Author: Shira Abel Category: ABM & Pipeline URL: https://hunterandbard.com/resources/blog/choosing-strategic-accounts-the-scale-abm-framework
Once you've identified and secured your program goals , your next step in the SCALE framework is choosing strategic accounts . Because account-based marketing...
Strategic account selection is the most important decision in any ABM program. This post covers how to choose accounts that are actually winnable — and worth winning.
Once you've identified and secured your program goals, your next step in the SCALE framework is choosing strategic accounts. Because account-based marketing (ABM) is highly customized, and as such, more labor-intensive (hint: higher people/agency budget), you should be deliberately strategic when using it.
We developed the S.C.A.L.E. framework to help companies get a fundamental understanding of the strategic ABM process. S.C.A.L.E. stands for:
This blog post will focus on the C of Scale – Choosing strategic accounts. This is the second in a series of posts that will further explain our framework.
Programmatic ABM campaigns reach a larger list of targets because accounts are targeted at the company size (large-enterprise versus mid-market, for example). Expect lists in the few hundreds to low single-thousands if you're emailing, and advertising size would be an audience of around 80-100k.
ABM Lite generates a narrower, more focused list than programmatic ABM because targeting starts at an industry level. Expects lists in the low hundreds if you're emailing, and advertising size would be 20-80k.
Strategic ABM narrows the field even more by targeting the level of exact account(s) and/or specific job title(s). This could mean a list of as low as 10 and advertising could be incredibly focused. LinkedIn states, "The minimum audience size required to run an advertising campaign is 300 members." – you'll be around there, depending on what your goal is for the campaign.
Start by talking to sales. This team has the most immediate need of your services and will get the most benefit from a successful ABM program. Find the salesperson who is the friendliest to marketing and ask them to walk you through their life in sales. For example:
This will give you a broad list of accounts you should be aiming for. You can also search for look-alike companies.
Take the list you got from sales and filter that through your customer success team.
This information will help you narrow your list. Sales will prioritize who is the easiest to close. Customer success understands which clients get the most value from your offered solutions. It's the combination of the two that brings the highest customer lifetime value (CLV). Target the accounts that are identified by both groups.
You should plan approximately ten target personas per account. At the one-to-one level, you can use not only firmographic data like company size and revenue, but psychographic data: values, interests, personality traits, and preferred communication style. Research individuals in your target range for granular data and insights:
Applications like Crystal can give you a lot of insights on how to sell to specific people based on their personality styles and traits. This allows you to craft your pitch accordingly:
Based on psychographic insights, you can hone your messaging and deliver it in a tone that's likely to appeal to the recipient.
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Once you've got a focused account list, start dividing it further so you can tailor your message as closely and specifically as possible to what a given company (and/or job title) is looking for.
This level of breakdown will enable you to segment and deliver customized messaging and visuals.
Let's say you're launching a brand-new product and you don't have a historical knowledge base. The process is basically the same, but you'll be doing it with more guesswork and imagination. (It'll still help!)
Make a broad list of your dream accounts. Make some educated guesses about who's likely in the buying committee. Create your ideal list. Segment your targets. And make a careful list of baseline assumptions. As you move through the process, you'll gauge responses and adjust accordingly.
This is about incremental improvements. Getting better each time you try that compounds over time.
Test and iterate. You'll get there.
Account selection is the highest-leverage decision in any ABM program. Most teams over-invest in campaign execution and under-invest in choosing the right accounts. If you get this step wrong, no amount of personalization or ad spend will compensate. Align Sales and Customer Success early, build deep personas, and segment ruthlessly. The compounding returns start here.
— Hunter & Bard
Hunter & Bard is a San Francisco-based B2B strategy consultancy founded in 2011 by Shira Abel. We help deep-tech and enterprise SaaS companies fix their positioning, sharpen their messaging, and close $100K+ deals.
We work with B2B leaders who are tired of being overlooked, underestimated, or mistaken for their competitors. Our specialty is turning complex, technical products into clear, compelling stories that win enterprise deals.
We believe that perception drives revenue. If your buyers can't tell you apart from the next vendor in 30 seconds, you have a positioning problem — not a marketing problem. We fix that.
Perception = (Story × Visibility) ÷ Noise
This framework drives everything we do. Your story has to be sharp. Your visibility has to be strategic. And you have to cut through the noise — not add to it.
Shira Abel — Founder & CEO. Kellogg MBA. 20+ years in B2B marketing. Former CMO. Keynote speaker. Published in Forbes, HuffPost, and Wired. Specialist in enterprise positioning and perception strategy.
Daina Reed — Founding Designer & Partner. 15+ years in product and brand design. Former Senior Product Designer at Dun & Bradstreet. Specialist in enterprise UX, visual identity, and design systems.