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Operationalize your ABM Strategy

Updated: Jun 30

The consistent challenge I encounter in building an ABM strategy is the question "who leads the creation of the target accounts list?" Is it sales, marketing, ops?


My observation?.....all of the above. When teams work well together, the ABM strategy can provide significant value to organizations trying to scale into the enterprise.

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Sales Role

Sales teams are in the field, with direct insight into the types of companies, verticals and job functions that deliver the highest deal value. Taking the time to sit with sales reps, in addition to sales leaders, will make a huge difference in defining what works - and for whom.


There's no one-size fits all structure for a global sale organization. You have to take it territory-by-territory. West Coast reps may need to focus more on the enterprise SaaS technology space and Northeast may require focus in the financial services space. Listen to each group's individual and collective needs and work with them on criteria and a tiered structure for their TAM (Total Addressable Market).


Don't settle for current state. Evaluate where the revenue is coming from today (vertical, segment, deal size). Then set objectives for the next 2-3 years including what will get you there.


Account Criteria

There's a lot to consider when setting the criteria for sales target accounts. However, the ones most often missed or not fully thought through are industries and segments.

  • Industries

    • focus on ones that will provide the ideal ARR based on your goals

    • ensure their procurement process aligns with your sales cycle

  • Segment (SMB, Mid-Market, Enterprise)

    • define the segments and make sure your source aligns with marketing

    • Identify and categorize accounts. (Don't discount SMB and Mid-Market accounts as their ARR may align with your target Enterprise deal size)

Tiering Accounts

Depending upon the size of the sales org and the criteria set, the TAM could include thousands of accounts. To create focus for sales and marketing, it's ideal to create tiers that helps every group set priorities and track progress.


  • Tier 1 Accounts = Hot: They're most likely to win, there are contacts already engaged or referenced.

  • Tier 2 Accounts = Warm: These are the accounts sitting on the bench, waiting to play. This list can be pulled forward to Tier 1 as you learn and update contacts.

  • Tier 3 Accounts = Cold: Accounts that are ideal targets, but there are limited buyer personas built out to reach them - or the buyer or influencer contacts are not in your database.


Sales Ops/RevOps Role

SalesOps/RevOps teams must be involved from the moment the Account structure begins. Ops needs time to build out the process in your CRM. They'll need to map the accounts and tiering structure to reps + acquire and integrate the right tech stack to support the goals.


Ops needs to consider the marketing side of the sales cycle when supporting sales. Incorporating a target account strategy requires additional CRM process and workflows at the lead level. I see this gap consistently when working with orgs that are trying to scale to the next stage of revenue growth and requiring more marketing support.


Make sure there's a tech stack that includes the following tools and functionality: data enrichment, lead scoring, lead routing, and multi-touch nurturing within a marketing automation platform.


If you don't have the experienced Ops resources in-house, I suggest connecting with seasoned agencies to help. The ones who have saved me every single time:


Marketing's Role

Marketing should also be involved in the beginning. They are able to give feedback around definitions and gain insights on target personas to help with targeted campaigns.


Marketing having advance information on who, what, why will help them build and launch campaigns in time to deliver on sales KPIs.


Those campaigns require creative, messaging, content inventory mapped to the buyer journey of each group: Decision-Makers and Influencers/Champions. In addition, they need to build out their email nurture campaigns, and reporting workflows, ensure the website and campaign landing pages are setup for tracking and SEO.


In summary, preventing these teams from working in silos will ensure continued success and growth within every organization.

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