: s M s B e Ac g c inu t s n o e d t m a e o t Vl r r p e a h The ABM alignment checklist P Imt We’ve seen ABM programs fly and we’ve seen ABM best practices them flop. As you implement your ABM program, follow these best practices. £ Get senior executive buy-in. Your ABM team will need their understanding and protection. £ Position the program as a new, collaborative and ongoing approach to acquire and expand big accounts, not as ‘the next big marketing campaign.’ £ Make sure the account executives, SDRs and marketers are 100% committed to this strategy. Anything less is a recipe for friction. £ Agree on the criteria for choosing accounts and the governance for when to add or remove accounts. (Don’t just agree on which accounts to target.) £ Agree on the fraction of all resources that will go to your ABM accounts, perhaps starting with a pilot program. £ Agree on short-, medium- and long-term metrics that everyone will track together. Also agree on the metrics that don’t matter. Document this. £ Create an Account Plan for each Tier 1 account — a product of Sales and Marketing together. £ Hold weekly meetings in the early stages, relaxing to monthly meetings as the machine starts to hum. £ Let everyone know what’s happening. Tell the rest of the sales and marketing teams about what you’ll be doing and how they can help. Market your marketing. 144