How to Build a Strong Abm Strategy

Industry-based ABM v.s. Use Case-Based ABM. If your product has multiple use cases, stop targeting industry verticals, and start targeting clusters. VERTICAL-BASED ABM Most ABM programs create vertical-based list, messaging and content. But if those accounts have different use-cases and challenges, you risk ending with content and messaging that's either:  - Irrelevant to the majority of accounts you target - Generic, “common denominator” messaging that doesn’t differentiate you and doesn’t address the highest priority need CLUSTER-BASED ABM Cluster: group of companies with a similar challenge/use-case, despite their tier or vertical. With cluster targeting you can: - Cut through the generic noise with messaging, content and case studies that address the highest priority need that's top of their mind - Differentiate in a way that matters to them (by showing how you're supporting that use-case better than competitors) - Focus on accounts with a high probability to become a sales opportunity instead of just chasing vertical Tier 1 accounts EXAMPLE As an ABM lead for Hubspot, I might create an ABM program for B2B SaaS companies. After all, they all need sales and marketing tools. It’s also helpful to have industry related assets, case studies and messaging. But different SaaS companies have different buying triggers: - Switching from a legacy system, because they lack functionality and integrations - Companies that want to start ABM but their CRM/marketing platform don’t support it - Startups that outgrew their separate siloed tools You can already see how each of these use-cases deserves completely different messaging. --- Once you've defined the clusters, the next step is mapping accounts to them. Here is how. 1. Export all your won deals and segment them by use-case 2. Group all accounts by use-case and compare revenue metrics - Revenue - Average deal size  - Sales cycle length - Lifetime value  - # of successful case studies You'll be able to make an unbiased decision which clusters have a higher priority. 3. Select a top cluster aligned with your goals and run deal analysis  - Top 5 clients by LTV/ACV - Top 5 fastest deals - Recent 5 lost deals 4. Extract patterns - Firmographics - Technographics - Buying committee structure - Won and lost reasons - Signals and account insights that signal the specific use-case 5. Develop a cluster ICP with qualification & disqualification criteria --- Now you can build a highly targeted list of accounts that are more likely to convert into pipeline and be a good fit, and align your program with their high priority needs. We recently published results and a breakdown of four programs where a switch to cluster-based ABM generated $7 million in pipeline:  https://lnkd.in/dZWKNAbC

Most teams say they run ABM. Almost none actually do. What they call "ABM" is usually just a retargeting audience, a few landing pages, and a spreadsheet of accounts someone built six quarters ago. Real ABM is a system, not a channel. It requires three layers working together: 1. TAM Scoping You're not choosing accounts. You're choosing the game you're willing to play. Firmographic fit, lookalikes, and research-driven prioritization aren't optional - they define the ceiling of your entire GTM motion. 2. Personalized Campaign Execution Personalization is not writing someone's name in a subject line. It is aligning message, medium, and moment. Advertising, landing pages, email, video - none of it works unless it is anchored to the constraints of the account you selected. 3. Intent Signal Tracking & Attribution Signals are the feedback loop that make ABM compound. Ad engagement, site visits, product usage, LinkedIn interactions - each one reduces uncertainty about where an account is in its buying process. Attribution is not about credit. It's about confidence. A team that understands these three layers can scale revenue predictably. A team that doesn't will blame channels, tools, and agencies - when the real problem is that their GTM architecture was incoherent from day one. ABM isn't a tech stack. It's an operating system. The tools just make the system legible. Tools: TAM Scoping Firmographic matches: Apollo, ZoomInfo, Cognism Lookalikes: DiscoLike, PandaMatch 🐼, Ocean.io Account Research & Prioritization: Clay, MadKudu, 6sense, DemandSense Personalized Campaign Execution Personal-level advertising: Influ2 Personalized landing pages: Mutiny, Clay + Webflow Personalized video outreach: Sendspark Personalized cold email: Instantly.ai, Sendspark Personalized DMs: lemlist, Valley Intent Signal Tracking & Attribution Identify Ad Engagement: Fibbler, ZenABM, Vector Identify Website Visitors: Midbound, Vector, RB2B Identify Product Usage: Heap | by Contentsquare, Mixpanel, Amplitude Identify LinkedIn Engagement: Common Room, Trigify.io, Teamfluence™ Full Funnel Attribution: Usermaven, HockeyStack, Factors.ai

