The ABM Leadership Team: 5 Reasons Why You Should Have One

In my role as an ABM Strategist at Demandbase, I have the opportunity to speak with clients daily about their ABM strategies, and more often than not, I discover that they don’t have an ABM leadership team. It’s a little mind boggling, when I think about it. Our clients are, hands down, the best of the best. They have robust tech stacks, dedicated ad budgets, and rock star revenue teams, and yet sometimes, very little understanding of Account-based Marketing — my ‘raison d’etre’!

Because of this, clients and I frequently have to back up to establish goals and objectives, gain a foundational understanding of how the ABM program will support the business, and most importantly, gain organizational alignment. This is where the ABM leadership team comes in.

The ABM Leadership team is critical because this senior group of cross-functional leaders can support the organization to:

1. Align on Objectives and Nix Organizational Friction:

When you have a cross-functional leadership team to align on objectives, it removes some of the friction that historically exists between sales and marketing teams. When sales and marketing leaders are able to meet in the middle and come to an agreement on what needs to be done, the rest of the organization tends to fall in line.

2. Champion the Program:

It can be difficult to get the ball rolling on new programs, especially when you’re at a larger enterprise where there may be multiple competing initiatives. So having a leadership team dedicated to championing all things ABM can go a long way in bringing attention to, congregating resources for, and drawing executive backing to projects.

3. Ensure Accountability:

In order to prove that our systems, processes, and initiatives are working, we must measure them. Having a leadership team to review and publicly share your dashboard encourages accountability and organizational discipline efforts. To ensure transparency and keep everyone on the same page, your ABM Leadership team should ensure that ABM metrics are included in Quarterly and Annual Business Reviews.

4. Align talent:

Having an ABM Leadership team with the organizational power to cultivate and align talent is imperative for an ABM program to flourish. While it’s important to have an ABM Program manager who manages day-to-day program operations, reporting, and organizational alignment is important, a successful ABM program cannot be achieved without members of sales, sales ops, marketing ops, marketing, and other groups working together to empower and support shared initiatives.

5. Allocate Resources:

Lastly, but probably most importantly, is the ability of this group to acquire and allocate resources toward ABM initiatives. Whether they be investments in advertising, content development, or the supporting tech stack, getting an ABM program off the ground can be resource-intensive. Having executive sponsors who are in lockstep with the program can result in a stronger understanding of program needs, potential ROI, and ultimately, the allocation of resources.

Looking for more information on forming an ABM Leadership team? Read about how we do it here at Demandbase, in our blog: “What does an ABM Leadership Team Do (and Why You Need One)?”.