Because ABM is just gaining ground within many organizations, there’s a dearth of best practices to draw from. That’s why we’ve pulled together solid guidance and recommendations based on input from numerous industry
experts, thought leaders, and marketers who are already succeeding with ABM.
9 Steps to an Effective ABM Program
ABM is about driving growth through high-visibility accounts. With so much riding on your ABM efforts, it’s critical that the management team recognizes the strategic importance of this program and puts the necessary money behind it. To succeed at ABM, your organization will need to create, run, and analyze new programs. It may even need to hire new talent and bring on new tools. And that means you need the right resources in terms of money and people.
Marketing and sales leadership should collaborate to define this strategy and communicate the plan and larger initiative to the marketing and sales teams.
An ABM initiative helps marketing better align with their sales counterparts who are already focused on accounts at the bottom of the funnel. Simply put, by embracing ABM, marketers become more aligned with what the sales team
is already doing. Maximize your effectiveness with 9 simple steps.
- Position ABM as a Strategic Initiative
- Staff Up for Success
- Agree on Goals with Sales
- Identify Target Accounts
- Identify Roles or Departments that Influence Buying Decisions
- Create Content to Drive Engagement Across Target Accounts
- Partner with the Sales Team
- Put ABM into Action
- Measure Impact
I often say, “ABM is a strategic approach for sales and marketing to use personalized interactions at named accounts to deepen —to open new doors and deepen existing relationships.” But there are key points to that
definition. It’s a strategic approach because ABM is not a campaign. It’s not like an initiative for this month. It is a way of thinking about how you drive your business.
It’s strategic across sales and marketing. Sales has to be as involved as the marketing department to make it work. It’s personalized, so it’s about using accountlevel insight to make sure that each interaction is relevant and resonant, and then it’s about landing and expanding relationships.
And lastly, ABM is not transactionable. It’s about landing and expanding relationships.
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