The hardest part of ABM - revealed

12 experts share their journeys and learnings

The B2B landscape is in constant evolution.

Technology is moving at breakneck speed. Old ‘trusted’ ways of marketing no longer work. Meanwhile, customers are struggling to make sense of the choices they have to make.

All of this and more is demanding innovative strategies to reach, educatre, engage, and influence high-value customers.

Enter Account-based Marketing (ABM).

ABM departs from traditional, broad-reach tactics. Instead, it meticulously customizes outreach to the unique needs and challenges of each customer (present or future).

This laser focus fosters deeper, more meaningful relationships, ultimately driving significant business growth

Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing.”

Pelé, Brazilian football player

However, the path to ABM success isn't without its obstacles.

This article dives into the experiences of seasoned ABM leaders, uncovering twelve thought-provoking quotes that illuminate the program's most demanding aspects.

By learning from these challenges, you will hopefully avoid them and craft a more effective ABM strategy and unlock its full potential for your business.

Let’s learn from these 12 ABM thought leaders.

ABM Leader, Global Marketing Organization

1. Watching out for those roadblocks

I think the roadblocks; I think you've got to have such a lot of tenacity and resilience to be an ABMer - 'cause wherever you go a wall will go down for whatever reason, or an account might go off the radar.

And having that resilience and tenacity to keep moving forward, and finding a way forward, I think is perhaps one of the more unique personality traits of ABMers, or that we need to be ABMers.

Head - Global ABM Center of Excellence

2. Dispelling misconceptions

It ties back to patience, it's convincing people that ABM works. Because there are many challenges when there's so much talk about ABM everywhere and there is a lot of misconception.

People know bits and parts of it. And if you come across a person who has only heard that part that ABM equals bigger deals, you will have a tough time making them understand that it's the end part of the picture that you're seeing.

Americas ABM Lead

3. Being prepared to change how you think

I won't say forgetting all you know about marketing, but really coming at it from a different perspective. There are a lot of folks that come in from a broad-based world into ABM and think that, oh if I do a couple of things a little bit more personalized fashion, I'm going to do well at ABM. Learn everything you can about ABM, because it is a very different approach than traditional marketing, in my humble opinion. And it really does take a unique mindset of mixing qualitative and quantitative and that journalistic, you know, to use your word approach.

So you need to come at it from a different angle, that is that ideal blend of what's most important to my customers and really have a customer approach. And it's easy to say and hard to do, but also where is all of my value as an organization, and how do I knock those together in a meaningful, scalable, personalized way for my customer?

ABM Manager

4. Changing your mindset

I think it's just to act with a sales mindset, to be customer-focused, and customer-centric, to speak their language so that they understand you. And also to speak the same language as your major stakeholder - the Sales Account Director.

Director & Head of ABM, EMEA

5. Staying focused and not getting distracted

The hardest part I would say is around I think supply to demand. And so when you're doing something great, and when you're showing results to a company, I think it becomes difficult to generate enough supply to the Sale's demand of ABM, 'cause you've got so many people coming to you to say, I've heard great things about ABM, I'm just seeing this thing, I need the same thing.

So it's around, how do you scale, and how do you create a plan where you'll maybe say, not now, but this is how we're going to evolve in the next one, two, and three years?

So I think that's probably one of the most difficult parts 'cause you're often kind of pulled in different directions and you think, oh, that is a really great salesperson, that's a great team, that's a great customer, I'm really excited, and I'd love to help them all, but it's around how do you stick to your plan and some ways, and actually deliver real greatness or maybe a smaller number of accounts or smaller teams or limited geos or whatever it might be for you, rather than trying to pull yourself in a million different directions and supply to that demand.

Senior Director, Growth Marketing

6. Executing at scale

Execution. A hundred percent execution. You can talk about Sales alignment. You can talk about personalization. You can talk about orchestration. But actually doing it at scale is what's challenging. If you have a few Sales reps and a few marketers, it’s a great place to start early on in a company's journey and build that foundation from the start.

When you're a company the size of Snowflake and you've got so many moving pieces, execution is hard, and you've got to have counterparts and partners that believe in your mission.

And I've got that, right? I have the Sales Development VP who believes in ABM. Our CMO believes in ABM. So you need the people supporting you to build that out to execute across the teams.

Director, ABM, Digital Marketing & Strategic Customer Programs

7. Building that key relationship with Sales

It's the same as one of the best parts and that's working with Sales. You know, Sales has so many demands on them and getting their time and getting their focus, it can be difficult, but once you've established the relationship and you've shown value, that becomes easier, but it is also sometimes one of the most difficult parts of it.

Global Head of Marketing, Industrial Print

8. Getting under the
skin of your accounts

I think it depends on where your organization is. But speaking, generically, I think getting to know the account well, when you don't have relationships, like getting to know them at a very intimate level, when you don't have the relationships, takes remarkable levels of ingenuity. That's very hard.

Director - Marketing

9. Combining speed and accuracy

I think the most challenging part of ABM is the need for speed and the need to get it right, like balancing these two needs. And it is very difficult, for sure, but it's not impossible to do it.

And I think the way that one can approach it is, firstly, setting the right expectations and taking time to really evangelize the ABM model and how it works with all stakeholders, especially Sales. Not overcommitting but really taking time to explain to them that it takes time to build this the right way.

The other thing is making sure that we are practising strategic over-communication, as we like to call it when it comes to Sales. So just as we have a multi-channel, multi-task approach with ABM, make sure that we do the same with our Sales team to make sure that they know what's going on, what's top of mind, and what are some of the things they can expect.

Director ABM Strategy & Global Programs

10. Juggling time

Time is the hardest part of ABM for me, is finding time to fit everything in. It is always a challenge. Hence my evangelizing around, you know, start small, and, you know, take time, because it's always the hardest thing to find. But it does pay off. But you need to sell that concept upwards, outwards, and downwards as well because otherwise, you won't get time from people.

Director of ABM CE

11. Getting your data right

Fix your data first. Sounds easy, but it's not. And yeah, align then with Sales - you get another one for free! Sales alignment sounds easy. And you get quick appreciation maybe because you spend a lot of attention on Sales, but this alignment means you have to reconfirm what ABM is every year.

Fractional ABM

12. Not being able to show results quickly

I think the hardest part of ABM is not being able to show revenue results quickly enough, which is often a struggle for Marketing in general, but it is a long game. And I think in many ways, I'm grateful that one of our operating principles here is favor the long term.

And you absolutely have to have that approach when you are launching these programs. They are very involved, they're very timely and it's intentional. You're trying to really forge and build a unique and personal relationship with these accounts and the people that make up these accounts.

ABM, while undoubtedly rewarding, presents a unique set of challenges.

By acknowledging these hurdles and fostering a growth mindset, Marketers can navigate the complexities of ABM and unlock its true potential.

Remember, success hinges on a data-driven approach, unwavering sales alignment, and account experiences that resonate with your target audience.

Embrace the learnings shared by these 12 ABM leaders, and watch your program blossom into a strategic powerhouse that cultivates enduring growth and customers for life.