Whenever we talk to prospective clients about helping them launch an ABM program, there’s one comment that always portends a difficult conversation:
“We already know which accounts we want to go after.”
Selecting the right target accounts is the absolute foundation of a successful ABM strategy. However, many companies seem to adopt more of a “wish list” approach, as if choosing which accounts to target can be completely arbitrary, or based on whichever accounts sales says they want to chase after, and then ABM will just magically generate engagement and opportunities from those accounts.
That can be an expensive mistake.
Just because the sales team wants to go after Companies A, B and C doesn’t make them good candidates for ABM. A target account list should be based on product fit, propensity to buy, ICP, level of awareness or prior engagement, and so on. A target account needs to be an ideal candidate for your solution, not just a name on someone’s wish list.
Here are 10 tips for selecting an ABM target account list that will give your program the best chance for success.
1. Define Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
Personal experience says that tech companies know their ICP far less well than they think. Particularly for smaller or start-up companies, what a marketer says is the company’s ICP is often informed by where that company is seeing success in the market. But sales data can be misleading, particularly if it’s a small data sample or driven by prior relationships. New AI tools like Rev can help companies better define ICP by identifying characteristics that go beyond the usual (and obvious) firmographics like company size, industry, geography, etc.
2. Align with Sales
The internal champion for ABM is often a sales exec, and though it’s a mistake to let sales dictate the target account list unilaterally, and independent of the proper analysis, it’s also critical that sales be an active part of any account selection process. Involving sales in account selection ensures alignment on goals and a more collaborative strategy. Remember, ABM is not just a marketing play.
3. Analyze Past Account Successes
Reviewing historical account data can help identify patterns of success and inform the selection of those target accounts with the highest potential. In particular, consider metrics like deal size, profitability, and lifetime value. Drill down on top-performing accounts to identify those common characteristics that should be key criteria for consideration.
4. Prioritize High-Value Accounts
A successful ABM program increases deal size and accelerates revenue by focusing on fewer, higher-value accounts. Avoid investing expensive tactics and personalized content on companies that fit the description but don’t offer the highest revenue potential. Look for signs like growth, brand fit, and engagement likelihood (based in part of past engagement history.)
10 Tips for Selecting Your #ABM Target Account List Share on X5. Utilize Intent Data
Intent data can be a blunt instrument and not the magic bullet that some in the industry would have you believe. And yet, as one tool in your ABM toolbox, using intent data to help identify accounts that show active buying signals can be another criterion, perhaps as a sign to elevate a particular account to a 1:1 tier where more personalized outreach can pay dividends.
6. Evaluate Technographic Data
What are the commonalities that exist amongst your top accounts in terms of tech stack? Think beyond just those technologies that your product best integrates with, and consider complementary or even competitive technologies that could be unread signals for when a company is a good fit.
7. Leverage Firmographic Data
Firmographic factors (company size, revenue, industry) are rarely the defining criteria for which accounts make the cut, but they’re a critical part of the account selection process nonetheless. As part of a tiered ABM strategy (One to Many, One to Few, One to One), firmographics can help determine where and when a company merits the investment of a high-touch, personalized 1:1 approach.
8. Incorporate Account Engagement History
Account engagement is another useful criterion that’s often over-looked in account selection, but past engagement can be a critical success factor and an effective tie-breaker in determining high-potential accounts. Look at touchpoints such as email clicks, website visits, and event attendance, and then score and prioritize accounts based on those engagement levels.
9. Consider Account Fit and Propensity to Buy
Company size and revenue potential are well and good, but none of that matters if the account has little propensity to buy. Look at factors such as culture, strategic initiatives, and market dynamics to ensure a better alignment with your solution. Here again, AI tools can be highly effective at identifying “best fit” accounts based on factors that aren’t always readily evident or even searchable.
10. Reevaluate and Refine Your List Regularly
No target account list is a “one and done” exercise. A regular re-evaluation of your account list is critical, not the least because businesses’ priorities and pain points change over time, so that accounts that were once a perfect fit may no longer align with your solution, while others may now be high-potential targets. In addition, new trends, regulations, or competitive pressures can affect which accounts are most likely to engage. Lastly, your company’s own goals may have evolved – expanding into new verticals, regions, or upselling to current customers – and your account list should reflect these shifts.