What is your methodology for identifying the right company targets in an ABM strategy?

Everything begins with “What are your business goals?” And I cannot emphasize this enough. If you have a marketing problem and don’t know where to start, ask yourself this question “What are the business objectives?” and go from there. You won’t go wrong.

Depending on whether the business wants to acquire new logos or expand into existing accounts, or focusing on competitive wins, you know where your ABM accounts are coming from.

Once the focus is clear, you can identify accounts based on size, vertical focus, existing tech stack (e.g. if already using a competitive product and your current focus is not on competitive wins, then drop) ICP, and even geo focus if your sales teams are aligned that way, to identify the right set of accounts.

Work with your sales team! 

You can use a lot of different tech and methods to identify target accounts, but if your sales team isn't bought in, you won't be successful.

I suggest using tools or conducting a TAM analysis to narrow down the list of potential accounts a tad small. Have the sales team participate in the account selection process. One of the most common mistakes I see people make is allowing their sales teams to pick companies like Verizon, ATT, Amazon etc. These companies are broken out into several lines of business and divisions. Sales should understand the account and where they'll break in.

If you are going to use digital channels, ensure you have a list large enough to meet audience size requirements on your preferred media partners.

Defining target accounts is a collaborative effort, especially with your sales and RevOps teams. This needs to be approached from the perspective that you are there to support the sales team. It isn’t an “us against them” scenario. Getting buy-in early is critical for a successful partnership and long-term success.

Know your total addressable market (TAM). It’s also critical that you give your ABM strategy enough time before evaluating results. This isn’t a strategy that you can test for a couple of weeks and come to a conclusion. You need to give this strategy enough time to run which at a minimum is one quarter.

Leverage intelligence tools such as Clearbit or 6sense to better identify target accounts who are visiting your website. This will allow you to further personalize the experience and speak to customers in a way that is meaningful to them.