned in this episode

• T.A. Monroe Digital Agency
• Alex Gluz on LinkedIn
• Nick Naso: LinkedIn
• Nick Naso:  Email
• Recurly
• The Science of Selling: Proven Strategies to Make Your Pitch, Influence Decisions, and Close the Deal by David Hoffeld

Quotable Moments

• “Sales is one of those things that everybody does whether they know it or not.”
• “It wasn’t that they were not the right sellers, it was that they weren’t the right sellers for Recurly at the time.”
• “You always have the time for the things that are priority.”
• “The worst thing that a new leader can do is come in and make change for the sake of making change.”
• “We don’t win on our own, and we know that across every function of the business.”

Action Steps

1. Reevaluate your ICP regularly: Continuously reviewing your ideal customer profile ensures sales efforts stay focused and effective.
2. Align team capabilities with market direction: Matching your sales team’s skill set to your target market improves close rates and revenue outcomes.
3. Foster cross-functional revenue ownership: Involving all departments in revenue goals drives alignment, motivation, and collective accountability.
4. Stay hands-on with sales conversations: Direct engagement with calls and customer feedback provides crucial context for smarter strategy and decision-making.
5. Prioritize long-term vendor relationships: Choosing partners who align with your future needs supports scalable, efficient growth over time.

Sponsor for this episode

This episode is brought to you by T.A.Monroe Digital.At T.A.Monroe, we build world class revenue engines for B2B SaaS companies. What that means is we do everything behind the scenes to generate you tons of qualified leads, opportunities and customers.

1. We build highly effective marketing systems and scale their profitably through our demand generation strategies.
2. We think scientifically on how to scale your demand and revenue.
3. We bring decades of experience.

Email us at alex@tamonroe.com or visit www.tamonroe.com today to schedule a strategy session or learn more about our mission.