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Alva supports five types of discovery profile, each designed to find a different kind of company. The profile type determines how discovered companies are categorised, what lifecycle stages they follow, and where they appear in your CRM.

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The five profile types

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ICP — Ideal Customer Profile

Purpose: Find companies that would be ideal customers for your products or services. Example description: “Marketing agencies serving B2B technology companies” When discovered companies are imported:
  • Relationship type is set to Customer
  • Lifecycle stages: Target → Prospect → Lead → Customer
  • Companies appear in the CRM module
This is the most common profile type and the starting point for most sales teams.

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IVP — Ideal Vendor Profile

Purpose: Find companies that would be ideal vendors — companies that could sell or distribute your products and services. Example description: “IT resellers and managed service providers serving small businesses” When discovered companies are imported:
  • Relationship type is set to Vendor
  • Lifecycle stages: Target → Evaluating → Negotiating → Vendor
  • Companies appear in the VRM (Vendor Relationship Management) module
Use this when you’re building a network of companies that sell, distribute, or resell your products and services.

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IPP — Ideal Partner Profile

Purpose: Find companies that would be ideal strategic or channel partners. Example description: “Digital agencies offering web design and development services to small businesses” When discovered companies are imported:
  • Relationship type is set to Partner
  • Lifecycle stages: Target → Engaging → Negotiating → Partner
  • Companies appear in the PRM (Partner Relationship Management) module
Useful for building referral networks, reseller channels, or co-marketing partnerships.

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ISP — Ideal Supplier Profile

Purpose: Find companies that could supply products or services to your business. Example description: “Plumbing and heating contractors serving residential customers” When discovered companies are imported:
  • Relationship type is set to Supplier
  • Lifecycle stages: Target → Evaluating → Negotiating → Supplier
  • Companies appear in the SRM (Supplier Relationship Management) module
Use this when you need to build a supply chain, a network of subcontractors, or a pool of service providers.

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CP — Competitor Profile

Purpose: Find companies that are direct competitors in your market. Example description: “Sales and CRM software companies serving small and mid-sized businesses” When discovered companies are imported:
  • Relationship type is set to Competitor
  • Companies are automatically linked to your competitors table in the Context section
  • This populates battle card data that Alva uses in deal analysis
Use this for competitive intelligence gathering. Discovered competitors are added to your competitor database where you can track their strengths, weaknesses, and differentiation.

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How profile type affects the workflow

FeatureICPIVPIPPISPCP
CRM moduleCRMVRMPRMSRM—
Pipeline viewDealsVendor PipelinePartner PipelineSupplier Pipeline—
BDR agents✅✅✅✅❌
Auto-links to————Competitors table
BDR agents can target any profile type except Competitor Profiles. You wouldn’t typically send automated outreach to competitors.

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Choosing the right profile type

Ask yourself: what is my relationship with these companies?
  • If you want to sell to them → ICP
  • If you want them to sell your products → IVP
  • If you want to partner with them → IPP
  • If you want them to supply to you → ISP
  • If they compete with you → CP
You can run multiple profiles of different types simultaneously. A typical setup might be one ICP for finding customers, one CP for tracking competitors, and one IPP for building a partner channel.