Maybe you heard someone in your team: “ABM is the future of B2B”.
And you?
You nod, smile, Google or asked ChatGpt “what is ABM” and secretly wonder if you’re about to drown in tools, data, and acronyms.
Here’s the good news: ABM doesn’t have to be scary.
At its heart, it’s just marketing with a magnifying glass.
Instead of shouting at a crowd, you’re walking up to the people who matter most and saying, “Hey, I see you. I understand you. Let’s talk.”
This guide will help you set up your first ABM strategy, even if you have zero budget, zero tools, and zero clue where to start (we’ve all been there).
Step 1: Know who you’re after
Before you start building account lists or designing fancy campaigns, take a deep breath.
Ask yourself:
- Who do I actually want to work with?
- What makes a company worth my time?
This is where you define your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) — basically, the blueprint of your dream client.
Here’s how to keep it simple:
Look at your best customers today.
- What industry are they in?
- How big are they?
- Where are they located?
- What problems do you help them solve?
- What do they love (or hate) about working with you?
Don’t get lost in “wouldn’t it be nice” thinking.
Stick to reality, not fantasy. Sure, you’d love to land Nike or Google — but if your product is best for mid-size SaaS companies, own it.
Talk to sales and customer success.
They’re the ones on the frontlines. They’ll tell you things no CRM report ever will, like “our happiest clients are the ones with chaotic data stacks and small, overwhelmed teams.”
An ICP is not a horoscope. It’s a focused snapshot. If your target list starts looking like “companies with revenue between $1M and $1B, in any sector, ideally passionate about innovation” congrats: you just described everyone and no one at the same time.
Step 2: Make your account list
Alright — you’ve got your shiny new Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). Time to go shopping for accounts.
But here’s where most people mess up:
They go big. Like, too big.
They pull a list of 500 companies from LinkedIn Sales Navigator, upload it into a spreadsheet, and proudly declare, “Here’s our ABM list!”
Nope.
ABM is not about volume — it’s about focus.
Start tiny:
- 10–20 Tier 1 accounts → Your dream clients. High-touch, personal outreach. Think “I’d bake them a cake if it helped.”
- 30–50 Tier 2 accounts → Great potential, but you won’t be knitting them a scarf just yet. More like industry-level personalization.
Where do you find them?
- Ask your sales team. They know who they’ve been dying to crack.
- Use tools like Apollo.io, ZoomInfo, or LinkedIn Sales Nav if you have them.
- If not? Manual research works too — sometimes better.
If your “Tier 1” includes companies you can’t realistically serve (looking at you, Fortune 500 wishlist), demote them. ABM is not fan fiction.
Step 3: Get marketing & sales on the same page
Here’s the brutal truth:
ABM without sales alignment is just marketing talking to itself.
You need to get in a (virtual or real) room with sales and say:
- “Alright team — here’s who we’re going after. Are we agreed?”
- “Who’s doing what?”
- “What does success look like for us — meetings booked? Demos? Champagne on a Tuesday?”
Here’s why this matters:
- You don’t want marketing sending nurture emails while sales is cold-calling the same account with a totally different pitch.
- You don’t want sales chasing companies that marketing hasn’t even put on the radar.
And you definitely don’t want to celebrate “engagement” when sales only cares about closed deals.
Make it concrete:
- Define roles (who emails, who calls, who stalks on LinkedIn — kidding… sort of)
- Set shared KPIs (pipeline created, not just open rates)
- Plan quick syncs — ABM is dynamic, not “set and forget”
Treat marketing and sales like a band: you can be talented on your own, but if you’re not in tune together, the audience will leave.
Step 4: Personalize (but don’t overdo it and lose your mind)
Here’s where ABM gets its magic: personalization.
Not the creepy, “Hi $FirstName, I saw you looked at our pricing page at 2:03 AM” kind.
The meaningful kind that says,
“Hey, we actually understand your business — and we’ve got something useful for you.”
For your Tier 1 accounts (the VIP list):
- Write emails that reference their company, goals, or challenges
- Build custom landing pages or offers (“See how [Your Company] can help [Their Company] scale X”)
- Consider small, thoughtful gestures — a LinkedIn message, a handwritten note, or a useful industry report
For your Tier 2 accounts (the promising-but-not-VIP list):
- Personalize at the segment or industry level
- Share relevant content (“Top 5 trends for fintech startups”)
- Use semi-personalized outreach — “Hi Anna, saw you’re in fintech, here’s something we made for companies like yours”
Important: Focus on their pain points, not your product features.
No one cares that you’re “AI-powered and scalable” if they’re drowning in onboarding problems.
Personalization isn’t about sending a basket of muffins. It’s about making someone feel like they’re not just email #456 in your outreach software.
Step 5: Pick your channels wisely
Okay, you’ve got your list and your message. Now — where do you show up?
Spoiler: Not everywhere.
Ask yourself:
- Where do these accounts actually hang out?
- What channels will they realistically notice us on?
For most B2B ABM plays, a good starting combo looks like:
- LinkedIn (ads + InMail)
- Email outreach
- Retargeting ads on platforms they use
- Webinars, invite-only events, or small roundtables
If you’re feeling bold (or selling to old-school industries):
Try direct mail — yes, physical mail. A smartly timed package can open doors an email never will.
Start with 2–3 channels. Master those before adding more.
Trying to be everywhere at once is like joining seven dating apps: exhausting, confusing, and unlikely to end well.
Step 6: Launch, measure, iterate
Alright — you’ve picked your accounts, aligned with sales, crafted thoughtful messages, and picked your channels.
Now it’s showtime.
But here’s where a lot of teams go wrong: they hit “launch,” cross their fingers, and wait.
👉 ABM is not a “fire and forget” missile. It’s more like a guided drone. You need to steer as you go.
Here’s how:
Define success early.
What does “good” look like?
- More meetings booked?
- Specific accounts moving into pipeline?
- Deeper engagement from key stakeholders?
Track meaningful signals.
Don’t just stare at open rates. Look at:
- Who’s visiting your site
- Who’s engaging with your content
- Who’s showing up to events or replying to outreach
Run small experiments.
Test subject lines, offers, or outreach styles. Learn fast, adjust, and improve.
If your first ABM campaign doesn’t immediately land a deal, congrats: you’re normal. Relationships take time — you’re dating, not speed-dating.
The secret of ABM isn’t some hidden tool or expensive software. It’s focus, consistency, and care.
Start small, stay curious, and most importantly — remember you’re talking to real people, not just “accounts.”
So go ahead. Build those connections. Build that strategy. And if all else fails, remember: even Fortune 500 buyers check their LinkedIn over coffee.
Comments