Definition: What is ABM? ABM is short for account-based marketing and is a hyper-targeted approach where marketing and sales teams collaborate to target specific accounts with tailored campaigns, rather than casting a wide net.
The term causes a lot of confusion because it is considered “marketing” but requires sales professionals to function in most cases. The major exception is LinkedIn advertising, where ads can be sent directly at certain people.
An ICP is defined and then research is conducted to find decision-makers within that ICP, typically using search or lead provider tools that include industry, title, location, revenue bands, numbers of employees and other characteristics to ensure best fit.
The “account” piece refers to the company. With ABM, an SDR may be prospecting multiple contacts at the same company. Generally a nice mix of email, calling, and LinkedIn outreach gets the best response rates.
Unlike a well-developed inbound funnel like SEO or PPC that causes touch-1 conversions, ABM funnels are much more likely to include contacts that are outside the buying cycle. It’s critical that sales professionals still do their best to create a great experience and lasting impression.
When a closer engages in an ABM funnel such as bank marketing, they are often closing multiple stakeholders within the company. They may even having to manage multiple committees.
To keep motivation up in an ABM go to market, sales team OTE should be tracked carefully for all of SDRs, AEs and senior sales staff.
Use It In a Sentence: With ABM, we’re focusing our efforts on wooing that Fortune 500 company as our next big client.
Learn More: Top of Funnel in Focus: ABM, Top of Funnel: Paid Social Advertising Course, Top of Funnel: Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Course
More Definitions: CRM Definition, KPI Definition, ROI Definition, NRR Definition, ABC (Always Be Closing) Definition, ICP Definition
Consulting from Sales Funnel Professor
If you’re looking to build a scalable ABM motion, our Head of Growth Services can help you implement the right targeting, messaging, and outreach systems.