Most GTM teams aren’t short on signals.   They’re drowning in them.   We kept seeing the same issue across teams: - Accounts were showing intent in different places. - Someone would visit the site. - A company would engage with a newsletter. - Another team would start researching competitors.   Individually, none of these meant much. Together, they usually give us a lot of data about our ICP.   So instead of treating these as isolated activities, we built an ABM system that treats them as account-level signals.   Here is the step by step flow.   📌 Step 1: Detect account-level signals   We start by identifying companies that are already showing signs of interest.   👉 Buying intent 👉 Website visits 👉 Competitor, Ad & Newsletter engagement    📌 Step 2: Pull all signals into one system   Every detected account is pushed into Clay as the central workspace.   👉 One place for all signals 👉 One timeline per account 👉 No fragmented context across tools   Decisions only work when everything is visible in one place.   📌 Step 3: Qualify accounts against ICP   Not every active account is a good fit.   We qualify every account inside Clay using clear rules and blocklists.   👉 ICP match 👉 Company size and geography 👉 Industry relevance 👉 Existing customers or active opportunities   If an account does not fit, it stops here. That is intentional.   📌 Step 4: Enrich qualified accounts   For accounts that pass qualification, we add the context needed to act.   👉 Company and firmographic data 👉 Relevant contacts 👉 Missing fields required for outreach / routing   Enrichment is purposeful, not bulk. We only add what the next step requires.   📌 Step 5: Generate signal-based messaging   Messages are generated based on the exact signal that triggered the account.   👉 Different messaging for intent vs website visits 👉 Different framing for competitor research vs newsletter engagement   Every message is tied to something to the action.   📌 Step 6: Activate outreach across the right channels   Outreach is activated based on account value and signal strength.   👉 Email 👉 LinkedIn 👉 Cold calls 👉 Personalized videos 👉 Voice notes   This is selective and deliberate.   📌 Step 7: Personalised landing pages (optional)   For high value accounts, we sometimes add domain-level personalised landing pages.   👉 Used only when deal size justifies it 👉 Keeps post-click experience consistent 👉 Supports deeper ABM plays 📌 Step 8: Custom ABM plays (optional) When needed, we design custom plays aligned to GTM strategy. 👉 Bespoke signal combinations 👉 Creative outreach logic 👉 Tight alignment with sales motion    📌 Step 9: Book meetings   When an account shows interest, meetings are routed automatically.   👉 Booking flows 👉 Sales calendars 👉 Clean handoff with context   📌 Step 10: Update CRM and attribution   Finally, everything syncs back to the CRM.    Sales can see when and why a meeting took place. All in 1 cohesive ABM signal loop!

After building 150+ GTM systems, this is how we think about signal-led ABM. Most teams already have signals. A target account visits the site. Someone clicks an ad. A few people subscribe to the newsletter. Your competitor pops up in their research trail. Individually, these are weak. Combined, they’re usually the earliest sign that an account is moving. The mistake is treating each signal like a separate workflow. Different tools, different owners, different follow-ups, no shared context. So we built a single ABM engine that does one job: We look for early movement at the account level. → intent, website visitors, competitor engagement, newsletter subs, ad engagement (RB2B, Vector 👻, Trigify.io, CommonRoom, beehiiv) STEP 2: Pull everything into Clay One workspace, one timeline per account. → no fragmented context, no guessing why the account is “hot” STEP 3: Qualify against ICP rules Not every active account deserves outreach. → fit filters + blocklists, stop non-fit early STEP 4: Enrich only what the next step needs We add just enough context to route and personalize. → firmographics + key contacts (Clearbit, Apollo, PeopleDataLabs) STEP 5: Generate messaging tied to the exact signal Different signals get different framing. → draft with ChatGPT OpenAI / Google Gemini STEP 6: Activate outreach deliberately Channel choice depends on account value and signal strength. → email (Smartlead, Instantly.ai) → LinkedIn (HeyReach.io) → calls/video when it’s justified STEP 7: Book meetings and close the loop When they engage, routing happens with full context. → meeting booked → CRM + attribution updated (HubSpot / Attio) Optional for top accounts → personalized landing pages → custom ABM plays This system isn’t about sending more messages. It’s about noticing movement, picking the right accounts, and responding in a way that matches what they actually did.

