Step 0: Define Your Business Objective  

Start with clarity. Seriously. Start here. Define a measurable business objective before you target accounts or plan campaigns. Channel your inner Sinek. Know your “why.”  You’ll need it when things get hard.  

When you're clear on your objective, getting buy-in becomes easier and you can pivot when you hit roadblocks without losing focus.  

Step 1: Select Your Best Accounts 

Focus on accounts that fit your profile and show buying intent right now. Your ICP will evolve as your market matures – sometimes expanding, sometimes narrowing.  

Use intent data and behavioral signals to identify active accounts. Strengthen your model with historical data so predictions improve over time. This is where AI insights really shine.  

Build a list your teams can realistically work. Validate it with sales to ensure alignment with your business goal.  

A smaller, smarter list will always outperform a large, unfocused one. I speak from bitter experience.  

Step 2: Follow the Digital Breadcrumbs 

Buyers signal intent long before they’re ready to talk. They explore pricing pages at midnight. Multiple people from the same company read your case studies. Someone downloads your implementation guide. &; 

They’re telling you a story in real time.   

When five people from one company engage with comparison content over three days, you know exactly how to respond. This is where you can start grouping personas, mapping journeys, and using intent data to understand what’s truly resonating with your buyers.  

Modern intent platforms analyse billions of these signals to reveal which accounts are active, what topics drive their interest, and which personas are most engaged. This turns scattered data into actionable insight.  

ABM stops being guesswork. Instead, you’re reading the room. It’s a better place to be.  

Step 3: Engage the Right Way 

Match your message to their research. Most companies still miss this. ; 

When accounts evaluate your solution, give them what helps them decide – competitor comparisons, customer proof, and implementation guides. Earlier in the journey, focus on education. Help them frame the problem before you pitch.  

Automate intelligently so your messaging evolves as buyer behavior shifts. Display ads, website experiences, events, and sales outreach – make it all feel like one consistent conversation.  

How I do this: 

At 6sense, my team runs ABX campaigns that group buyers into programmes built to scale personalisation. Think of it like concentric circles of attention (Zen I know): 

• 1:Many: Industry or stage-based messaging at scale  
• 1:Few: Custom landing pages, ads, and webinars built around shared priorities.  
• 1:1: Deep personalisation with tailored content and outreach for strategic accounts.  

We also design experiences that bring these strategies to life – from trade show activations to VIP dinners, workshops, and micro-events highlighting topics our audiences care about.  

Every touchpoint – from the invitation to the follow-up – reflects what we know about their priorities and stage in the journey. This is where true creativity shines.  

Step 4: Collaborate with Sales 

Build the smartest campaigns in the world, send the most personalised messages (ideally avoiding the ‘ick’ factor), and track every signal, but if sales and marketing aren’t aligned? It all falls apart. &; 

Silos are responsible for many an ABM sob-story (gotta love ‘em). Marketing generates demand. Sales can’t act on it. Both sides get frustrated. Who suffers? The buyer.   

True ABM success happens only when sales and marketing operate as a single revenue team:  

• One live account list  
• Clear qualification criteria (like 6QAs)  
• A unified view of account progression  

When everyone has visibility into intent signals, engagement scores, and buying stages, alignment becomes second-nature.  

Add a clear SLA, and both teams know exactly when and how to act. No confusion. No delays. No missed opportunities.  

Step 5: Track Real Stuff 

In 2025, marketing’s job is to future-proof revenue. So? You need to measure what truly drives it:  

• Account engagement depth  
• Opportunities influenced  
• Deal velocity and win rates within target segments  
• Accounts advancing through the buying cycle  

My KPIs focus on qualified pipeline, not MQLs. That creates tighter partnership with sales – we focus on quality, not quantity.  

Forrester and Gartner (shout out to the analysts of the world) confirm what practitioners already know: ABM programmes deliver larger deals and faster sales cycles.  

With proper visibility, marketing doesn’t just influence revenue – it creates it.  

What Makes ABM Work 

In a word – alignment. Clear objectives, focused accounts, digital intelligence, relevant engagement, tight sales collaboration, and real revenue metrics. &srp>Apply this framework to eliminate waste and build momentum.  Every action connects to growth, creating buyer experiences that feel informed and timely.  

Find me on the floor!

Are you at B2B Marketing Live? Come talk! I'll be there with copies of Latane's book at the ready – tell me what's working for you and grab a free copy while you're at it. 

My colleague Stefano Iacono will also be presenting our latest research on how buyer behaviour is shifting – worth catching if you want to understand what's really changing beneath the surface (featuring a nice plot twist on the real impact of AI right now – you’ll have to be all there to get the full scope).  

Find us on the floor – let's compare notes.