How to Land Your Dream Leads with Account-Based Marketing (ABM)

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) isn’t new, but it is making waves in many industries… and for good reason.

This strategic approach to B2B marketing and sales can be a game-changer for your business. But with so much information available on ABM and its “sister strategy,” Account-Based Experience (ABX), there’s a lot to dive into. 

In this article, we’ll take a high-level look at ABM, why it’s one of today’s most successful B2B strategies, and how you can utilize it to maximize ROI when pursuing your dream accounts.

What is ABM?
Selling to the Account, Not the Individuals

To put it simply, ABM is a highly-targeted, process-driven way to engage (and land) key accounts. Rather than casting a wide net with standard inbound marketing, it utilizes a multi-step process with personalized touchpoints to target and close key accounts.

Here’s a glimpse into how it works…

3 Phases to Land Key Accounts

At the core of ABM is one common goal: ROI. The entire objective is to help B2B businesses target and close accounts more successfully than standard processes. To do this, you’ll need to align your sales team and marketing efforts on three important phases:

1. Targeting: First, identify who you’re selling to: where they are, what they value, how they engage. Go beyond what you think you know about your audience to understand them on a deeper level and tailor your messages accordingly. And remember, you’re talking to accounts here—not just one specific position.
   
   Although you are still targeting the entire account with ABM, you’ll find multiple positions to speak with—each with different priorities—within each account. It’s important to include everyone in your ABM process to ensure total account buy-in and alignment, even though each position will require personalized messages to make the greatest impact.

2. Planning: Develop your process by determining what approach you want to take to reach and resonate with target accounts. From digital advertising to direct sales to traditional marketing, the most effective ABM campaigns engage with leads via multiple channels and touchpoints. Planning a dynamic, memorable process that complements your sales teams’ efforts will help produce the best results. Just make sure it’s a process everyone on your team understands and feels invested in.

3. Closing: Arguably the most important part… Stick to the set process and encourage your team to do the same! If someone goes rogue with their own agenda, the process will fall apart. If sales and marketing aren’t aligned, the process will fall apart. The good news is, those who follow the processes and communicate progress updates along the way have an easier time closing new accounts.

Essential Tips for ABM That Thrives

ABM is a complex process. And for it to truly work, there are a few essential things that have to be done. If you’re wondering if ABM’s right for you, here’s a few things to consider:

• Stick to the script. ABM can be highly successful with one caveat: everyone involved sticks to the process. If someone goes rogue with their own agenda, the process will fall apart. The good news is, those who follow the processes tend to see exceptional results!

• Align your sales and marketing teams!!! This one gets three exclamation points because it’s THAT important. ABM strategies are only successful when sales and marketing work together to achieve the same goals. Sales needs to come to the table with wishlist leads that they want to pursue, and marketing needs to develop strong materials and messaging to assist those efforts. When these two teams align and feel invested in the process, you’ll see it in your ROI.

• Determine your capabilities. ABM’s biggest drawback is that it’s time-consuming to do it right. This means one of two things: you either need strong (aligned) internal teams, or you need to extend your internal team and find a partner to thrive.

Taking the First Step

The truth is, ABM isn’t for everyone. It’s designed specifically to attract large, high-value accounts (and grow them, but we’ll get into that more in a later blog). So before we officially sell you on the concept, it is important to pose the question: Will the accounts you land be worth it?

Once you’ve identified which accounts are worth the time and what you can invest in landing their business, you’ll have a strong foundation in place for effective ABM. Not sure how to go about getting those answers? We can help with that!

As a B2B business with decades of marketing, sales, and branding experience, our team understands exactly what it takes to develop and implement successful ABM strategies. 

Start a conversation to hear how we’ve helped other B2B companies reach new heights with ABM, and how we can help you next!