After watching a team burn $400K on ABM tools with zero pipeline, I built this 8-part framework Remember that story about the team that spent $400K on intent data platforms and got nothing? Couldn't stop thinking about it. So I built something different. Tested it with 5 companies over 18 months. Works every damn time. 1. 𝗕𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗖𝗣 𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 Tier 1: 25-50 accounts max Tier 2: ~200 accounts Tier 3: Everyone else I watched a team put 500 accounts in Tier 1. That's not ABM. That's spray and pray with a fancy name. Be ruthless. If you wouldn't fly to meet them tomorrow, they're not Tier 1. 2. 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿 Not three campaigns. Not a content calendar. One message everyone repeats for 90 days straight. Sales says it. Marketing says it. Your CEO says it at conferences. When everyone's singing the same song, buyers actually hear it. 3. 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿 Intent data tells you who's looking. Doesn't tell you why. Or if they have budget. Or if they even know you exist. Use it to prioritize, not react. Intent + strong ICP fit + actual context = worth pursuing. Everything else? Noise. 4. 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶-𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 My mix: - LinkedIn (where they scroll) - Email (where they work) - Gifting (what they remember) - Micro-events (where they actually talk) - Direct mail for Tier 1 (what nobody else does anymore) Cut: Twitter, Facebook, display ads. My buyers aren't there. Why was I? 5. 𝗙𝗶𝘅𝗲𝗱 15-𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗦𝗗𝗥 𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗶𝗲𝗿 1 Day 1: Gift + short email Day 4: Value email (actual research, not templates) Day 6: Call Day 10: Event invite Day 15: "Breaking up" email with something useful Same structure every time. No guessing. No "what should I send next?" Just execution. 6. 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗺𝗮𝗽𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 Webinar topic? Tier 1 problems only. Podcast guests? From target accounts. Event invites? Tier 1 and 2. That's it. If it doesn't serve the list, kill it. 7. 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝗔𝗕𝗠 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 (30 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘅) Top 10 Tier 1 accounts: - Where they're stuck - Next play to run - What's working - What to kill No slides. No updates. Just decisions. 8. 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘄𝘀 30 days: They noticing? 90 days: They taking meetings? 180 days: They buying? Most ABM fails because people check revenue after 30 days. That's like planting tomatoes and wondering why there's no sauce next week. One client went from zero pipeline to $2.3M in 9 months with this. Not because they bought better tools. Because they got simpler. That team that burned $400K? They had every signal you could buy. What they didn't have was a system that actually worked. This one does.

I've audited 200+ ABM programs The biggest predictor of ABM success isn't your ICP, messaging, or your team. It’s a financial issue The first question I always ask: “Walk me through the math. What are we actually buying here?” Maybe 5 had a defensible answer. The ABM programs that get renewed are decided before launch, not after. Here’s how to set it up correctly: STEP 1 // BUILD YOUR COST MODEL Total ABM investment breaks into 3 buckets: A. Media spend ↳ LinkedIn, CTV, programmatic, direct mail ↳ Budget $150-300 per target account per month for air cover ↳ 100 accounts = $15K-$30K/month minimum B. Tech stack ↳ Intent data, ABM platform, enrichment tools ↳ Annualize and divide by # of programs C. People cost ↳ % of SDR, marketing, ops time dedicated to ABM ↳ Burdened salary × time allocation Add all three = Total Program Cost STEP 2 // MODEL YOUR EXPECTED PIPELINE Formula: Target Accounts × Expected Engagement Rate × Meeting Conversion × Opp Conversion × Avg Deal Size = Expected Pipeline Example with real math: ↳ 100 accounts ↳ 25% engagement rate (25 engaged accounts) ↳ 40% meeting conversion (10 meetings) ↳ 70% opp conversion (7 opportunities) ↳ $75K avg deal size = $525K in pipeline STEP 3 // CALCULATE PROGRAM ROI Pipeline ROI = Expected Pipeline / Total Program Cost If your program costs $50K and generates $525K in pipeline: ↳ Pipeline ROI = 10.5x But leadership cares about closed revenue, not pipeline. Revenue ROI = (Expected Pipeline × Historical Close Rate) / Total Program Cost ↳ $525K × 30% close rate = $157.5K expected revenue ↳ $157.5K / $50K = 3.15x revenue ROI STEP 4 // BUILD THE SENSITIVITY TABLE This is what separates amateurs from operators. Show leadership 3 scenarios: ↳ Conservative: 20% engagement, 25% close rate ↳ Base case: 25% engagement, 30% close rate ↳ Aggressive: 35% engagement, 35% close rate Map each scenario to pipeline and revenue ROI. When leadership asks "what if it doesn't work?" you already have the answer. STEP 5 // TIE TO EXISTING BENCHMARKS Pull your historical data: ↳ What's your current cost-per-opportunity from other channels? ↳ What's your average CAC payback? ↳ What's your LTV:CAC ratio by segment? Show how ABM compares. If your current CPO is $8K and ABM delivers at $7.1K, that's the story. The pitch isn't "ABM is cool." The pitch is "ABM delivers pipeline at a lower CPO than our current mix." Programs that launch with this model don't get cut at month 9. They get expanded. What did I miss?

