ABM: You’re Already Ready (even if you don’t know it yet!)

One of the biggest myths about account-based marketing is the idea that you have to be “ready” to get started.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret. If you work in B2B, you are already ready. Odds are, you’re already incorporating key principles of ABM in your role every day.

ABX, or Account-Based Experience, simply means placing the account first rather than lead first. B2B purchases are made by committee. How many people are in that committee varies by company size and complexity of the solution you sell, but the rule of thumb is at least 10 people are involved in every enterprise deal and about four for mid-market customers.

Most of these people will show up in your lead funnel during the sales cycle. Some will remain anonymous (and that’s ok!). Others will be known leads or contacts. One might get converted and actually be attached to your opportunity (but don’t hold your breath).

If this sounds familiar, you’re ready for ABM.

What if we took all of that data and, instead of viewing it from a lead report, we group the anonymous and known data and sort by account name instead of email address.

ABC Company is a target account, with seven engaged people, one of whom has filled out your “Contact Us” form on your website.

As soon as your SDR sets up the meeting for sales, the entire account will convert to the next stage, bringing those anonymous and known people, and their engagement history along for sales to see as they continue the sales process.

Marketing now knows this account is in the pipeline and shifts the focus from lead generation to increasing engagement within the buying committee.

If this still sounds too good to be true, why don’t you join me and Jess Kao from F5 Networks, with Tiffany Giddens, a four-time Demandbase customer for our webinar, 5 Secrets to Get Started with ABM – where we’ll share a five-step checklist to get started with ABX.