Personas: Why Most Are Useless (And What to Do Instead)

If Your Personas Sit in a Slide Deck, They’re Not Working

Intro:
Most businesses have personas.

They’re just not useful.

Because they focus on who the person is — not how they think or buy.

The Problem with Traditional Personas

You’ve seen them:

• “Marketing Mary”
• “Operations Oliver”

With details like:

• Age
• Job title
• Hobbies

None of this helps you win a deal.

What Actually Matters

You don’t need more detail.
You need the right detail.

Focus on:

• What pressure they’re under
• What they’re trying to fix
• What’s stopping them acting
• What they’re measured on
• What makes them say yes

That’s it.

A Better Way to Build Personas

Instead of profiles, build decision maps.

For each key role:

• What triggers them to look for a solution?
• What risks do they care about?
• What does success look like to them?
• What objections will they have?

Example:

Founder / CEO

• Trigger: Growth has stalled
• Concern: Wasted spend, wrong hires
• Goal: Clear direction and results
• Objection: “We’ve tried this before”

Now your messaging writes itself.

Why This Changes Everything

When personas are clear:

• Your content becomes more relevant
• Your sales conversations improve
• Objections are easier to handle
• Decision cycles shorten

The DKIND Take

You don’t need more personas.

You need alignment.

If marketing, sales, and leadership don’t see the customer the same way, performance suffers.

Simple Test

• Can your team describe your buyer in one sentence?
• Do you know what keeps them awake at night?
• Are you speaking to pressure, not just role?

If not, your personas are surface-level.

If you want help cutting through the noise and focusing on what will actually work, get in touch