12 Sep How To Leverage Account-Based Marketing To Meet Sales Goals

Account-based marketing (ABM) combines expertise and efforts of the sales and marketing departments to deliver personalized marketing experiences to high-quality leads. This marketing technique targets only the highest value and best-fit leads. That way, you don’t waste time and resources marketing to prospects who may never convert. 

It focuses on building relationships with leads, learning their pain points and using targeted marketing to present your business’s offer. With ABM, your team treats every lead as an individual market, using only custom communications, content, and campaigns for better ROI. Here are a few ways businesses can leverage account-based marketing to meet sales goals.

Sort and filter high-value leads

One of the critical parts of account-based marketing is its focus solely on high-value leads. The ABM team should sort through their database of prospects to identify and filter out which leads to focus their efforts on. They may choose these accounts based on factors such as their industry, location, recommendations from platforms like LinkedIn, or company size.

Set up an account for every prospect

Since ABM requires highly specialized marketing, each prospect should have their accounts handled by a sales or account rep. Both teams should discuss their goals for every prospect and create the criteria for setting up each account.

Ensure an in-depth understanding of each account 

Develop a deep understanding and connection with leads. This is especially important with B2B sales, where the buying process involves multiple decision-makers. Learning the needs and challenges of each stakeholder in your prospects’ account helps your ABM team draft the right strategy. It’ll help with developing the right content, and messaging for leads to eventually become loyal customers. 

Align sales and marketing teams

Account-based marketing is a team effort requiring sales, customer service, and marketing teams to be aligned for it to succeed. All stakeholders must agree on the strategies and other essential aspects of account management that facilitate a streamlined customer experience. Creating an environment for all teams to work together and maximize their strengths delivers a consistent experience for your prospects. It also clarifies to each team member what processes they’ll be working on and at what phases they’re required to step in. 

Develop targeted messages for each target 

Sales and marketing teams must collaborate and develop the right messages for each prospect. ABM hinges on providing specialized, relevant content, so both teams must work together to ensure consistent messaging. The marketing teams can focus on developing on creating new content and reviewing existing content for content remarketing. In contrast, the sales team gives them insights into what customers respond to the most. 

Forge strong relationships for effective account-based marketing

Relationship building is also an essential aspect of ABM that furthers sales goals. In B2B buying, there’s more than one person to build a connection with. Your targets shouldn’t be just C-suite executives. Look out for heads of departments, assistants, and other gatekeepers, as they too can influence buying decisions. Take the time to foster a strong relationship with these individuals to build loyalty and trust. 

Remember that this part of ABM takes a lot of time and can’t be done overnight. Below are some strategies you can employ to strengthen your relationship with buyers: 

• Frequent check-ins
• Sharing valuable personalized content 
• Placing calls where they feel like your number one priority 
• Well-timed meetings and events like dinners, seminars, and other networking activities 

Measure and analyze ABM results

Monitoring your account-based marketing efforts and analyzing their results is crucial for measuring success. Successful campaigns indicate you’re working in the right direction, meaning you should strengthen these efforts. On the other hand, it’s not always a bad sign when strategies don’t work. All it means is that it’s time to return to the drawing board and develop more effective plans. 

Working with an experienced lead generation company like Linked Strategies improves your marketing efforts. Our years of experience in generating B2B sales leads heightens the effectiveness of your ABM strategy, allowing you to meet your sales goals. Contact us today to leverage our proven methodologies and engagement strategies.