It’s been exactly 3 months since we launched our first ever ABM campaign, and the results are in: over $650,000 in pipeline in 90 days, with a nice $12 in pipeline per $ spend. If you‘re considering getting into ABM next year - I have a few learnings to share: 1) It’s brutal. There are no playbooks. Most ABM resources are very high level (‘strategic’) - there’s a painful lack of tactical resources on how to set the campaigns up, from whom to target and which channels to choose, how to set up the campaigns stages and account scoring, how to pick the right goals and metrics (so you can evaluate how the campaigns are doing and if you are on the right track), set the right budgets, and how to monitor the results. There are to benchmarks to measure against (ad CTR/CPM benchmarks are a vague leading metrics, and are so industry-specific you’ll be comparing apples to oranges.) We had to come up with nearly everything ourselves. One thing that helped us at the beginning was Kyle Poyar’s article “Your guide to GTM metrics 2.0” featuring “ABX benchmarks” (link in the comments). We used them (and tweaked) to set up our stages, benchmarks of how many accounts we’re expecting to move from one stage to another, and then - by combining that with our historical qualification rates, close rates and expected ACV - we got our revenue goals per 1000 accounts. Then working out was from the top-down revenue goals - that gave us an idea how many accounts we need to target. And then - based on the CPMs for the target personas in those accounts - we are able to come up with a budget. That’s theory, of course - and we’re already seeing how ‘real data’ diverges from the benchmarks, esp. for some stages/conversion points. We may need to adjust our forecasts based on real data to make them more realistic. But you need start somewhere. 2) Don’t start if you don’t have extremely strong MarketingOps (ideally - a dedicated MOps person). So far we’ve spent 80% on the campaign ops, and 20% on the creatives. SADLY. Even with ABM tools - there’s a ton of setup you need to do. 3) You need some tech stack to score your accounts, but you don’t need these expensive “ABM tools”. After evaluating tons of ABM tools (with platform fees of $30k - $160k per annum 🤯) we realised we don’t want to use display as our main channel for reaching target accounts. We used only ZenABM (from $59 - for de-anonymizing LinkedIn ad engagements, getting intent based on those engagments, account scoring --> and pushing it all to the CRM + providing revenue attribution) + Hubspot Marketing (~$1700 in our case - for audience building and management). TBC - I hit the character limit 😉

Client: "We need to focus our ABM on the big names in the industry. You know, the Fortune 500 types." Me: "So, what makes them a good fit for your business?" Client: "Well, they're big and have big budgets." Me: "Okay, but do they need what you offer? Are they a good fit for your ideal customer profile?" Client: "Hmm, I'm not sure... We haven't looked at it that way." Me: "And what about potential value? Will those big names bring in the most revenue? Or are there smaller, faster growing companies with more potential?" Client: "That's a good point. We haven't considered that." Me: "And strategically, does it make sense to go after those giants? Or are there smaller companies that align better with your long term goals?" Client: "Hmm, I see what you mean." Me: "Let me put it another way: Have you ever seen a small company achieve amazing results with a product like yours?" Client: Thinking.. "Actually, yes! There's that one company..." Me: "Exactly. Account selection in #ABM isn't just about chasing big names. It's about finding the best fit for your business, potential value and strategic alignment." Client: "Tell me more..." Me: "Don't get me wrong, big accounts can be great. But those smaller accounts can sometimes bring surprising value and become your biggest wins." Client: "This is making me rethink our entire strategy." Me: "That's the idea. ABM is about finding the accounts that will benefit from your solution and align with your long-term goals." Client: "So, how do we find those accounts with potential?" Me: "Dig deeper. Look beyond size and revenue. Consider their needs, growth potential and their strategic fit. Sometimes, the hidden finds are the most valuable." Client: "This is eye opening. I'm excited to explore this further." Me: "Great. Think over quality over quantity." #b2bmarketing #demandgeneration #marketingstrategy

