Sales signing off on your ABM account list doesn't mean they're going to work it. This week a rep told me they can realistically work five accounts, and even that's a stretch.
You chose your accounts, sales reviewed them, they said yes, so everything should be good, right?
Not quite.
Here's the honest truth: on any given day, a rep has about a thousand other things competing for their attention. They're putting out fires with customers, going back and forth with CSMs, updating forecasts, trying to get calls on the calendar, and convincing their boss they're going to hit their number. Your list, and the Slack alerts that come with it, is probably the last thing on that pile. That's not a guess, it's what I've seen from years of working alongside sales.
None of that is a knock on reps. They're doing their jobs. But it means the follow-through is on you, because sales is never going to come to marketing asking for more meetings.
A yes is approval, not commitment
A few weeks ago I shared Vector's finding that 46.9% of ABM teams meet with sales every week and still aren't aligned. That's still true, and it's not because they're meeting too little. It's because most of those meetings don't have a point.
More meetings won't fix alignment. A recurring meeting with a specific agenda every time will, because that's what turns a yes into accountability.
The bi-weekly agenda I run with reps
I typically set up a bi-weekly meeting with the reps we're partnering with, and every meeting follows the same four items:
Engaged accounts. Which accounts are showing activity, and what the rep should do about it. This is where last week's account intelligence brief earns its keep, because instead of re-reading Slack alerts out loud, you walk through who to contact, why now, and the play. For cross-sell accounts, bring the customer-facing brief, so the rep leaves with something to send.
Wins and losses from the reps. What happened on the accounts since the last meeting, in their words. If they have a win to share on how they booked a call, it can inspire and motivate their teammates. This is the part that holds them accountable, because they know they'll be asked.
KPIs and pacing. Where the program stands against the goals you agreed on, and whether you're on track or need to adjust.
Upcoming events. What's coming up that a rep can use as a reason to reach out, like a webinar, a field event, or an exec dinner.
Why the agenda matters more than the meeting
Without an agenda, a recurring meeting turns into a status update, and status updates are the first thing a busy rep skips. With one, everybody knows what they're bringing. You bring the engaged accounts and the briefs, the reps bring what happened, and the KPIs tell everyone whether it's working.
An intentional meeting with an agenda holds reps accountable, versus trusting them to work your list on their own. And given everything else on their plate, trusting them to do it on their own is how your list ends up last.
Put it on the calendar this week
Send a bi-weekly invite to the reps in your ABM program and put those four agenda items in the description. Then, in the first meeting, ask each rep one question: how many of these accounts can you realistically work this quarter? The answer might be smaller than your list, and it's better to find that out now than at the end of the quarter.
How often do you meet with the reps in your ABM program today, and does that meeting have an agenda? Reply with one line. I'm curious how many teams are running this.
P.S. If you want help setting up this cadence with your sales team, that's exactly what my ABM coaching is for.
