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Last week I met with a CMO and VP of Marketing to talk about ABM.
At one point, the CMO said:
“The board knows these are our most important accounts.”
This week I met with a President to talk about ABM too.
I asked him about vertical expansion in commercial banking.
“Yes. We’re going after all of the big ones.”
Finally, yesterday I met with a CMO of a $300m company.
“ABM is table stakes.
Cross-sells are where our pipeline needs to come from.”
There it is.
That’s how you frame your ABM strategy.
Not your tiering model.
Not your intent dashboard.
Not the latest enrichment workflow.
If you’re leading marketing, you already know the growth story the company is telling in 2026. Enterprise expansion. Vertical growth. Strategic logos. Retention of your top 50 accounts.
Those aren’t random, abstract goals.
They point directly to accounts that materially impact revenue.
And as a marketing leader, your job isn’t to build a clever targeting model. It’s to allocate resources where they support those priorities.
Account selection is a resource allocation decision.
Where are we placing time, budget, SDR focus, paid media, executive attention?
If the board and/or CEO is talking about 20 accounts that change the trajectory of the business, your ABM strategy should reflect that reality.
This is where many programs drift.
The conversation shifts from “Which accounts matter most to our growth plan?” to “How should we stack signals?”
That’s backwards.
Start with the board-level priority.
Then pressure-test it with first-party data. Closed lost opportunities. Churned accounts. Pipeline history. Former champions. Historical context that increases your probability of success this year.
Bring Sales leadership into that conversation early. Not to validate a campaign, but to align on where focus actually drives quota attainment.
When you build ABM around the company’s stated growth priorities, something changes.
Buy-in isn’t hard.
Budget conversations are simpler.
Measurement becomes obvious.
You’re no longer defending a marketing program.
You’re advancing a growth strategy.
Win your most important accounts.
Everything else is just noise.
If you’re recalibrating your ABM focus for this year and want to pressure-test whether it’s truly aligned to your GTM priorities, I’m happy to compare notes. Just hit reply to this email and let’s chat.
New Guide this Sunday: The 7-Figure ABM Strategy
Book Now: Pressure-Test Your ABM Strategy
You don’t have a full year to prove your ABM strategy.
Between planning cycles, pipeline realities, and Q4 constraints, the window for measurable impact is often closer to 2.5 to 3 quarters.
That’s why ABM coaching exists.
Not to add more tactics, but to act as your third-party sounding board to pressure-test whether you’re targeting the right accounts, aligned with Sales, setting the right KPIs, and built to drive pipeline and revenue impact this year.
Undivided Attention
Up to 5 hours per month of live meetings. This is where we evaluate account selection, sales alignment, setting KPIs, channel and tactic strategy.
Independent Work
Strapped on bandwidth? I can allocate up to 3 hours per month of independent work; account selection, revising, or general brainstorming.
Direct Access
During this partnership your team will get ongoing access via Slack and/or email. Monday through Friday with <2 hour response times.
🚨 NEW! ABM Metrics Forecasting App
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