I used to hate not knowing where our next client would come from. So we started launching these creative ABM campaigns every quarter. The aim was simple: Sign more ideal clients. And that’s exactly what happened. Within the first few months, those campaigns got us in the room with brands we’d never been able to reach before. New markets. Big logos. And most of all, great clients. Now we launch one every 6 weeks and follow this 3-step process every time ⤵️ 1/ We made a list of our DREAM clients There are 2 tiers to this list: Tier 1: Major Global Brands These are brands that we know might be a tad out of our reach, but we still shoot our shot. Tier 2: High Chance Brands Brands we know there’s a high probability we’ll sign if we pitch them. We split our efforts 60/40. 60% targeting the global brand. 40% adapting campaigns for our wider ICP. —— 2/ Map Out Creative Campaigns We’ll then brainstorm campaign ideas where we can: A) Add value to them B) Get their attention A great example of this is our Monzo campaign that went viral on LinkedIn… 🏦 Monzo - Created a full Monzo UK campaign strategy - Explained it on a custom-built landing page - Created fake paper wallets with QR code to page on - Mailed them to Monzo HQ in wax-sealed envelopes Value: they received a fully mapped out creative ABM campaign strategy including forecasted impact Attention: It was delivered in wax sealed black envelopes inside paper wallets —— 3/ Use Multiple Channels To Distribute There is no “Silver bullet” marketing channel. They all work. But they also work much better if you use them cohesively. What often doesn’t work is: Day 1: Cold email Day 2: Cold email Day 3: Cold email What does is: Day 1: Cold email Day 2: Get sent a physical letter Day 3: LinkedIn DM Day 4: Cold email (NOTE: this is just an example) You want to increase touch points and use multiple channels. —— It’s very easy to get caught up in the technicalities and intricacies of marketing. But we’ve been able to sign dream clients and have a consistent flow of new customers by going back to the fundamentals. Step 1: Deeply understand your ICP Step 2: Find creative ways to get in front of them Repeat that cycle and you’ll never worry about new customers again.

𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁-𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗚𝗧𝗠 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 $𝟭𝟬𝟬𝗸+ 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘀. The rules have changed—are you ready? It used to be exclusive—reserved for those massive, high-value accounts. Why? Because it was too manual, too expensive, and too hard to scale. But today, the game is different. With account data becoming more accessible (almost a commodity now) and AI tools automating deep account research, we can shift our focus. 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗥𝗠. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗶𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗼 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 *𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆* 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁-𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁—𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗳𝗶𝘀𝗵. Sounds exciting, right? But let’s not sugarcoat it: pivoting to ABM is brutal. There are no real playbooks, and tactical resources are painfully scarce. But when we did, the results were jaw-dropping: → $350k in pipeline in just 90 days. → $7 in pipeline generated for every $1 spent. We are doubling down now—and shared the guide Here’s our ABM checklist: 1. Define your ABM goals & leading metrics. 2. Choose a level of personalization: 1:1, 1:few, 1:many. 3. Set up campaigns: account stages, scoring, and duration. 4. Select channels (LinkedIn was our starting point). 5. Build your target list: accounts, personas, etc. 6. Prep content, messaging, and ad formats. 7. Approve budget & resources. 8. Onboard tools/vendors to handle each ABM element. 9. Set up dashboards to track performance. Our unbundled tech stack? ~$1k/month across 8 tools: → HubSpot, Clay, BuiltWith, Apollo.io for list building. → Factors for ad pilot → ZenABM/Fibbler for intent recognition → Smartlead for prospecting. ABM isn’t easy, but the rules have changed. With the right tools, strategies, and mindset, it’s no longer just for the $100k+ deals. What’s stopping you from making the shift? #abm #marketing #gtm #saas