The ABM ROI growth path: Scaling your ABM strategy to drive sustained success
In last month’s DashDot, we outlined how to align your team on ABM success using the ABM ROI Model.
▲ Read part one of this article
This month, we’re diving deeper into the growth path toward ABM Maturity.
Building your ABM forecast and setting goals is just the start.
To truly unlock long-term success, it’s essential to understand how your ABM program evolves over time.
Enter the ABM Maturity Model.
The key to setting realistic expectations and sustaining ROI.
In this ABM Laboratory feature, we’ll explore how your program matures, how to build the right team, hone ABM skills, and create scalable, repeatable processes that drive continuous growth.
One of the most effective ways to manage leadership expectations and demonstrate the long-term value of ABM is by using an ABM ROI Maturity Model.
This model provides a clear framework that illustrates how an ABM program evolves over time, with each stage offering different outcomes and learnings.
Understanding these stages helps to set realistic expectations for ROI, while also showing how ABM can deliver increasingly valuable results as the program matures.
Let's explore the five stages of ABM ROI maturity:
The foundational phase where your ABM program takes shape. In this stage, your team focuses on mastering ABM principles, developing a clear strategy, and defining the key elements of your plan - such as selecting target accounts, mapping initial campaign plays, and crafting value propositions and messaging.
Key components like account selection, process mapping, and messaging strategies are finalized
Results during this phase can be unpredictable. As your team experiments with targeting, messaging, and outreach, there may be some trial and error. Early successes might be small, and wins are not guaranteed.
However, these early learnings are essential in shaping a long-term strategy that will fuel future growth.
It’s crucial to set clear expectations with leadership. This phase is about building the foundation and learning, so early results may not reflect ABM’s true potential. The insights gained here will be pivotal in refining and scaling the strategy as the program matures.
Encourage leadership to view this phase as an investment in long-term success.
The pilot phase is where your ABM program takes its first steps in experimentation. The team begins testing various strategies, messaging, and account engagement tactics.
Early campaigns are launched, and collaboration between Sales and Marketing starts to solidify.
The primary focus is on gathering insights and refining processes based on initial interactions with target accounts.
Results during this phase may be mixed. Some accounts may engage early, while others may not respond as expected.
However, small wins - like a few key accounts showing deeper engagement or building stronger relationships - are common.
These early victories provide validation that your ABM efforts are working, even if the overall results remain inconsistent.
It’s important to manage leadership’s expectations that not every campaign or approach will yield immediate results.
Highlight the early wins and use them to build confidence, but also stress that this phase is about learning what works and what doesn’t.
The insights from these experiments will be crucial in shaping the next stages of the ABM program.
At this stage, the ABM program becomes more consistent as frameworks are solidified and the team refines its approach.
Sales and Marketing alignment deepens, and processes grow stronger.
Personalized, high-quality content is created for target accounts, and Sales begins executing multithreaded outreach, engaging decision-makers at multiple levels.
Results become more predictable and consistent. As the team gains confidence in the ABM strategy, engagement from key accounts increases.
Metrics like pipeline contribution, deal velocity, and account engagement become more reliable.
While full ROI may not yet be realized, tangible results indicate that long-term success is within reach.
Communicate to leadership that the groundwork laid in earlier stages is now yielding more consistent results.
While some accounts may still take time to convert, most are showing stronger engagement.
At this point, you can start providing more accurate ROI projections based on emerging patterns.
At this stage, the ABM program has moved past the pilot phase and is scaling. The focus shifts to optimizing processes, refining strategies, and expanding successful tactics to a broader set of target accounts.
Technology plays a bigger role, with advanced ABM platforms and CRM systems driving more precise targeting, measurement, and personalization.
Sales and Marketing teams work seamlessly together, sharing insights and delivering personalized experiences at scale.
By now, ROI becomes more consistent and measurable. As strategies are refined, engagement improves, deal velocity quickens, and contract values grow.
Predictable outcomes start to emerge, and the team is poised to meet or exceed initial ABM benchmark targets.
The program’s success is evident, and its positive impact on revenue growth is clear.
Leadership will begin to see tangible returns on the ABM investment.
It’s important to emphasize that this phase is about scaling success from earlier stages and optimizing processes to boost efficiency.
ROI becomes more measurable and predictable, providing a clearer case for ongoing investment in ABM.
At this stage, ABM is fully integrated into your Marketing and Sales strategy. Processes are optimized and scalable, allowing the program to expand across multiple markets, industries, and account clusters.
The focus shifts to continuous optimization and innovation to maintain a leadership position.
Marketing and Sales teams are fully aligned, delivering highly personalized experiences to key accounts on a regular basis.
The ABM program consistently outperforms traditional Marketing benchmarks. ROI is no longer in question, as the program becomes a key driver of business growth.
Results are not only measurable but replicable - establishing a reliable source of revenue.
ABM is now a competitive differentiator, positioning the company as a trusted advisor to its top accounts.
At this point, leadership should recognize that ABM is a core driver of company growth.
The focus shifts from proving ROI to optimizing and scaling the program for even greater returns.
Highlight the program’s repeatable success and show how it positions the company for sustained, long-term growth.
Building a solid ROI model for ABM can seem challenging, especially without historical data to guide you. However, by leveraging clear segmentation, aligning Sales and Marketing, and focusing on data-driven insights, you can create a reliable roadmap for success.
Setting realistic expectations, tracking key metrics - Reputation, Relationships and Revenue - and refining your approach, as your program matures, will help you to build credibility with leadership, and ensure long-term growth.
Book an ABM Lunch & Learn workshop to review your ABM strategy.
