Template · Persona Worksheet
Nobody ever changed their buying because they were a 34-year-old urban male.
A persona structure built on what people believe and do — not their age and postcode — because demographics almost never explain a decision.
Most personas are demographic fan-fiction: a name, a stock photo, an age, a fake hobby. Useless, because demographics rarely drive behaviour. This worksheet replaces them with the things that actually predict a decision — the belief, the job, the hesitation.
The job they’re hiring you for
What outcome are they actually trying to achieve? People don’t buy products; they hire them for a job. Name the job, not the demographic.
The belief that’s in the way
What do they currently assume — about the category, about themselves — that stops them acting? This is what your marketing has to move.
The hesitation at the moment of choice
The specific doubt that makes them pause: too risky, not for me, not now, don’t trust it. Fix this and you fix conversion.
Where trust comes from
Whose word do they take — peers, practitioners, reviews, a specific voice? This tells you who should carry your message, not just what it says.
Demographics (last, and lightly)
Add only the demographic facts that genuinely change the approach — language, life stage, budget reality. Skip the stock-photo details entirely.
Build personas from real conversations, not a workshop whiteboard. Five customer interviews will overturn most of what the room assumed in the first ten minutes.
Common questions
What makes a good customer persona?
A clear job the customer is trying to get done, the belief in the way, the hesitation at the point of choice, and where they get their trust — not demographics.
Are demographic personas useful?
Rarely on their own. Age and location seldom explain a decision; belief, job and hesitation do. Add demographics only where they genuinely change the approach.
Related: people do what’s easy · the CRO framework.